Marijuana dispensary in South Lake Tahoe

unedited 3/09 Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Mary’s doctor told her if she kept losing weight, she’d have to be admitted to the hospital. Initially the South Lake Tahoe woman couldn’t keep food down because of the nausea from the infusion of chemo drugs for breast cancer and later from the nausea from the treatment for cytomegalovirus.
A co-worker suggested the 52-year-old smoke pot to stimulate her appetite.
It worked.
The problem a year ago was finding a place to buy cannabis. She and her caregiver didn’t like breaking the law. (Their real names are not being used.) They didn’t like not knowing if what they bought off the street was pure or laced with something. They didn’t like not being able to readily get it when Mary needed it.
Now Mary gets her goods from Tahoe Wellness Collective, a pot dispensary that opened this year in the Bijou Center.
“In today’s world with about half of the country on prescription drugs we want to show people there is a natural way,” said Cody Bass, director of the collective. “As a collective, we facilitate the exchange through members.”
This means the suppliers are members as well as the users.
Part of being in the collective means giving back by volunteering. This could be working at the collective, offering a class or providing a service like massage.
The collective has leased the adjacent space to develop it as the Tahoe Wellness Community Center. Membership won’t be required nor will medicine be allowed there.

Legal questions

When Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, was approved by California voters in 1996 it meant state law conflicted with federal law. Federally does not recognize any legal use of marijuana.
“We don’t enforce federal laws. They don’t enforce state laws, especially when it comes to dope,” said Hans Uthe, who heads the Tahoe branch of the El Dorado County District Attorneys Office. “We have worked very hard to be sensitive to the principle and letter of the law. There are some gray areas.”
Barack Obama as a candidate and now president has said he doesn’t want the Drug Enforcement Administration closing down legitimate marijuana dispensaries. On the campaign trail he said the prescribed morphine his mother took as she died of cancer is no different than seeking pain relief from marijuana.
With Eric Holder as U.S. attorney general, it is likely to mean the DEA will stay away. Federal agents were in town in January to close Patient to Patient, another dispensary.
Bass doesn’t believe his outfit will face the same consequences. Part he said has to do with who is residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and part because his collective, which is affiliated with one in Sacramento, is on the up and up.
Lt. Marty Hale with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department is aware of the collective, but wouldn’t elaborate on whether officers will let it exist or if the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team will take a look at the business.
He did say, “It’s easier for us to let the DEA take the lead on things like that.”
It’s a little murky about whether the collective is required to have a city business license. Bass says no because it’s a nonprofit collective and not a business. City Attorney Cathy DiCamillo says all nonprofits must have a city business license, but have a different pay scale than for-profit businesses. However, she said she advised city staff not to issue the collective a business license because it is violating federal law.
Bass addressed the City Council last month to explain his cause and invite them to check out the place. He is said he wants the collective to be integral part of the community and plans to give back like any other nonprofit.

Variety of choices

Even though Mary has all the paperwork to allow her to get medical marijuana, she wasn’t always comfortable going to the collective because she feared the cops might raid the place. Bass said the same privacy laws governing hospitals dictate what any law enforcement officer would be able to confiscate.
Dr. Abby Cohen prescribed medical marijuana for Mary’s pain and nausea. Cohen declined an interview with the Tahoe Mountain News.
It’s not just lighting up a joint or taking a hit off a bong. The medicine, as the collective calls it, comes in many forms and types.
“I’ve tried the tea. It’s really quite good,” Mary said.
It’s up to the collective members to self-regulate their use, to experiment with what works for them. It eases her pain, curtails nausea, stimulates her appetite and allows her to sleep.
Mary has cut back on the number of prescription meds she was taking because the medical marijuana is working. “Mostly they want to write a prescription for everything,” Mary said of doctors.
Behind a locked door at the collective only members who must be 18 or older are allowed. No smoking is permitted on site.
On the bottom shelf are edibles like chocolate bars and cheese crackers. Those go for about $4. Topicals are good for pain and arthritis. Tinksters are an elixir – a drop on the tongue does the trick.
The top shelf has the flowers – the stuff that is smoked. They come in one-eighth, one-quarter and half grams. Occasionally medicine is doled out in ounces. All are in jars, though pre-rolled “cones” are also available.
Tahoe Wellness Collective, which has about 250 members, is open seven days a week from 10am to 7pm.