Dozens of comments and questions ensued when we broke the news Monday that a medical-marijuana business is moving into the former Payday Loans space on the northeast corner of 35th/Roxbury. John Davis, owner of the forthcoming Northwest Patient Resource Center, told WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz that day that it will be a “facility,” not a “dispensary.” WSB’ers asked, what’s the difference? So that’s part of our followup:
Davis says he’s worked in the industry for about three years, and has “been working in cannabis law reform for almost 20 years.” He says there’s no formal training for what he prefers to call the “medical cannabis” industry, so that’s how he learned how to be “able to judge and properly help patients choose a type of cannabis.”
Back to “facility” vs. “dispensary.” Davis says he avoids the latter term since he believes it has “a bad name, really, from what’s going on down in California … (and it) isn’t really what we are trying to be. We are trying to be a resource to patients that have a need for medical cannabis but have medical conditions that can benefit from other resources.”
What kind of resources? “We want to have literature, a community bulletin board where groups can get together, people with similar conditions, referrals to doctors, that sort of thing.”
Unlike West Seattle’s newest two medical-marijuana outlets, Northwest Patient Resource Center will have outside signage, Davids says, but “we want to keep our signage nice and respectful for the community – we are not going to have big cannabis leaves or anything like that.”
Some commenters wondered why West Seattle needs (at least) three medical-marijuana outlets. “Firstly, in West Seattle, there are almost 50 pharmacies,” Davis retorted. “Three locations is not a lot of locations.” But without naming names or locations, he says, “I’ve seen a lot of emerging ‘canna-businesses’ … some of them, I like what they are doing, some, as a patient, I wouldn’t … What we think we’re doing is different. I think we’ll be fine.”
We asked about security, given that public-safety authorities have said medical-marijuana businesses can be targeted by thieves/robbers (and one in West Seattle was held up less than a month ago): “We will be the most secure facility in Western Washington, and that’s a good thing for many reasons. For one thing, police like to see that – they say, ‘OK, someone’s open, will it bring violence into the community?’ So if you don’t pay a mind to security, you’re going to have problems.”
Mindful of community concerns, he insisted, “You’re not going to feel threatened in your neighborhood. I know some people see us as invaders, but we’re just trying to do a business.”
We asked Davis if the medical-marijuana-business-regulation bill that’s now passed the state House and Senate, SB 5073, would change anything regarding his plans. He views it with optimism: “I see the bill as a great next step. Our industry needs some regulation – because some of the operations I’ve seen don’t have rules, so they make up their own. A little regulation is a great thing for the community.” He also foresees that it will be welcomed by law enforcement: “They want clarification, is this a legitimate business, or not a legitimate business? Helping clarify some of that is, I think, a good thing for all sides, including neighborhoods wondering, ‘what’s coming into my community?’.” He think it will help the medical-marijuana industry be “more medical.”
Some commenters wondered about the size of the storefront Davis is moving into. He says they are trying to plan ahead, be mindful of growth, since, he says, the new legislation will restrict the amount of outlets per county (he says he’s still reading the bill but believes it’s one per 20,000 residents, which would mean 96 allowable in King County). “We want to make sure we have enough transaction area so that we don’t have lines out the door.”
He’s hoping Northwest Patient Resource Center will be open within a month; he’s expecting to be open regular business-type hours, likely six days a week (probably closed on Sundays). He says he’s hoping to alleviate community concerns and has already “met several of the business owners” in the area. “We’re professionals. This is going to be a professional facility. We understand there are going to be neighborhood concerns; we aim to address them. I think once we open and people see who we are, they’re going to be much more comfortable.”
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