[b]Knowing the following:[/b]
:arrow: Government will not regulate dispensaries fairly. They lack the technical knowledge and the motivation. They will never respond quickly enough to help dispensaries or patients.
:arrow: [b]We, the patients, are best able to regulate dispensaries fairly. [/b] We have the most knowledge on the subject, and we care most about having well-run dispensaries with a good image. We are able to respond quickly to the needs of patients, dispensaries and the community.

:?: [b]Could we establish some kind of independent (voluntary) certification of dispensaries? [/b] I'm thinking of something where each dispensary pays a fee to have their operation certified for 1 year. Included in the package is:
1) An initial assessment of the operation; if it "passes", they get "certified" as meeting the standards. Plus, they get recommendations for improvement. If they don't pass, they get recommendations for improvement + a few more tries.
2) With the "certification" also comes Bill McPike's legal letter, as a form a "legal insurance". (Of course, the cost of the letter/insurance would be built into the initial fee the dispensary pays.)
3) 1 more planned "assessment" per year, with recommendations for improvement.
4) 1 surprise "assessment" per year, with recommendations for improvement.
5) A public listing in our records showing that you are a certified dispensary, and giving some more detailed info on the dispensary.

Of course, we would post our guidelines & standards online for everyone to see.

We would also provide a system for patients or community members to file complaints or comments on any dispensary, so we can deal with problems first.

Dispensaries that fail their assessments or have problems with the community could lose their certification.

I think this could be done by The Compassionate Coalition, using our current infrastructure and contacts. So dispensaries could say "I'm certified by The Compassionate Coalition, as having met these standards and assessments