One month after the General Assembly overrode a veto by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri of a bill allowing medical marijuana “compassion centers” to grow and distribute medical cannabis, there is strong interest in operating the centers – and plenty of concerns, too.
Stephen Hogan, executive director of the medical marijuana advocacy group Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), recently told Providence Business News that his organization has had approximately 40 interested parties contact the group with questions about the process of obtaining one of three soon-to-be available licenses.
They include established nonprofit organizations, as well as smaller operations and individuals looking to apply for compassion-center licenses. Although licenses will be distributed by the R.I. Department of Health, interested parties have contacted RIPAC due to its large presence in the medical-marijuana community in Rhode Island, Hogan said.
In response to the demand for information on the compassion-center licenses, RIPAC held a forum on July 16 at Brown University to allow potential applicants to raise their concerns regarding the compassion centers, as well as to highlight the economic aspects of the new legislation. More than a dozen prospective applicants paid the $50 cover charge to attend the event.
Attendees like David Phaneuf, a potential applicant, said that the new compassion centers will likely do economic good for the local communities by bringing in a new industry. “Because of the grassroots nature of this practice, all revenue goes back to the community, in addition to tax dollars,” said Phaneuf, a resident of Narragansett. While compassion centers will be eligible for the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit organization, they may be liable to pay taxes depending on their structure and services.
A seasoned businessman with managerial experience at Home Depot and U.S. Home Services, Phaneuf also likes the business potential for operators of compassion centers.
The compassion centers, Phaneuf said, also will offer opportunities for nonprofit workers in inventory management as well as human services personnel to work as case workers with medical marijuana patients.
Looking to the future, Phaneuf has reserved the name “Compassion Center RI” with the secretary of state’s office and is currently working to organize partners and attract funding for the venture. “This whole compassion-center concept is an exciting one. We want to [get] it done right.”
While Phaneuf and others see the business opportunity, patients in the state’s Medical Marijuana Program look forward to having a stable and affordable means to purchase their medicine. Ellen Smith, a patient in the program, believes the concept of compassion centers to be a giant step in providing affordable medication for the more than 700 patients in the program. “You’re not dealing with people who have a lot of money here,” Smith said at the forum, which was attended by patients and caregivers in the program as well. “It’s scary the way it is right now. If my caregiver for some reason couldn’t provide me with my medicine, I would have to buy it very expensive on the black market.”
Smith said that for many patients, having to choose between paying their bills and purchasing expensive black market marijuana as medicine is a real concern. “What is happening for many of us is that we’re playing the game of money.”
Not all Rhode Islanders see the new legislation as a benefit to the state, however. Members of the R.I. State Police have voiced concerns regarding potential increases in crime and, in some cases, waste of taxpayer dollars. David Neill, a state police captain, said that because of a confidentiality clause in the Medical Marijuana Act that protects the identities of patients and caregivers, law enforcement officials have no way of knowing whether a suspected narcotics operation is actually a medical-marijuana center. This, Neill said, leads to fruitless and costly investigations which could cost the state in both police manpower and tax funds.
“I believe that information should be relayed, that we should be able to obtain that information from the Department of Health,” Neill said. He said that in some cases, search warrants may be used to break into houses thought to be illegal growing operations, only to find out they are legal medical-marijuana growers. “That’s a very intrusive process, especially if the person inside is ill.”
Law enforcement officials have also expressed concern for the safety of members of the Medical Marijuana Program who might become targeted for their money and drugs. “Criminals are becoming attentive of homes in Providence where they see a lot of activity. If they think they have a drug house, they will do a home invasion,” Neill said.
For an understanding of how the new law could eventually impact crime rates and the overall economy, interested parties are turning to the West for guidance, looking at California’s medical-marijuana environment.
California is one of three states, alongside New Mexico and Rhode Island, to have legalized medical-marijuana dispensaries. Such dispensaries have been legal in California since 1996.
As laws change, some California growers have made livelihoods producing marijuana. Mendocino County, just north of the greater San Francisco area, has allowed residents to grow up to 25 marijuana plants since 2000. A recent study performed by the county suggested that two-thirds of the county’s GDP stemmed from pot-growing operations.
Additional statistics from the USDA rank marijuana as California’s No. 1 cash crop, with sales of $14 billion a year.
When asked about law enforcement concerns, Gieringer acknowledged the safety concerns for patients and distribution centers dealing in large amounts of cash and narcotics, but that even those concerns were somewhat unwarranted. “That can be compared to liquor stores and jewelry stores as well.”
Statistics do show, however, that since medical-marijuana dispensaries became legal in 1996, California has seen a steady increase in marijuana crimes. According to data from the Office of the Attorney General of California, annual misdemeanor arrests for marijuana increased from 46,600 in 1998 to 57,995 in 2007. Much of that increase has taken place in recent years. Misdemeanor arrests for marijuana totaled 47,380 in 2005 and increased by more than 10,000 in a two-year period.
The first Rhode Island compassion center will be licensed in January 2010, followed by two additional centers in 2011. According to the Department of Health, applications will become available by mid-October and applicants will have to appear at a public hearing before being accepted. •
