Regulating pot, seen as illegal by feds, is tricky

Skyler Ellis from Elgin, Ill., quit his factory job to attend Oaksterdam University in Oakland this summer to become certified in medical marijuana production and distribution. Skyler Ellis from Elgin, Ill., quit his factory job to attend Oaksterdam University in Oakland this summer to become certified in medical marijuana production and distribution. Photo: Armando L. Sanchez, McClatchy-Tribune News Service Photo: Armando L. Sanchez, McClatchy-Tribune News Service Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Regulating pot, seen as illegal by feds, is tricky 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

His family and friends were doubtful when Skyler Ellis, a young man from Elgin, Ill., left for California at the beginning of summer to attend cannabis college.

The 23-year-old with a baby boy quit his factory job - paying $13 an hour with insurance - and headed straight to Oaksterdam University in Oakland, which has been teaching people how to grow marijuana since 2007. He even slept in his car when classes first started, before he found a place to stay.

The day after he landed back in Illinois, certificate in hand, Gov. Pat Quinn signed Illinois' medical marijuana bill into law.

"I realized, man, this is happening. ... I might as well get in it right now," Ellis said. "I really do feel like I have a big leg up."

Growers ready to jump in

While Ellis may be ready to hop on board Illinois' green rush, the state Department of Agriculture has barely left the station. The state's regulations for the cultivation of the plant have not yet been written, a task the department will take on in the coming months. For guidance it will likely look to other states that have already cultivated a green market.

Regulating a drug that is illegal in federal eyes may complicate matters. The Department of Justice recently released a memo saying it would not go after people who work in the industry in states that have legalized the drug. Still, its illegal classification - marijuana is a schedule 1 drug along with heroin and LSD - means the Food and Drug Administration cannot regulate it.

This creates an inherent risk for consumers, some health experts say, who won't know if the medical marijuana they get is safe. But others say the medicinal plant doesn't need that degree of oversight to ensure a safe, predictable and quality medicine.

The abundance of unknowns in Illinois' pot future hasn't stopped potential growers like Ellis from joining in. Zeta Ceti, chief executive of Green Rush Consulting, said he's been swamped with calls from hundreds of prospective entrepreneurs who want to know how they might apply and be selected to join the medical marijuana industry in Illinois. The state will limit cultivation centers to 22, and 60 dispensaries.

"The interest (in Illinois) is just unbelievable," Ceti said. "This is what happens in every single state, just because it hasn't been there before."

Ceti said growers don't need the FDA to regulate cultivation because marijuana has been proven safe over years and years of use. But that doesn't mean raising medical marijuana is easy, he said.

First, the cultivation site has to be big, Ceti said, at least 40,000 square feet, with an ideal space as large as 150,000 square feet. States that have small cultivation centers are unable to accommodate all of their patients, Ceti said.

"When these cultivation centers open up, you don't want them to tap out," Ceti said.

Most states with regulations grow the plant indoors because of security concerns, but it also allows them to fiercely regulate temperatures. Prone to mold and mildew, the finicky plant needs constant humidity levels less than 50 percent and temperatures between 76 and 80 degrees. The plant also needs certain levels of carbon dioxide, specific nutrients and controlled pH levels.

"It takes a lot more care than tomatoes," Ceti said.

Growing carries legal risk

Growing marijuana also carries a legal risk - handling it is a still a federal crime.

"When you go into this business you have to know that you're going to wake up every day and commit a federal crime," said Betty Aldworth, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Without the FDA's involvement, patients who are prescribed medical marijuana may not know what they are getting, said Dr. Eric Voth, a Topeka, Kan., internist and pain specialist and chairman of the Institute on Global Drug Policy.

"You've got absolutely nothing looking at purity," Voth said. "It's a crapshoot that way."

Even if the state comes up with strict regulations for things like THC levels - the psychoactive chemical in marijuana - Voth questions whether they would be consistently tested.

"You have this whole cascade of what-ifs," Voth said. "Say you require 5 percent (THC) ... who's going to monitor it?"

Dan Riffle, director of federal policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, said the FDA would be in a better position to regulate the chemical compounds within the plant. Something like aspirin would be subject to regulation, he said, but willow bark - what it's derived from - would not. He said medical marijuana is closer to the latter.

"If you start pulling chemicals out of the plants, that is something that the FDA could regulate," Riffle said. "But the whole plant is the most effective treatment for most diseases."

THC levels vary

Ceti said THC levels can vary with shifts in the environment, highlighting the importance of a controlled climate. People with backgrounds in agriculture or who have training growing medical marijuana - like Ellis - would be the best-suited to work in the industry, he said.

Jeff Squibb, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, said the department will likely look to other states for guidance on how to regulate the plant. Nineteen others and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. One state similar to Illinois in the strictness of its law is Connecticut.

Connecticut tests plants

Unlike Illinois, Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection, which also licenses pharmacies and pharmacists, regulates the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. Commissioner Bill Rubenstein said his department treats medical marijuana like any other controlled pharmaceutical substance.

"Because it is a plant, what we wanted ... was to make sure patients knew what the active ingredient profile was," Rubenstein said.

To achieve a reliable, consistent product, Connecticut requires that each batch of marijuana is homogenized and tested by an independent lab. Brand names are assigned to the batches based on ranges of THC levels and other active ingredient levels. That way, Rubenstein said, doctors know what they're prescribing, and patients know what they're consuming.

Even with strict regulations, Voth said doctors unfamiliar with medical marijuana might not know the right amount to prescribe. He also said that the correct dosage has not been clearly worked out for most disorders. The law allows patients up to 2.5 ounces of pot every 14 days.

As acceptance of the merits of medical marijuana grows, some states that were once frightened to act on medical marijuana laws that they had passed are beginning to move forward.

States such as Delaware and New Jersey passed medical marijuana laws several years ago, but they didn't take action when a 2011 memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole indicated that the Department of Justice might prosecute people involved in the distribution of medical marijuana, even if they were in compliance with state laws.

An updated Cole memo released last month reversed that sentiment, with a few exceptions. The federal government would still act, for example, if they had reason to suspect marijuana was being distributed to minors or to gangs or cartel operations.

Look at other states

Although Delaware has issued identification cards to patients who qualify for the drug, it hasn't licensed a dispensary since passing its law two years ago. In August though, Gov. Jack Markell announced that the state will license one dispensary in 2014.

New Jersey similarly has just one licensed dispensary after 3 1/2 years into its medical marijuana program, and about 1,000 people registered to participate. In comparison, California has hundreds of thousands of people eligible to get medical marijuana, and Colorado has more than 100,000.

Armentano said with so many examples to turn to, he's hopeful that Illinois' process will be swift. Although based on other states' experiences, the four-year pilot program signed into law Aug. 2 could be halfway done before anyone has medical pot in hand.

"Hopefully now with a number of states that have dipped their toe in this issue," Armentano said, "states like Illinois can find some middle ground."