Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2013
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2013 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Christine McConville and Chris Cassidy

STATE KEEPS POT PLANS ON DOWN LOW

Details Hazy Amid Rush for Permits

Eight months after the state's controversial medical pot law took 
effect, the panel that's supposed to approve marijuana dispensaries 
still hasn't been seated - leaving city and town officials dazed and 
confused about where to turn.

The bungled launch comes as state officials are poised today to 
reveal the more than 100 groups lining up to open dispensaries in 
what experts estimate will be a $1 billion-a-year business. Officials 
expect the first dispensary to open in four to six months.

"I've never seen anything so unprepared," said Revere City Councilor 
Anthony Zambuto.

"Do we even know that they have a selection committee? I would have 
assumed it's already in place and we could simply go online and see 
who's on it."

The members of the so-called Selection Committee - which will dole 
out up to 35 coveted pot-dispensary permits across the state in the 
first year - won't be made public until mid-September at the 
earliest, state officials said yesterday.

But they refused to say how many members will serve on the panel or 
even if any have been appointed.

"Officials from the Department (of Public Health) as well as the 
Executive Office of Health and Human Services are currently working 
to form the committee," spokeswoman Anne Roach told the Herald.

The state plans to release the names of the 100 applicants - and 
possibly the locations where the dispensaries will open - today, Roach added.

Municipal officials complain that they have been left in the dark 
about the makeup of the panel and how it will go about making its decisions.

"We've received very little direction from the commonwealth on this," 
said Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus. "I'd hope the 
committee would at least have one representative or several 
representatives that are in municipal government." Many communities 
have been feverishly fighting the pot plans, including adopting 
moratoriums or designating zones limiting where dispensaries would be 
allowed. But many municipal leaders say they wish they had more 
information about the process.

"The information that we've received at the municipal level has not 
been detailed, and I think every local official is trying to 
understand the issue and the potential magnitude of it," said Brain 
tree Mayor Joe Sullivan, the head of the Massachusetts Mayors Association.

By law, each county must have at least one but no more than five 
dispensaries where marijuana and marijuana-infused products may be 
cultivated, processed and grown.

Applicants have to pony up $31,500 for fees, put at least $500,000 in 
escrow and have no felony drug offenses in order to be OK'd by the 
selection committee.

The state is counting on a business that is expected to generate as 
much as $1 billion a year in sales.

"We've had a significant level of interest," Public Health 
Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said about the new crop of applicants.

"I'm glad it was a competitive process, and I know it will create a 
lot of jobs and provide some economic investment in Massachusetts."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom