Pot adviser likely to get license

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

A Las Vegas resident will likely have the city's blessing this week to charge patients suffering from a variety of diseases $265 to advise them about how to score their own marijuana -- legally -- the man in charge of the city's business licenses said Monday.

Bill Kosinski, a former Las Vegas financial planner, received the go-ahead Monday after agreeing to change his business plan from growing the drug to working as a middleman for patients trying to understand Nevada's complicated medical marijuana laws, Jim DiFiore, the city business licensing manager, said.

"Simply put, he can give advice and he can consult about marijuana for medical purposes," DiFiore said of Kosinski's business, Medical Marijuana Consultants of Nevada. "He cannot procure or purchase or sell any marijuana or seeds."

Kosinski was initially scheduled Wednesday to oppose the council's rejection of his previous business application after he had trouble registering for Nevada's medical marijuana program, DiFiore said.

Monday's move means Kosinski will most likely meet with the city licensing board Wednesday, at which point his application is "very, very likely" to be approved, DiFiore said.

Kosinski, who smokes marijuana to treat a degenerative spinal disease, had been operating his business with a temporary business license since April, he said.

"A lot of people first thought all I wanted to do was sell drugs and get people hooked on marijuana," Kosinski said. "I'm just trying to help people understand what the laws are and help them comply with them. We do not provide the medication."

If approved, Kosinski's business would be the only one of its kind operating with a license in Las Vegas, DiFiore said. State laws allow patients with a doctor's prescription to grow up to seven marijuana plants to treat symptoms of cancer, HIV/AIDS and an array of other diseases.

Pierre Werner, who operates Primary Caregivers and Consultants, a company that grows and consults with patients who want to obtain marijuana, was turned down for a Clark County business license in April when the county said it didn't have a business license that applied to such an outfit, he said.

Since then, he has tried unsuccessfully to obtain a Las Vegas license, Werner said.

Both he and Kosinski advertise in several local publications, including the Las Vegas Sun.

Werner said the difference between his business and Kosinski's is that Kosinski does not supply the plant to patients, a key sticking point in the application process.

"I think that's the only difference," Werner said.

Both men say their experience obtaining the drug for their own use -- Werner uses it to treat a bipolar disorder -- helped them understand how difficult it can be to obtain legally.

"I understand the pitfalls in trying to find a doctor and I know there is a resource," Kosinski said.