Grant County’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors last week.

Rocky Mtn. Dispensary began selling a variety of medical marijuana products Thursday, June 1.

The business, at 27877 Apple Road in John Day, hopes to help patients conveniently access their medicine while keeping money in the county.

“People were really tired of going out of town and going to Bend to get their medical cannabis,” owner Cindy Kidd said.

Kidd’s family started the business to fill a need felt by their family and the community.

“Different illnesses in our family have inspired us to get this thing going,” Kidd said.

While medical marijuana is available in other counties, it’s difficult for some patients, such as those with cancer, to make the nearly three hour drive to Bend, owner Haley Olson said.

Many patients are on fixed incomes and traveling adds an additional expense, she said. There are 108 medical cardholders in the county, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The Grant County Court voted Sept. 28, 2016, to pass an ordinance allowing registered medical marijuana patients to purchase marijuana at dispensaries in Grant County. The amended ordinance only allows medical marijuana, not recreational, dispensaries.

One person applying for a medical card to utilize the dispensary is Kelly Olson. Kelly suffers from chronic pain and arthritis and is now considering medical marijuana because of the accessibility.

“It’s very accessible here. I don’t go out of the county very often,” she said.

In their first day of business, Kidd said the majority of her patients had been over 40, with only a handful of younger customers. In Oregon, the minimum age to buy recreational marijuana is 21.

Only those with medical cards can access and make purchases from the new dispensary in John Day, with the exception of a limited number of supervised visitors being able to enter the business.

The building features about $27,000 in security measures, including glass break censors at every entrance, motion censors at every door, door break censors, key panels, an audible alarm, panic buttons and 360-degree infrared cameras. The dispensary contracted the system through Cannaguard, a company that provides security systems specifically for the cannabis industry.

To ensure compliance with regulations, the state can access all cameras and needs only provide one-hour notice before performing an inspection of the building, Olson said.

The dispensary is selling only locally grown marijuana, as well as edibles, and other processed marijuana products, such as wax and shatter, are imported from outside the county.

As marijuana is still illegal on a federal level, most banks are unwilling to work with cannabis retailers. Therefore, the dispensary will be operating on a cash-only basis.