MEDICAL MARIJUANA SPECIAL REPORT: The laws and dispensaries

A proposed city ordinance has a lengthy definition of a medical marijuana dispensary, along with rules of operation.

“We want to be able to make clear what is going on, and that it is legitimate,” said Jessica Hogan, director of public relations for the nonprofit Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, which helped draft the proposed ordinance being considered by the Colorado Springs City Council. The ordinance refers to “Medical Cannabis Dispensaries,” cannabis being the botanical name for the plant from which marijuana comes.

For now, though, there are no specific rules governing dispensaries — so what a patient should expect can vary. Some dispensaries operate by appointment only; others are walk-in. Many, but not all, are locked-door facilities, meaning you have to be buzzed in.

Colorado’s Amendment 20 allows for a patient on the Medical Marijuana Registry to possess up to 2 ounces of a usable form of marijuana or for the patient or a designated caregiver to grow up to six marijuana plants for each patient. The law also allows for a patient or caregiver to assert in court that greater amounts were needed to address the patient’s condition.

Becoming a patient on the registry requires a physician recommendation — not a prescription — that the patient might benefit from medical use of marijuana.

The patient also must pay $90 to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Some dispensaries advertise having doctors on staff, while some provide referrals or hold clinics for patients to see physicians. At Old World Pharm, a dispensary east of the city, “we encourage people to go to their own doctors as much as possible,” owner Kenny Brock said.

Cannabis Therapeutics, the city’s oldest dispensary, holds doctor clinics twice a month. Owner Michael Lee notes that patients must provide medical records documenting whatever condition they claim to have. The clinic doctor is paid by the patient, not the dispensary, and a physical exam is conducted.

The role of doctors has drawn the scrutiny of state lawmakers and health officials.

“One of the concerns is that there’s rubber-stamping going on out there,” said Colorado Springs lawyer Clifton Black. “I don’t doubt there is, to some degree. I don’t think it is as much as law enforcement would claim is going on.”