Pubdate: Fri, 09 May 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Jan Hefler

SOUTH JERSEY'S SOLE MARIJUANA DISPENSARY FINDS PATIENTS SCARCE

EGG HARBOR TWP., N.J.- Only six months after a grand opening, South 
Jersey's sole medical marijuana dispensary is struggling to survive.

This spring, Compassionate Care Foundation was planning to triple its 
production, using a $357,000 loan from the state Economic Development 
Authority. Simultaneously, the dispensary was preparing to convert 
cannabis leaves into liquid medicine, transdermal lotions, and 
lozenges, according to Bill Thomas, the nonprofit's CEO.

About 100 pounds of the leaves sit in brown grocery bags at the 
dispensary, waiting to be sent to a manufacturing plant in Pennsauken 
to be turned into the new products.

But where are the patients?

Located just outside Atlantic City, the dispensary has but 600, who 
currently can get only marijuana buds. The number is far short of 
what he needs to pay bills and support an expansion, Thomas said. For 
now, the $357,000 project to expand growing space is on hold.

When the nonprofit applied for one of six dispensary licenses offered 
three years ago by the state Department of Health, Compassionate Care 
projected it would have 5,000 patients upon opening and 10,000 in its 
second year. "Our cultivation facility has the capability of 
servicing up to 20,000 patients at two ounces per month," its bid said.

But so far, only 2,200 patients statewide have registered to buy cannabis.

Many patients complain that the application and doctor approval 
process takes three months, on average, and is too cumbersome for the 
program to succeed, Thomas said.

Patients also report they spend about $1,000 on doctor visits and 
registration "before they even get in the door" of the dispensary, he said.

Because of marijuana's uncertain status - it is still illegal under 
federal law - insurance does not cover the visits.

Nor does it cover the cost of the drug, about $400 an ounce.

"If the regulations don't change, there's no reason for us to stay 
open," Thomas said. "Woodbridge can handle it all," referring to the 
Garden State Dispensary in Middlesex County. It has about 1,300 
patients and the ability to serve 25,000, according to Michael 
Weisser, its CEO.

A third dispensary, in North Jersey, has about 300 patients. Three 
other dispensaries with preliminary approvals have not opened.

Thomas said shutting down is not a serious option - yet. The 
regulations are due to be modified, and that could open the door to 
thousands more patients, he said.

At the top of the list would be a change allowing the dispensaries to 
deliver marijuana to hospice facilities, nursing homes, and 
hospitals, Thomas and Weisser both said.

Weisser, spokesman for the six dispensaries' Alternative Treatment 
Center Association, presented the proposal to the Health Department last week.

"It makes sense. Obviously a person in hospice can't get out of bed 
and fill out a form, and the same goes for a patient in a hospital 
undergoing chemotherapy," Weisser said. He said vans with guards 
could be used to make the deliveries.

"These people are not getting the medicine now," Thomas said, blaming 
the lengthy registration and doctor approval process. He also said 
that a patient who qualifies for hospice should simultaneously 
qualify for marijuana, since terminal illness is one of a dozen 
medical conditions the state deems eligible for the drug.

Donna Leusner, a Health Department spokesperson, said deliveries are 
currently prohibited. When asked if the proposal was something the 
department would consider, she said in an e-mail: "Everything is 
always being reviewed."

Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Gov. Christie, also would not comment 
specifically on the proposal but said in an e-mail: "The governor has 
signaled his willingness to make changes to the program if there is a 
demonstrable need."

Another issue, Thomas said, is that only about 200 doctors have 
registered for the program. He said the Health Department could help 
by not requiring the registered doctors to appear on a published 
list, which some consider a stigma.

"We believe there are over 1,000 doctors who would sign up if was not 
for this. . . . We could probably help 10 times more patients if it 
were not for this one issue," he said.

Thomas is moving ahead with plans to manufacture other cannabis 
products at a plant in Pennsauken that is pending state approval. The 
dispensary now sells only buds and must discard the leaves, which 
could be used for the new products.

Starting next month, he hopes to begin producing lozenges that would 
be dissolved under the tongue and then absorbed directly into the 
bloodstream. The plant also would produce liquid cannabis for 
children, similar to an acetaminophen syrup, and cannabis lotions 
that would be applied to the skin, he said.

Compassionate Care plans to lease a machine that uses a 
"supercritical carbon dioxide extraction process" similar to that 
used to make freeze-dried coffee, vanilla extract, and rose oil, 
Thomas said. The new products are expected to be sold at his 
dispensary by Sept. 1, he said.

Similar products, as well as candies and brownies, are marketed in 
Colorado, which legalized the drug for recreational use in January 
after having a medical marijuana program.

Weisser said that his Garden State Dispensary presented a plan to the 
Health Department last week to produce lozenges, a topical lotion, 
skin patches, and capsules at its facility.

At a dispensary he runs in Colorado, he said, more than 150 edibles 
are sold. In New Jersey, he said he is only proposing one, a capsule. 
He does not have approval to begin manufacturing.

Until last year, New Jersey's medical marijuana law excluded edibles. 
After being confronted by parents with severely sick children who 
cannot smoke, Gov. Christie signed an amendment to allow this type of 
cannabis to be offered. But he called the change a "slippery slope" 
and restricted it to children.

Both Thomas and Weisser said that they also would like the Health 
Department to revisit this issue because many sick adults cannot 
smoke cannabis and would benefit from edibles.

"The reason we only have 2,000 patients is because of difficulties 
with the law," Thomas said. "I'm looking forward to the state opening 
up the regulations."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom