Do Not Be Fooled or Lied To by The Dispensaries in Colorado

[greenimp]

That attitude is exactly what will cause the state to try and regulate out the "loop hole". If growers keep the mind set that what they are doing is "illegal" how do you expect the general public to come to accept it?

If you want to grow and sell to dispensary, act like a business. If you want to sell to the secondary market, do it, and take your chances. Don't do both. You compromise the system when you do.

Don't try and use economic arguments as to why you need to sell some of your crop on secondary markets either. If you clients can afford to buy fro you there they can find a legitimate dispensary to purchase from. Unless you are just giving it away to people, but I doubt that...

Just because until now everything has been done on the sly, doesn't mean it should continue that way.

[palerider7777]

Thanks COLAGAL for the FYI, I understand how many interpret the law and it is very vague. I have been on this program since it was enacted and was patient 35 in the beginning. I have grown for years and as soon as I was accepted with the registry I immediately obtained one of the top medical marijuana lawyers in the state and have worked and obtained advice from Sensible Colorado and my local NORML chapter. I agree with you on the point of the law being very unclear and inconsistent, however what I see going on is dispensaries using the plant numbers of patients to provide for other patients in the form of excess from the original six plants. I have witnessed first hand caregivers growing for 5 patients, producing 4 plus pounds every 60 days with the alloted 15 plants in flower. Approximately 1 pound goes to the original 5 patients at the rate of 2 ounces per month and at a cost of 300.00 to 500.00 per ounce, then the 3 pound balance is sold to other patients at the same cost rate. On the low end this comes out to 44,800.00 every 60 days. This is basically taking advantage of the patients. The other point I was trying to make is that again first hand I have heard and seen this: dispensaries lying to patients about the caregiver situation and basically telling them they have to assign the dispensary as their caregiver and then they make them sign a contract basically stating they may only obtain meds from them and as you said a patient may acquire meds from anywhere. Not to mention the membership fee, what is that all about? I am all for free enterprise and living in America gives us that right, but is it fair to profit from the misery of others, is it fair to charge someone who only gets a 750.00 monthly check 400.00 for an ounce of meds that helps them and keeps them from more harmful drugs? Not only is this a legal issue but a moral issue as well. Thanks Again for your input and I do agree with you on more regulation, but why do we need the government to do something we as caregivers/patients/dispensaries could handle ourselves with a little more honesty and a lot less greed.

is it fair for any other biz or gov to charge what they charge to people that only make this or that? so what your saying is if u go down to the store to buy say bread because u only make 750 u should'nt have to pay the 2$ like everyone else but say 75 cents? say u to to walgreens cause your sick and the meds were 50 and u go to them and say hey i only make 750 a mo u think they will give it to u for 25?they will say u have ins?i don't see you going to any other stores bitching about what u make and u need a discount?

[palerider7777]

I cant believe you actually believe this! There are so many people without cards that still need medecine. Not everyone has $300 to get a card, or even knows how to get one. Some people are happy getting their medecine the same way they have for years. Most of these dispenseries are charging more than street prices anyway. What about people that dont have medical records, or maybe their condition is considered treatable by medical marijuana according to CO?

You say growers should be 100 percent above board, but that is ridiculous. All these growers have been breaking the law for years, and according to the federal government, they still are. Grow rooms are not built according to codes, you trip me out. This medical thing is just a loop hole that people have worked years for, and its just one more step to get marijuana legalized. Everyone deserves good medecine, not just people lucky enough to have a card.

According to federal government, weed is still illegal, even if you have a medical card. So everyone is still breaking the law. We need less laws and regulations, not more. Anyone should be able to grow as much weed as they want, and sell to whoever they want, for whatever price they want. That is the American Dream.

And this stuff about charging people according to income is ridiculous. What is this? Socialized weed. Its no one elses buisness how much money I make, and it surely shouldnt determine how much i pay for medecine. What is the point of working hard to make more money, if you have to pay more taxes, and pay more for everything?

this i can agree 100% peeps act as if because we call it compassion that it means everything is for free or next to nothing.they don't even think or care to think about what the grower still have to put up with to grow.and the guy talking about we need more laws and the state should be able to come into your house and ck up on u bs i say lmao.U know what would happen then?? smart guy u smart guy u??

growers would say fuck this were going back underground and u can pay the fucking street prices and have to put up with shady dealings and being shorted when we feel like it or over charge u next time cause u bitched about price this time. see how that works?? wow everyone wants something for nothing all the time wow.:stoned::thumbsup:

[palerider7777]

That attitude is exactly what will cause the state to try and regulate out the "loop hole". If growers keep the mind set that what they are doing is "illegal" how do you expect the general public to come to accept it?

If you want to grow and sell to dispensary, act like a business. If you want to sell to the secondary market, do it, and take your chances. Don't do both. You compromise the system when you do.

Don't try and use economic arguments as to why you need to sell some of your crop on secondary markets either. If you clients can afford to buy fro you there they can find a legitimate dispensary to purchase from. Unless you are just giving it away to people, but I doubt that...

Just because until now everything has been done on the sly, doesn't mean it should continue that way.

your in a dream world dude u need to sit back and think a min the growers have to think like that if not they will get pinched even tho it's "legal" the leo still have a hard on for us.U ever read the news? besides that a bigger issue is robbers if the word gets out that "hey look"over there is a grow house it would be a matter of time that someone will want to rob it.

this is'nt big pharm were not backed by anyone it's our own necks out on the line not yours.were not backed by big gov and have all the goodies and gov to protect us.we have to worry bout them and the peeps on the street.get it correct.

[ViridisWellness]

Good day all, I hope all here read the MMJ-News on a monthly basis. As a registered patient/caregiver/dispensary owner I want to let you know that several other dispensaries in this wonderful state have been out right lying to thier perspective patients. I have called several and I get this response, "you must assign us as your caregiver, and you may only obtain meds from us." This is an out right lie!!!!!!! Check out the 2009 Colorado Patients" Campaign @ [url=http://www.cannabisunivercity.webs.com/09copatientscampaign.htm]
as a registered Colorado MMJ patient has the right to obtain meds from any source no matter who your caregiver is!!!! It is time patients stand up and make the dispenaries realize that they will not survive without us, take away the membership fees, the outragous prices for meds, and quit lying to us!!!!!! A reputable dispensary will not require you to sign a contract, pay a membership fee, and will also show true compassion for thier patients by charging them according to thier income, not the dispensaries profit margin, in reality it only cost 400.00 to grow a pound of pot, so why are they charging 400.00 an ounce to folks on SSI or SS-DI? Get involved and speak out!!!!

While I agree with you that a patient should have the right to go wherever they want for their "caregiver" services, I completely disagree with your analysis here, and I'll begin with this:

1) Your link is broken, but I went on Cannabis U's site and checked out the Patient Campaign. This looks to be an effort within the community (and a good one I think) to try and get the state to accept multiple caregiver nominations per patient. It's what they want the law to be, not necessarily what it is.

From A-20:
â??A patient who has not designated a primary caregiver at the time of application may do so in writing at any time during the effective period of the registry identification card, and the primary caregiver may act in this capacity after such designation.â?�

2) Just because the language in Amendment 20 implicitly gives a patient the option of not nominating caregiver, that is by no means the same as saying that a) they can buy from any dispensary, and b) the dispensary can sell to any patient that comes strolling to their door. Reading the next section from A-20 I think helps explain why I think that's not a smart idea:

(2) (a) â?? â?¦ a patient or primary care-giver charged with a violation of the state's criminal laws related to the patient's medical use of marijuana will be deemed to have established an affirmative defense to such allegation where:

(III) The patient and his or her primary care-giver were collectively in possession of amounts of marijuana only as permitted under this section.â?�

This language here doesnâ??t help the dispensaries that are taking the â??de facto/ad hoc caregiverâ?� argument. Primary doesnâ??t seem synonymous with ad hoc or de facto to me. It seems pretty clear that the spirit of the law is that either a) as a patient, you grow your own, or b) you assign those rights to a caregiver.

But if some non-patient walks into your door and you sell to them, well, you're selling one of your patient's product aren't you? That's the bottom line. You aren't suddenly growing on the spot for this stranger. You're dipping into your actual patient's products, to which they're legally entitled.

So to say that, because Amendment 20 doesnâ??t force you to choose a caregiver, you therefore can buy from anyone seems like total wishful thinking. It's a big jump, and one in which you may eventually take a big fall for. A safer interpretation would be to assume that the A-20 drafters meant that, if you donâ??t nominate a caregiver, youâ??re therefore growing for yourself. No mention of Walgreens is included in A-20, as much as we would like it.

Again, I support this and hope that patients and caregiver end up explicitly receiving this option. But it's not cool coming on here and labeling other dispensary owners liars about it. They're just being safer than you are - Mr. Dispensary Owner. Some could reasonably say that you have a not so altruistic interest in taking such a righteous stand.

Anyway, good luck, and remember - it's usually the fastest car on the highway that gets pulled over.

[palerider7777]

While I agree with you that a patient should have the right to go wherever they want for their "caregiver" services, I completely disagree with your analysis here, and I'll begin with this:

1) Your link is broken, but I went on Cannabis U's site and checked out the Patient Campaign. This looks to be an effort within the community (and a good one I think) to try and get the state to accept multiple caregiver nominations per patient. It's what they want the law to be, not necessarily what it is.

From A-20:
â??A patient who has not designated a primary caregiver at the time of application may do so in writing at any time during the effective period of the registry identification card, and the primary caregiver may act in this capacity after such designation.â?�

2) Just because the language in Amendment 20 implicitly gives a patient the option of not nominating caregiver, that is by no means the same as saying that a) they can buy from any dispensary, and b) the dispensary can sell to any patient that comes strolling to their door. Reading the next section from A-20 I think helps explain why I think that's not a smart idea:

(2) (a) â?? â?¦ a patient or primary care-giver charged with a violation of the state's criminal laws related to the patient's medical use of marijuana will be deemed to have established an affirmative defense to such allegation where:

(III) The patient and his or her primary care-giver were collectively in possession of amounts of marijuana only as permitted under this section.â?�

This language here doesnâ??t help the dispensaries that are taking the â??de facto/ad hoc caregiverâ?� argument. Primary doesnâ??t seem synonymous with ad hoc or de facto to me. It seems pretty clear that the spirit of the law is that either a) as a patient, you grow your own, or b) you assign those rights to a caregiver.

But if some non-patient walks into your door and you sell to them, well, you're selling one of your patient's product aren't you? That's the bottom line. You aren't suddenly growing on the spot for this stranger. You're dipping into your actual patient's products, to which they're legally entitled.

So to say that, because Amendment 20 doesnâ??t force you to choose a caregiver, you therefore can buy from anyone seems like total wishful thinking. It's a big jump, and one in which you may eventually take a big fall for. A safer interpretation would be to assume that the A-20 drafters meant that, if you donâ??t nominate a caregiver, youâ??re therefore growing for yourself. No mention of Walgreens is included in A-20, as much as we would like it.

Again, I support this and hope that patients and caregiver end up explicitly receiving this option. But it's not cool coming on here and labeling other dispensary owners liars about it. They're just being safer than you are - Mr. Dispensary Owner. Some could reasonably say that you have a not so altruistic interest in taking such a righteous stand.

Anyway, good luck, and remember - it's usually the fastest car on the highway that gets pulled over.

if a patient can get it anywhere like it says in the law pretty much and your growing for a patient that says they only want 2 oz's a month then that leaves alot of room to sell the rest to others in need?

it still is'nt clear to me how if your a grower you can only have such and such on hand by law per patient.but a shop seems to have so much more than that on hand at all times? if cops walked into a caregivers grow room and he was only allowed 3 in bloom and he had 4 he's going to jail yet shops seems to have much more than they do patients"just guessing about that" and they are good to go? i also have talked to a couple lawyers about this and they said sometimes u can be doing everything legal to the t and leo will and do just walk in and take your shit and or find a way to lock u up.

now i don't know if thats true or if they are just trying to get me to hire them but from what i get from all this is even tho it's legal it's not in the eyes of the leo and they will try to find another way to take u down?not sure has anyone had anything like that happen or leo come to there house and all was good?

my understanding was 2 oz dry and 6 plant count per caregiver/patient?yet i see things like i have a doc note that allows me to grow 20 plants myself.i was told that u may have a docs note but it's still not legal and u will go to jail if leo sees it.who knows im treating it as if it was still completely illegal.:jointsmile:

[ViridisWellness]

Dispensaries may be growing for themselves, or they may be assigning their grow rights (via contract) to actual growers, and then buying that product. It's in a dispensary's best interest to get as many people to nominate them as caregiver, then turn around and either grow or assign for grow. Many of these places have hundreds, if not thousands of patients who designate them, so yes, they can have lots of product on hand.

As far as cops just coming in and busting you, even if you're following the law, well, I haven't been hearing these stories. As a matter of fact, the Boulder County Sheriff isn't even actively looking into dispensaries because of their potential liability if they do a bust, then confiscate the product. Police under A-20 have a duty to preserve product until such time that the suspect has either been charged, or not. They don't want to end up spending their police budget on pot gone bad, or anything else they fuck up.

I'm sure there are some hard-ass cops out there who are itching to shut people down, and there's probably some horror stories out there, but that doesn't seem to be happening in CO now. I'd love to hear if it has. But I think you're right - those attorneys are probably trying to drum up some more biz by putting the fear of Jah in you. Much better to have the Light of Jah!

Any amounts over the 2-3-3 limit may be considered an affirmative defense if you have a doctor supporting it. So if a patient can't smoke, and needs to ingest for example, she'd be more likely to get away with exceeding the limits. But if you're some UC student with a prescription for severe pain, forget about it.

All in all I agree, a grower can easily exceed even a couple oz's per month for one patient, so why not be allowed to supply the dispensaries who need the product? It's being done a lot, and there are legal ways to help protect yourself as a grower. Hopefully, before too long, there will be some clarification to the law that allows growers some peace of mind.

[COVaper]

My experiences at your dispensary do not remotely resemble your description.
After five months with you as my caregiver all I received were promises.
When I brought up my complaints I was told my membership would be canceled.
Compassionate? Hardly.
I would suggest finding another dispensary. Better yet grow your own medicine.
Patients Choice is for patient chumps!

Regards

[GratefulMeds]

We have over 15-20 strains available at anytime,we also have eatables, we never charge over $350.00 per zip. Grateful Meds, it's worth the drive to Nederland.

Grateful Meds
Nederland Colorado
303 258 7703
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[rebgirl420]

I think it's absolutely dispicable that there are people trying to take advantage and mislead people who really need marijuana as a medicine.

That to me is really fucked up.