Medical pot comes to Bellmawr

For nearly two years, a clean white warehouse stood empty in the middle of a bustling industrial park where nitrogen canisters and sheet metal were being produced. Then in June, Compassionate Sciences announced it had obtained the approvals it needed to begin growing thousands of marijuana plants inside the building in Bellmawr, a Camden County borough of 12,000 less than 10 miles from Philadelphia.

Now, just in time for autumn, the first harvest of the sweet-smelling crop is being processed while the second is expected to be ready in three weeks.

"The growing process has been fabulous," said Michael Nelson, the general manager of the dispensary, during a media tour Thursday of the 18,000-square-foot former T-shirt factory.

On Monday, patients with special state-issued photo IDs and doctors' approvals will begin arriving at the dispensary by appointment to make a purchase, he said. Patients eventually will be able to choose among 24 medical-marijuana strains, among them Blackberry Kush, Agent Orange, Lavendar, Chem Dog, and Ghost OG Moonshine.

The first dispensary that opened in South Jersey, two years ago, had been restricted to only three varieties under the state law at that time.

Nelson said some strains that Compassionate Sciences will offer have only 1 percent THC, the ingredient that produces euphoria, while others have more than 25 percent. The dispensary is also planning to produce strains with a high CBD content favored to treat children with severe epilepsy.

A glass display case in the dispensary also shows samples of other strains - such as Wappa and Very Berry - which will be available in a few weeks as the plants mature.

The cost will be $480 for one ounce of dry cannabis buds - $40 less than the price charged by Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor Township, the only other dispensary in South Jersey and the first to open.

"We looked at market prices, what others are charging, and wanted it to be more affordable," Nelson said.

Gretchen McCarthy, the Bellmawr dispensary manager, said she had fielded calls from many patients who want to know: "Are your prices going to be lower?" She said the price structure will be reexamined as time goes on to see if "different tiers" can be added to meet demand. Low-income patients will be offered a 20 percent discount and veterans a 10 percent break, she said.

Because the federal government still considers marijuana to be an illegal substance, preventing banks from participating in transactions, only cash or debit cards will be accepted. In recent years, the Obama administration has said it would not prosecute those who participate in marijuana programs that are regulated by the states - 23 so far and Washington, D.C.

Only New Jersey residents who are being treated for one of a dozen ailments, approved by the state program, may make a purchase at the Compassionate Sciences dispensary. The ailments include cancer, terminal illness, HIV/AIDs, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and seizure disorder.

Nelson, who opened his first marijuana dispensary in Montana eight years ago and sold it earlier this year, said patients at the New Jersey dispensary would need an appointment the first week. Later, walk-ins will be allowed. Nelson works for PalliaTech, a New York-based company that has helped Compassionate Sciences start the operation and that will run it. PalliaTech also is affiliated with dispensaries in Illinois and Washington and operates a cannabis testing laboratory in Colorado.

McCarthy said patients have told her they plan to transfer from one of the three other dispensaries that are now open in the state. Besides the one in Egg Harbor, the others are in Woodbridge, in central New Jersey, and Montclair, near New York. All, like the Bellmawr site, are nonprofits.

Twenty employees were hired to run the Compassionate Sciences operation. The cultivation and trimming are done by both hand and machine, McCarthy said.

In the back rooms, the cannabis plants are nurtured beneath brilliant white high-pressure sodium lights that emit a pale blue and yellow glow. Large fans help control the temperature.

Unlike many other dispensaries that allow the plants to reach six feet or taller, Nelson said he prefers the "sea of green" method and limits their size. Many of the plants were bushy and only about 3 feet tall.

Nelson said that the cultivation period takes about three months. The plants come from clones and are watered with specially formulated nutrients. Afterward they are trimmed and then harvested and processed.

Only buds that can be smoked or baked into a product at home will be sold at this time. Nelson said that Compassionate Sciences applied last week for approval to begin manufacturing topical cannabis and lozenges. Later, he said the company will seek approvals to produce edible forms of marijuana.

Though Gov. Christie reluctantly signed a bill allowing dispensaries to sell edible cannabis two years ago for children's use, his administration has yet to approve any of these products. The health department, which oversees the program, has reviewed plans presented by two other dispensaries in the past, but it currently is considering only the application submitted by Compassionate Sciences, a spokesperson said.

Nearly 5,300 patients have registered with the state's marijuana program, considerably fewer than the 100,000 patients that dispensary operators initially anticipated when they applied for permits to open after the law was adopted more than five years ago.

Nelson said that if patients purchase the maximum two ounces a month that state law allows, the dispensary has enough product to cater to about 4,000 patients at capacity. The dispensary also has made arrangements to use an adjacent building on Coolidge Avenue if it needs to expand in the future.

"We're glad to be opening," Nelson said, saying there were no snags during the growing process. "But we picked a day when the hurricane is supposed to come," he said, smiling.

jhefler@phillynews.com

856-779-3224 @JanHefler

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