We have a couple of new projects in the works to ensure that the dispensary system reflects a medical rather than a recreational system. We’re working with Arizona’s pharmacy/poison control systems to put together a contract to provide technical assistance and educational materials to the future dispensary medical directors. We’re also putting together a contract to hire a vendor to help us ensure that the future dispensaries are truly “non-profit”. The contractor will be reviewing the required dispensary audited financial statements to make sure they’re on the up-and-up in terms of truly being “non-profit”. For example- (among other things) the contractor will be looking for evidence that dispensaries are getting “fair value” for goods, services, salaries, and reimbursements- to make sure that they don’t use a shell game to over-pay for things or services as a way of moving assets out of the dispensary. Stay tuned.
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About the Author: Will Humble
Will Humble, M.P.H.
Director
Arizona Department of Health Services
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This working with Arizona’s “pharmacy/poison control”… “systems” has zero place in the “separate” Medical Marijuana medical system. Medical Marijuana can’t be legally prescribed by a doctor, only “recommended” by a doctor. There is a major difference in the two ‘separate’ systems of medical care. “Medical” is the only word that connects these two ‘systems’ issue. All I see is more regulations to make things as hard as possible for a dispensary to open and operate in order to deliver “medical” care to patients. The people in charge of cobbling up rules are the ones that apparently uneducated about marijuana and exactly how it became illegal in the first place. Ignorance is the chosen word in this instance because ignorance is an “excuse” for bad decisions.
It would be wise for ADHS to include the community in its dialog when considering more regulation on dispensaries.
Right now the current Arizona laws and rules appear to be an excellent representation of other states successes and corrections of errors. The state has created very fair rules and laws to govern dispensaries so far. Now it sounds like there is a movement within the government to further regulate to contain ‘abuses’ as a pre-emptive strike.
Looking for abuses in ‘“fair value” for goods, services, salaries, and reimbursements’ is very arbitrary. What can the industry expect? We don’t know yet.
Does the state have the right to set salaries and prices? Even though these dispensaries are non-profit, they will incur over head, competitive salaries, normal business expenses, extremely high federal taxes (35% with no chance of deductions), state taxes, etc..
The risks are high too. Dispensaries and their agents run the risk of being closed, assets seized and agents jailed by the feds. Will the state allow for these issues in its “fair value” calculations? How about a legal fund?
Even though these businesses are non-profit they still have competition between themselves not to mention patients growing their own (the 25 mile rule will face opposition in the future). If a qualified patient can save $100 will they drive 100 miles? Or to find a better quality product? In California they will and do. Why can’t we let this new market regulate itself? A balance will be found just like any other business with a product in a competitive market.
And what about non-profits that applied for a dispensary license that are out of state, or their founders that are out of state? Arizona doesn’t allow its non-profits to be LLCs and there are huge reporting requirements in Arizona. Will we allow out of state non-profits to participate in the business? If so, can we regulate them? Then there is the illegal trade, which may never go away if we make it harder for dispensaries to operate.
Don’t forget the most important reason we are doing all this, THE PATIENTS. Is ADHS going to make it more difficult to serve these people? The truth is, the medical marijuana business is here to stay because it helps people with many illnesses and symptoms.
To create artificial regulations in an effort to ‘make sure’ things are on the up-and-up is a very nice way to say people can’t be trusted and therefore need authority to watch over them. Over regulating just creates more expenses for any business and then the price of the product must go up.
Yes we need to audit these businesses but not from the standpoint of catching abuses before they happen but from the standpoint of making the system better. We don’t know yet what will go wrong or right and if the government tries to anticipate the problems before they happen they run the risk of eliminating the good practices with the bad. Then how would we learn what is possible. We must make mistakes before we know correct action.
This sounds like california all over again remember they had the same plan… And it failed
What is the deal with ‘compassion clubs’? How can they get away with charging a ‘donation’?
These so-called ‘donations’ = $300-$500 per ounce!
Also, many of the ‘caregivers’ are nothing more then drug dealers. They were dealers BEFORE the Law was passed, and they are STILL drug dealers. They charge their patients $200+ per ounce, and sell all the extra cannabis they have grown at “compassion clubs”. How can we stop this?
How can we create TRUE compassion clubs, where it is more of a co-op of patients and caregivers working together to grow this medicine minus the profit?
In my opinion, most dispensaries will be nothing more than legal drug dealers who will charge patients $300-$500 per ounce.
Sorry for the ranting, but I have met many patients and caregivers who have nothing but $$$$$ in their eyes; and that is a travesty.
Until the $$$$ is taken out of the equation, Cannabis will never be looked upon as a legitimate medicine, food source and industrial product.
Lora,
If you believe that something illegal is happening, please contact your local police department.