The people who work and live around the Manitou Community Center say they don’t have a problem with the concept of medical marijuana.
It’s the medical marijuana dispensary on the corner that concerns them.
T-Town Alternative Medicine, one of about 30 dispensaries in Tacoma, opened this spring at 4823 S. 66th St., in the cinder-block building where a neighborhood restaurant had recently closed.
The dispensary opened as the Legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire were shredding the laws dispensaries used to justify their work. The problem is, they did not replace those shreds with a coherent state policy determining who, if anyone, can get medical marijuana, and how.
The result is a mash-up of inconsistent legal opinions at the federal, state, county and city levels. The City of Tacoma plans to have a position sorted out by late July, about the same time the dispensary owners and their lawyers work out a strategy for staying in business.
In contrast to that mess, T-Town Alternative Medicine is a model of order – tidy, nicely painted, secure, and, for now, doing business.
The owners, however, have not connected with the neighborhood.
That has left unease between the camps – and a swath of surprisingly common ground.
Pat Haase, a sculptor whose studio is in the community center, did not even know what it was. Now that she does, she’s fine with it.
Shannon Larmon said resources like this are “fabulous” for people who suffer from hard-to-manage pain.
“I do approve of using marijuana for medicinal purposes,” she said, “but not in an area surrounded by children.”
Larmon runs Kids Korner Day Care in the community center across the street from T-Town.
“A couple of my parents were not thrilled to have it so close to the kids,” she said.
No kidding. Most residential neighborhoods don’t have marijuana dispensaries occupying the only commercial building for blocks around. Most parents don’t know how the outlets operate, or whom they serve.
In the absence of understanding, imagination kicks in.
Larmon has seen no trouble at all at T-Town. They have been quiet neighbors.
“It’s very low-key,” Larmon said of the business.
But she imagines what could go wrong. What if customers smoke pot and drive? What if there is a robbery, and a gunfight? What if a drug thief runs into the day care to hide? What if the business attracts stoners and dealers?
Abe McHenry lives next door to the dispensary and said there’s been no trouble at all with it, though it is not the enterprise he would have preferred.
He was taken aback when it opened. He thought that when a business like that is coming, the neighbors should be notified.
Elder Mark Hutchenson of the House of Prayer Church of God in Christ thinks neighbors should have a say, even if the dispensary ends up being legal.
He also sees a bitter irony. Neighbors wanted a viable business in the building but didn’t support the ones that tried. “Every business that’s been there has struggled,” he said. “This is the only one that’s had a constant flow.”
That flow, he said, includes people who clearly have illnesses, and some who look healthy. It makes him wonder where they got their prescriptions.
“I’m all for everything to help people,” Hutchenson said.
If marijuana can ease pain and debilitating symptoms, he said, people should have access to it through a regulated chain of production and distribution through pharmacies.
Good luck getting that sorted out by lawmakers from the federal to the local level.
In the meantime, through July at least, T-Town Alternative Medicine is doing brisk business serving patients whose doctors think marijuana does them good.
Its owners owe the people who work, live and play nearby a meeting where they outline practices and safeguards, and establish easy communication.
Refreshingly, they agree.
“We would love to speak with the community to address their concerns, and let them know who we are and what we are trying to accomplish here,” Keenya Bennit said. “This community is extremely important to us.”
Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677 kathleen.merryman @thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/street
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