Sarah Whiteley and her husband, Shawn Aman, had operated their shop near Lebanon, Oregon for one year before Linn County imposed a one-year moratorium on allowing medical marijuana dispensaries outside of incorporated cities. She and her husband attended hearings about the issue by the Albany City Council. When the council approved dispensaries, they began searching for available buildings within approved business zones. “There were a few building owners who didn’t want to rent to our type of business,” she said. They landed in Albany. Their new building is larger than the Lebanon site and although they have been open for business less than a week, they are getting five to 10 new customers per day. They had about 1,140 customers in Lebanon and are up to about 1,200 now. The Going Green Compassion Center offers much of the same medical marijuana and supplies as their old shop, but they’ve added some edibles as well. They have also increased child-proof containers due to the edibles. “What’s interesting is that people have created carpools to come here,” Whiteley said of her loyal clientele. Whiteley said remodeling of the new building began last month and cost a few thousand dollars including new locks and a video surveillance system, required by state rules. – Albany Democrat Herald
