Pubdate: Thu, 04 Apr 2013
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2013 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Author: Christine McConville
Page: 11

WEEDING OUT LITTLE GUY

Proposed Pot Rule Says Startups Must Have $500g

Say hello to Big Weed, medical marijuana critics say - mom-and-pop
startups are likely to be shut out in the Bay State, thanks to a
proposed state provision that requires prospective pot peddlers to put
$500,000 in escrow.

"Those small mom-and-pop shops that wanted to open a clinic for
suffering people, they don't stand a chance," said medical marijuana
critic Heidi Heilman, blasting what she called the big business behind
the so-called "compassionate care" effort.

"People need to start thinking about this like Big Tobacco, and
realize that there's a very powerful industry here, who are going to
do what they need to do to protect those interests," Heilman said.

The state, in its just-released medical marijuana draft rules, says
any approved pot sellers will be required to have $500,000 on hand to
prove "the entity has sufficient resources to operate." It is unclear
when licensees would be able to take that money out of escrow.

Budding pot entrepreneurs say the steep sum - coupled with a
still-undetermined application fee that one expert said could be as
high as $50,000 - has made their green dreams an impossibility.

"It's way too much for me," said Steven Lamothe of Fitchburg, who
attended a medical marijuana business seminar at the Sheraton Boston
yesterday.

"I'd really like to get into the business, but I can't afford those
prices," Lamothe said as he left.

Bay State voters in November agreed to allow state-certified
businesses to sell marijuana - a federally banned substance - to
qualified sick people. That herbal remedy is expected to be for sale
at 35 state-approved dispensaries by year's end.

The state proposed rules - which prohibit convicted drug dealers from
owning or working at a state-licensed dispensary - were released last
week.

Final rules should be in effect by May, state spokeswoman Anne Roach
said.

Between now and then, the state needs to decide how much to charge
people to apply for a dispensary license. It also needs to name its
"evaluation and selection" committee, whose members will decide which
qualified applicants will receive dispensing licenses.

"They're like Willy Wonka's Golden Tickets," said Arizona based
medical marijuana businessman Bruce Bedrick, adding that each license
probably would have a resale value of at least $1 million.
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MAP posted-by: Matt