A state of confusion

Dante Vitullox, a medical marijuana collective director: “We need a government agency to regulate this.” The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

State guidelines, not laws, address medical marijuana use. Even though local law enforcement agencies say they follow those guidelines, users and top law enforcement officials alike say they wish the issues of growing, distributing and using it were more clear-cut.

And despite the guidelines, there is disagreement between authorities and medical marijuana collectives on such basic issues as whether it’s appropriate for storefronts to operate like other businesses and whether a registration card must be issued by the county in which the medi-pot patient resides.

Evolving landscape

The possession and cultivation of marijuana by certain patients and  their caregivers was decriminalized in California 13 years ago with voter approval of  Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

In 2004, Senate Bill 420, the Medical Marijuana Program Act, was approved. It requires that California maintain a program in which patients and caregivers can voluntarily register themselves and obtain registration cards.

In June 2008, the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors decided it was up to local police to determine what the reasonable amount of medical marijuana was in individual cases after scrapping a policy that allowed 99 plants in a 100-square-foot area.

“They literally chose not to make a decision and leave it up to local  law enforcement. Doing so, they left a lot of people in danger,” said Dante Vitullo, a medical marijuana collective director.

Crescent City Police Chief Doug Plack is also critical of the supervisors’ decision.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “You know we’re not doctors. My officers don’t have any formal training as to knowing how much (marijuana) a patient needs.”

Last October, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum that said federal agents should no longer prosecute caregivers, patients and sanctioned suppliers that are in compliance with state law.

Still, there are no state laws pertaining to medi-pot marijuana use, sales or cultivation.

“That’s why they’re guidelines, so that no one can be held accountable for it,” said Plack.

Plack, Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson and Officer Mike Brown of the California Highway Patrol said they follow the AG guidelines that allow a patient to possess six mature plants, or 12 immature plants, and 8 ounces of processed marijuana (commonly referred to as the 6-8-12 limit).

According to the AG guidelines, even caregivers should only able to  possess the 6-18-12 amounts per patient, unless a doctor recommends that a patient needs more.

Ultimately, the amount of marijuana necessary to medicate is left up to officers, whether a person is a single patient or a caregiver.

“We need a government agency to regulate this,” said Vitullo, director of the Redwood Compassion Center (RCC), which opened in Crescent City last April as North State Collective.

RCC is one of three collectives in Del Norte County. The other two are Del Norte Collective, which is run by Randy Hodson Sr., and Redwood Coast Collective, which opened on Dec. 7.

Cards and doctors’ notes

The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

According to the AG guidelines, it is an MMP (Medical Marijuana Program) card.

Plack, Wilson and the CHP’s Brown agree the card is valid for one year.

Wilson said it is not required that patients get an MMP card. A doctors recommendation is acceptable, but he recommends local patients get an MMP card from the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services, 880 Northcrest Drive.

“They don’t have to (have a card), but it certainly cleans it up if  they do,” said Wilson.

Plack agreed, saying, “The best way to provide that information is by carrying a 215 card. Go through the Department of Health, they do all the footwork for that,” said Plack.

Plack and Wilson said that a doctor’s recommendation is valid, but they require their officers to call the doctor to verify that the person is a patient and to verify if the doctor is currently licensed to practice.

Both law enforcement heads said the MMP card spares their officers from making numerous calls, because the county MMP card is proof that the doctor’s recommendation has already been verified.

Vitullo said the cards do help when it comes to establishing validity as a marijuana patient, but the card is not free.

According to a spokesperson from the Del Norte County Department of  Health and Human Services, an MMP card costs $70 per person, $35 with Medi-Cal or $190 for a caregiver card.

They also are not common, at least the ones issued in Del Norte.

Vitullo estimated there were 3,000 medi-pot users in Del Norte County. Gary Blatnick, director of Health and Human Services said there are currently only 33 MMP card holders in Del Norte County and one caregiver MMP card holder.

Wilson said his deputies require that an MMP card b e issued from the county where the patient resides and that deputies will not accept an out-of-county card. Vitullo said that would create a problem, because he estimated 90 percent of local patients had their MMP issued in Humboldt County “because that is where most of the doctors are that prescribe the medicine (marijuana).”

Blatnick said that as far as he knew, no local doctors prescribe marijuana recommendations, but noted that no law requires a doctor to report that they do.

Vitullo believes MMP cards should be valid anywhere in California.

Russ Dunham of Coast Collective said local authorities’ policy stating  that MMP cards are valid only in the county of issuance creates many problems, especially in a vacation town like Crescent City.

“With the summers that we have here and the fishing, you’re going to have people coming from all over the state here,” said Dunham.

Currently, there is no state law, city or county ordinance that requires that an MMP card be from the county of issuance to be valid.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Morris said deputies enforce that an MMP card has to be from the county of issuance because it helps reduce the abuse of an MMP card.

He said it was to insure that people don’t come into Del Norte from another county with far more marijuana then they need for personal medicinal use.

“If you come from Humboldt with a valid 215 card and you have 8 ounces of marijuana with you when you get to Del Norte County, you’re going to be in trouble,” said Morris.

‘Why a storefront?’

All three of the current medi-pot collectives are outside the city limits, and within the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Wilson said he had no problem with collectives that are compliant with the AG guidelines.

He does have an issue with the price of the marijuana.

If a collective caters only to registered users and the transactions are only among themselves, then the price of the marijuana should be far less than the street price, he said.

“It really doesn’t cost that much to grow weed,” Wilson said. “It should cost them $200 a year to get their allotment of marijuana,” said Wilson.

Vitullo disagreed.

He said the electric bill to run the grow lights, the prices for fertilizer, the rent for the building and the overhead costs to run the collective make it necessary for the prices to be close to street prices.

But Vitullo said the most important reason prices were similar to street prices was to keep people from buying marijuana at the collective for a lower price, then turning around and selling it illegally to make a profit.

Wilson said he also had an issue with collectives having storefronts.

“Why do you need a storefront if you’re not looking for any walk-in business?” he said.

Vitullo responded that in order to comply with the guidelines, the collective needed to operate more like a business, which included having a sign and operating hours.

“There’s got to be some structure in order to operate in compliance,” he said.

A collective cannot legally be run from someone’s home, said Vitullo.

“We don’t have a giant neon sign, it’s a canvas banner,” he said.

Transparency called the key

Vitullo offers simple advice on how to keep a medical marijuana collective legitimate — don’t hide anything.

“We want to be the epitome of transparency of following the law or guidelines,” he said.

Vitullo said that the RCC now has over 400 patients and it started with 10 when it opened in April. He said he hired an accountant to keep track of incoming and outgoing marijuana and money.

If all the records are kept available for authorities, then they should have no reason to suspect a drug-dealing front, he said.

The RCC has a valid seller’s permit from the state, it carries insurance and every transaction is subject to state sales tax, said Vitullo.

He said the RCC donates a lot of money to local charities, such as Our Daily Bread Ministries, the California Peace Officers Association and Relay for Life.

An attorney is paid to come in and do compliance checks each month to  insure the RCC follows the AG guidelines, Vitullo said.

Twenty percent of the marijuana is kept available as a charity to registered RCC members who can’t pay or physically volunteer at the collective, he said.

There are two types of RCC members, growers and non-growers. Only about 3 percent of RCC’s registered patients are growers, said Vitullo. The other 97 percent contribute time or money to help the collective operate. Many prefer to donate money to the collective instead of volunteering at the center, because they fear their employers finding.

Most patients have full-time jobs, he said.

“The thing is, no insurance company is going to pay for this — these people that come in here have money,” he said.

Members are allowed to purchase up to 8 ounces, or six mature plants or 12 immature plants, the amounts recommended in the AG guidelines

Vitullo said he uses marijuana himself for medicinal purposes and is a registered medical marijuana patient. He said the RCC follows the AG guidelines that pertain to patients and caregivers.

All RCC patients are told how to properly purchase, store and transport their marijuana, he said.

Vitullo said he does not drive when he takes his “medication”, and said he barely ever drives, regardless if he takes his marijuana medication or not. He was dropped off for an interview at The Triplicate and then picked up.

“You wouldn’t want anyone driving who just took their Vicodin (narcotic pain medication) either, would you?” he said.

He also advises patients to use their medi-pot only in their home and not in public.

Registered patients should only transport their “medicine” in a locked box with the original medical marijuana recommendation and their MMP card (if they have one) on top in their vehicle’s trunk, said Vitullo, adding that’s how it should be stored at home as well.