A new crop: Distribution

Editor’s note: Selling medical marijuana to people with serious illnesses soon will be legal in Illinois. The Sun-Times wanted to see how the process has been working so far in Colorado, a state where it’s already legal to sell marijuana to any adult, and focus on a business there that wants to win one of the coveted licenses to grow marijuana in Illinois.

DENVER — When a customer seeking medical marijuana comes into the dispensary on Colfax Street, Jamie Murray wants to know: How do you want to feel?

Each type of marijuana has different effects.

“If somebody wants to feel a little bit more stimulated, I’m going to point them in the direction of the sativa. If they want to feel a little bit more euphoric, I’ll go with a hybrid. If they want some pain relief or [feel something] nice and relaxing, I’ll send them to an indica,” said Murray, a “budtender” or a patient consultant at the beMindful dispensary.

“And then I’ll let them pop the top and check them out for themselves, because the nose will know.”

It’s a concept that may seem unfamiliar to seriously ill people in Illinois currently using marijuana to help with symptoms of their severe conditions. They have few choices and often shady circumstances to deal with when they want the product.

But that’s soon going to change.

And as Illinois begins to implement its medical marijuana program, Denver-based beMindful, along with its Illinois partners, is working hard to get some of the coveted licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. The group is one of 214 businesses seeking the licenses, of which 60 will be granted statewide, with 13 in Chicago.

The dispensary, marked by a green cross, is on a busy road in Denver’s Mayfair neighborhood.

On one side of the store are the medical products – smokable buds in small glass containers; infused chocolate and gummy bears; tinctures and transdermal patches – and it’s only available to patients approved by Colorado officials.

On the other side is the more expensive recreational marijuana, available to anyone 21 and older.

Murray’s knowledge goes beyond just type of marijuana – different strains offer different relief for patients based on the cannabinoids that are in effect.

For instance, cancer patients can use the strain “Head Trip,” a sativa that acts as a “motivator” and appetite stimulant, he said. “Triangle Kush” can help with pain relief.

And for a “midday euphoria,” “Sour Diesel and Deep Chunk,” a hybrid, is what you want, Murray said.

“It’s going to start really relaxing but finish in the mind. It has the best of both worlds,” he said.

For medical marijuana, beMindful was charging $8.62 for a gram in early September. An ounce was $172.35. Illinois patients will be able to buy 2.5 ounces every 14 days, according to state rules.

In the kitchen

Several miles away in a bustling kitchen, chefs are making marijuana-infused candy like the ones sold in the dispensary.

Joshua Fink, the executive chef at the edible marijuana products business, called incredibles, is tasked with creating tasty food products that are infused with hash oil or kief, an extraction of the THC crystals. THC is one of the psychoactive elements of cannabis. The “earthy” tasting product is mixed in with traditional ingredients like sugar, cocoa and gelatin to create recreational and medical “edibles.”

Here in Illinois, beMindful is partnering with the head of a Chicago-area food science company with plans to create tasty food that is held to the same standards as non-infused snacks.

The goal of the company is to create products, such as marijuana-infused beverages, on a mass scale. They want to sell their food-grade products to all 60 dispensaries planned for Illinois.

Just another business on the block

Back on Colfax Street, the dispensary is just one of many businesses on the block. It’s next door to a hair salon and a Cuban restaurant. Around the corner is Emick’s Auto Service.

David Emick, who owns the shop and whose family is the dispensary’s landlord, said the area is safer because of the dispensary and its extensive security system, which includes cameras. Illinois dispensaries will be required to have cameras and a panic button or similar system in case of emergency.

The dispensary, especially since recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, attracts a lot of customers, which can mean more trash and noise, Emick said. But it also means some other businesses get some of the clientele, too.

Initially, though, there were some concerns.

“How is this going to affect my business as far as being adjacent to it? How will my clients look at me having a pot shop next door?” Emick said.

“Nobody cares.”