Synopsis

In the documentary Dispensing Cannabis: The California Story, voices from inside discuss practices and issues involved in distributing medical cannabis. Of the twelve states in 2006 that permit medical cannabis use, California is the only state that allows for the distribution of the medicine. How and where do people get their medicine? How does one insure that their medicine is clean, safe and of sufficient quality?

"Medical marijuana is here to stay..." Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School

“People that need medical marijuana need safe access…and safe marijuana.” Deborah Silverknight, patient

“Dispensaries serve an important function. Most patients cannot grow their own medicine….” Dr. Frank Lucido

Dispensing Cannabis: The California Story travels to five unique medical cannabis dispensaries.

Tours of Act-Up San Francisco and the San Francisco Patients' Cooperative show the variety that exists within retail model dispensaries. Humboldt Patient Resource Center of Arcata gives us an unprecedented look at a clinic style dispensary with an in-house organic garden. On the eastern side of the state we visit the Tehama Health Collective, where caregiver Jason Browne explains their operation. In Santa Cruz we meet Valerie and Mike Corral and the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a unique community of chronically and terminally ill people brought together by their shared need for cannabis.

Dr. Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School and general practitioner Dr. Frank Lucido discuss medical issues involved with cannabis use and distribution. Attorneys, Arcata police chief and representatives from Americans for Safe Access explore legal and ethical issues. Patients, caregivers and professionals offer insights into the future of medical cannabis distribution in the United States.

“I think we have this wonderful historical moment of these dispensaries that are existing in a quasi legal space, where the state passed a law but didn't complete its mandate of figuring out how to safely distribute the medicine to patients.”

“California needs to wrestle, and this country needs to wrestle with the fact of whether we're going to continue to outlaw marijuana. It certainly has its problems. It certainly creates societal problems. We have much greater problems.”

Directed by Ann Alter, 56-minutes