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A worker the Human Collective in Tigard dispenses medical marijuana in April of 2012 The dispensary was later shut down by Washington County authorities and then moved to Portland.

(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Oregon's latest experiment with marijuana policy begins Monday – 8:30 a.m. sharp, to be exact -- when what is expected to be a crush of medical marijuana retailers registers with the state.

The dispensary registry, the product of 2013 legislation, legitimizes the already-booming business of medical marijuana in Oregon, home to about 60,500 people legally allowed to use cannabis for medical purposes.

For months, public health officials have laid groundwork for a new state bureaucracy: the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Program. The program, funded with annual fees paid by dispensaries, begins accepting applications online Monday morning.

It's a milestone moment for Oregon, one of the first states to allow marijuana for medicinal use when it did so 16 years ago. As the program's rolls have swelled, many patients have sought retail access to cannabis, arguing that growing their own marijuana or finding someone to do it for them was unrealistic if not impossible.

Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, a sponsor of the dispensary legislation, said the new program represents a significant moment in the politics and perception of marijuana.

"Obviously the momentum is with those of us who believe marijuana is not the all-dangerous, scary, damaging drug that it has been depicted (to be) in the war on drugs.

"To me," said Buckley, "it's like this is a step in ending the hypocrisy around marijuana."

In addition to giving patients retail access to marijuana, the new dispensary program also represents the first effort by the state to regulate and enforce rules for the thriving retail trade. For the first time, regulators are expected to make unannounced annual inspections to these establishments, which are required to turn over their marijuana sales records and archived surveillance on demand.

And while the new program regulates retail access, many other elements of the medical marijuana industry remain unchecked. Commercial marijuana producers, for instance, will continue to operate without oversight.

So too do marijuana testing labs, a cottage industry set to take off given the state requirement that cannabis sold in dispensaries undergo testing for mold, mildew and pesticide. Marijuana-infused products, a fast-growing niche nationwide, also remains unregulated in Oregon.

Rob Bovett, legal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties and the former Lincoln County district attorney, said gaps in the state's medical marijuana program are glaring. Bovett, who sat on the committee that crafted rules for the industry, called it "the most unregulated marijuana dispensary program" in the country.

Officials with the Oregon Health Authority, the agency that oversees the medical marijuana program and the dispensary registry, don't know how many of the state's existing marijuana retailers will register on Monday. Advocates estimate up to 200 outlets currently operate statewide. Starting next week, they'll have to register to operate legally.

Tom Burns, who will oversee the dispensary registry program, estimated that 350 applications will be submitted Monday, with another 50 or so coming in by the end of the first week.

Burns said he's not worried about dispensary operators failing to register.

"We will find them," he said. "I am positive that those people who do register and have gone through the process will self-regulate and will turn in their competitors who aren't."

State law restricts where dispensaries can locate; they must be at least 1,000 feet from each other and from schools. Health authority officials will issue licensed on a first-come, first-served basis, which is likely to translate into competition among outlets vying to secure an address in close proximity to another dispensary.

Burns said four staff members – two inspectors and two administrators, including himself – will process the applications next week and hope to begin issuing registrations by the following week. He doesn't expect to begin inspections until spring.

He said regulators will check up on dispensary operators to see if they're checking for valid medical marijuana cards and identification, that marijuana is "locked up and not visible to the public," and that the establishment's security system meets state requirements. He said inspectors may ask to review video surveillance to make sure employees are checking for valid medical marijuana cards. They'll check to make sure employees are keeping accurate inventory records.

One area where Burns won't give operators any leeway: maintaining a grow site in the establishment.

Dispensaries may not also serve as grow sites, a rule Burns said regulators will strictly enforce. (Retail outlets, however, may keep immature marijuana plants on hand. By law, plants larger than 12 inches are considered mature.)

"We will come out and visit you and if we find you are growing, we will close you down," Burns told a group of medical marijuana industry representatives at a meeting last weekend at a North Portland brewery.

At least for the early stages of the program, Burns' chief goal is to make sure medical marijuana retailers are registered with the state.

"I don't anticipate us playing hardball right out of the box, other than I want everybody to be registered," said Burns. "Our goal is to make a safe way for patients to get their medicines in a manner that meets the intent of the law."