75A - PH - MEDICAL MARIJUANA - PROHIBIT

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county, As discussed above, all such store-front medical marijuana businesses are illegal. Consequently, all are subject to criminal prosecution. Practical Issues in California A. How existing dispensaries operate Despite their clear illegality, some cities do have existing and operational dispensaries. Assuming arguendo, that they may operate, it may be helpful to review the mechanics of the business. The former Green Cross dispensary in San Francisco illustrates how a typical medical marijuana dispensary works.' A guard or employee may check for medical marijuana cards or physician recommendations at the entrance. Many types and grades of marijuana are usually available. Sales clerks wil l probably make recommendations about what type of marijuana wrli best relieve a given medical symptom; although employees are neither pharmacists nor doctors. Baked goods containing marijuana may be available and sold; although there is usually no health permit to sell baked goods. The dispensary will give the patient a form to sign declaring that the dispensary is their "primary caregiver" (a process fraught with legal difficulties). The patient then selects the marijuana they want and is told what th.e "contribution" will be for the product. The code specifically prohibits the sale of marijuana to a patient so "contributions" are made to reimburse the dispensary far its time and care in making "product" available. However, if a calculation is made based on the figures in the article, it is clear that these "contributions" can easily add up to millions of dollars per year. That is a very large cash flow fora "non-profit" organisation denying any participation in the retail sale of narcotics. Before its application to renew its business license was denied by the City of San Francisco, there were single days that Green Cross sold $45,000.00 worth of marijuana. On Saturdays, Green Cross could sell marijuana to forty-three patients an hour. The marijuana sold at the dispensary was obtained from growers who brought it to the store in backpacks. A medium-sized backpack would hold approximately $16,000.UO worth of marijuana. Green Cross used many different marijuana growers. It is clear that dispensaries are running as if they are businesses, not legally valid cooperatives. Additionally, they claim to be the "primar}~ caregivers" of patients. This is a spurious claim. As discussed above, the term "primary caregiver" has a very specific meaning and defined legal qualifications. A primary caregiver is an individual who has "consistently assumed responsibility for the housin ,health, or safet of a patient".~'' The statutory definition includes some clinics, health care facilities, residential care facilities, and hospices. If more than one patient designates the same person as the primary caregiver, all individuals must reside in the same city or county. In most circumstances the primary caregiver must be at least 18 years of age. It is almost impossible for astore-front medical marijuana business to gain true primary caregiver status. A business would have to prove that it "consistently had assumed responsibility for [a patient's] housing, health, or safety."~4 The key to being a primary caregiver is not simply that medical marijuana is provided for a patient's health: the responsibility for the patient's health must be consistent. 75A-70