Pubdate: Thu, 28 Mar 2013
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Abha Bhattarai
Page: 22

MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES SET TO OPEN

Security cameras have been installed, scales calibrated and signs
declaring "no returns" hung on the walls at Capital City Care. There's
just one thing missing before the District's first medical marijuana
dispensary can open its doors: the marijuana itself. TOP: David Guard
is general manager and co-founder of Capital City Care, which is set
to open next month as the first licensed medical marijuana dispensary
in the District.

"It's very high-grade, very pure, very potent marijuana," said David
Guard, cofounder and general manager. "But first, everything has to be
triple-checked. We have a high level of security and an inordinate
number of cameras."

The medical marijuana is being grown in a separate building in
Northeast. District rules require that the plants be in the ground for
at least 60 days before they are harvested, and each cultivation
facility is limited to 95 plants at at time.

By mid-April, Capital City Care plans to begin selling four strains of
medical marijuana from its 2,000-square-foot perch on North Capitol
Street. Five more licensed dispensaries are slated to open soon after.

The District legalized medical marijuana in 2010, but Guard and his
team continue to toe a tricky line. Federal law still prohibits the
growing and selling of marijuana, and the Obama administration has not
been shy about clamping down on errant medical dispensaries. Last
year, more than 100 medical marijuana facilities throughout the
country were raided by federal officials, according to Americans for
Safe Access, a Washington-based advocacy group. See page 75

>From page 22 "At some level, yes, there is risk," Guard, 41, said.
"You have to remember marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 drug. But
our thought is - and we've given it a lot of thought - that we're
doing this for the patients. It is a risk that we run, but we do have
a very tightly run program."

Guard would not disclose how much it cost to start the dispensary,
saying only that the total investment was less than $1 million. Even
so, he says it won't be easy for the company to break even.

"The overhead costs are extremely high," he said. "D.C.'s program is
going to be small, so we're not going to be rolling around in cash.
Honestly, we're going to struggle to pay payrolls and pay back our
investors."

District rules allow patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple
sclerosis or glaucoma to buy 2 ounces of marijuana every 30 days.
Prices have yet to be set, but one-fourth of an ounce of marijuana is
expected to cost between $100 and $120 - roughly the same as its
street value, said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for
Safe Access.

The economic effects of legalizing medical marijuana are not clear,
Sherer said, adding that at the very least, the move will bring in
revenue from sales tax (6 percent in the District) and create a
handful of local jobs (at least eight at Capital City Care, Guard says).

For Guard, the opening of Capital City Care will be the culmination of
a years-long journey that began in 1998, when D.C. residents voted in
a referendum on a ballot measure calling for the legalization of
medical marijuana.

Guard, then a graduate student at American University, collected
signatures and helped work the polls on campus.

"I have been waiting and waiting all these years to get started,"
Guard said. "When the time came, we pulled together a great team. From
growing to selling, we have real experts."

In addition to medical marijuana, the storefront will also sell hash
by the gram, as well as accessories such as pipes, grinders and
vaporizers. There is a counseling room for individual and group
sessions, and Guard said he hopes to eventually set up a kitchen at
the company's 11,000-square-foot cultivation facility where items such
as cookies and muffins could be prepared.

But first, he'll need to get approval from the District.

"We are creatures of regulation," Guard said. "And we're fine with
that. I mean, why not? We're just selling medication."
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MAP posted-by: Matt