The public will get its first look at Mesquite’s only medical marijuana dispensary on July 29 just prior to its official opening according to Keith Capurro, Chief Executive Officer of Deep Roots Medical Inc.

“We are inviting the public to an open house at the dispensary regardless of whether they have an authorized medical marijuana card. While we won’t have any products on display, the public can get a feel for what the dispensary looks like and how it will operate,” Capurro told the Mesquite Local News in an exclusive, early look at the facility.

 

While located in the same building as the medical marijuana cultivation and production facility, the dispensary is operated separately with only a locked, controlled-entry door joining the two.

“Once we open the dispensary for business, only people with a state-issued medical marijuana card will be allowed on the premises. An individual with a card can bring their spouse in the dispensary with them but all others will have to remain outside,” Capurro said.

Each person with a medical marijuana card can purchase up to 2.5 ounces every two weeks. Each purchase will be logged into the state portal computer and purchases will be tracked and controlled. Capurro said it doesn’t matter where the patient purchases products in the state; all purchases will be logged into the computer.

“For instance, that prevents an individual from purchasing the authorized amount down in Vegas and then coming to Mesquite the next day and trying to purchase more,” Capurro said. “They must see a Nevada doctor to get authorization for medical marijuana. They will be processed through the state portal and then receive their card.”

Capurro explained that Nevada has reciprocity with other states that authorize medical marijuana like Colorado but they are limited to one ounce every two weeks. They too will be logged into and tracked by the Nevada state computer system.

Should patients want medical marijuana in other forms than that which is smokeable, Capurro said there are conversion factors the dispensary uses to ensure limits are not exceeded.

The Deep Roots Medical dispensary will sell products produced on-site but can procure products from other cultivation and production facilities within the state boundaries. No products can be brought across Nevada borders from other states.

While the dispensary still has not been officially licensed by state regulators, Capurro hopes to obtain necessary licenses and clearances in August.

The 3,000 square foot dispensary includes a comfortably furnished waiting room with tasteful art displays. After a patient is registered, a sales associate will accompany him or her one-on-one into the display room. Once there, the associate will help the patient determine the appropriate product from locked display cases. Patients will not be left unaccompanied at any time. Security abounds throughout the dispensary as it does through the entire facility.

Capurro said his company worked with local contractors and subcontractors to build the facility. “This is an upscale, professional retail store,” he said. “It’s not a head shop reminiscent of the 70s but a legitimate medical project that helps people.”

Elsewhere in the Deep Roots Medical facility, 55 people are employed in the cultivation side of the operation. “We are supplying 24 of 28 dispensaries in Nevada with our products on a wholesale level. We’ll continue with that even after we open our dispensary,” Capurro said.

He explained that products are tested by independent labs on many levels. “They get tested for pesticides, microbials and strength levels among other things,” he said. While most of the cultivation has been in the form of smokeable products, Capurro said the company will be making edible products in the next few weeks.

The cultivation facility grows about 50 different strains of medical marijuana plants at any one time. With six ‘flower rooms’ employees harvest a new batch of product about every 12 days. “We get about a quarter to half a pound of dry, sellable product per plant,” Capurro said. “While most medical marijuana companies in Nevada built their dispensaries first, we built out our cultivation and supply side first with our dispensary coming last.”

While Capurro wouldn’t give any sales figures he did say that Deep Roots Medical recently contributed to the city of Mesquite approximately $26,000 that covered the latest quarter’s worth of sales through the city’s excise tax. “We expect that to increase. If recreational marijuana is approved on the November ballot, it will increase greatly,” Capurro said.

The Deep Roots Medical dispensary open house will be July 29 from 3 to 8 p.m. at its facility located at 195 Willis Carrier Canyon with the public invited.