Pubdate: Sun, 06 Oct 2013
Source: Milford Daily News, The (MA)
Copyright: 2013 The Milford Daily News
Contact:  http://www.milforddailynews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2990
Author: Danielle Ameden

MEDICAL MARIJUANA: OPEN FOR BUSINESS ALREADY

Claire S. has taken heavy painkillers for years to ease the hurt of 
torn rotator cuffs and ruptured discs in her neck and lower back.

Looking for a safer form of relief, the 52-year-old former manicurist 
traveled from her home on Cape Cod to a Framingham doctor's office 
last Wednesday, hoping for approval to use medical marijuana.

She said her primary care physician supported trying pot to treat the 
chronic pain that prevents her from vacuuming, lifting and making 
other kinds of movements.

"She said, 'try it - if it works, beautiful,' so I'm praying that 
this works," said Claire, who didn't want her last name published.

As the state continues working to register up to 35 medical marijuana 
dispensaries in Massachusetts, business is flourishing at CannaMed, 
the specialty practice Claire visited.

Dr. David Getz said people are coming from all over the state seeking 
"recommendation" letters so they can possess cannabis or even grow it 
at home before the pot shops open.

Meanwhile, cities and towns in MetroWest and the Milford area - and 
across the state -- are in various stages of enacting local 
regulations as they grapple with a relatively new law.

"This is, of course, all brand-new territory," said Geoff Beckwith, 
executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Some communities in the region have enacted temporary bans on 
dispensaries and are proceeding with caution, while others have 
opened the door to the medical marijuana industry.

Different approaches

Citing the strong state and local support for last November's ballot 
question to legalize medical marijuana, Shrewsbury selectmen recently 
shot down the idea of a six-month moratorium on dispensaries.

Framingham Town Meeting in May rejected a proposed moratorium after 
one member argued the ban is another example of "reefer madness," 
referring to a 1930s film about hysteria over marijuana use.

Framingham town planners are now trying to settle on boundaries of a 
medical marijuana overlay zoning district to propose to the fall 
special Town Meeting later this month.

Milford and Franklin both quickly approved zoning changes after the 
state law passed to allow for medical marijuana businesses in their 
industrial zones.

Franklin Town Administrator Jeff Nutting said the idea was "let's 
zone it, let's put it in an appropriate place, and it's wait and see."

"Sixty-five percent of the people said 'yes,'" he said. "You have to 
respect the will of the voters."

Marlborough and Natick were among the communities to enact 
moratoriums, giving them more time to draw up zoning regulations on 
where dispensaries and grow houses can go.

With zoning in place, Milford is already dealing with one applicant 
for a state license. The Planning Board last week was split on Bay 
State Relief Inc.'s plan to cultivate marijuana in an industrial 
facility on Commercial Way, closer to a residential zone than the 
town's bylaw permits. The Zoning Board of Appeals is set to hear the 
plans on Thursday.

Competition for licenses

The state, meanwhile, still has its work cut out to register 
dispensaries - up to five per county.

The Department of Public Health last month announced 158 of 181 
initial applicants are now eligible to move on to Phase 2, the final 
stage of the competitive selection process. To advance, applicants 
must each pay a $30,000 fee.

Beckwith's association, the MMA, pored over applications and found 
proposed dispensary locations fall in 81 or more communities in the state.

Of them, 12 applicants are eyeing Framingham, five are looking at 
Franklin and three are interested in growing and/or selling medical 
marijuana in Milford. Others are looking at Marlborough, Hudson, 
Shrewsbury and Bellingham.

"It creates a competition within a competition," said David Safaii, a 
Boston venture capitalist whose nonprofit, 1 Releaf Inc., is vying to 
open a dispensary in Framingham.

Safaii said he brings a lot to the table, including a partner who 
owns a medical marijuana dispensary in California and is moving to 
Massachusetts with his head gardener.

Having a brother who suffers from Crohn's disease makes the goal of 
getting permitted personal. "I want to win," he said.

Beckwith said community support for proposals should play a key role 
in the licensing process.

"It's in the interest of the developer - those that are seeking the 
licenses - to go to the community and address every single municipal 
concern," Beckwith said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries or growing facilities could be 
problematic for neighborhoods, and for economic development, he said.

Department of Public Health spokeswoman Anne Roach said Phase 2 
applicants will have to show they have local support and can comply 
with all municipal bylaws and regulations. A selection committee will 
score proposals based on factors such as geographical distribution, 
security, appropriateness of the proposed site and ability to meet 
the health needs of patients, she said.

The state is on track to complete Phase 2 by the beginning of next 
year, Roach said.

Shrewsbury officials say they have already met with two hopefuls who 
are vying for a state license.

In Framingham, Town Manager Robert Halpin said he'll lead a small 
group of town officials that will develop criteria and start 
evaluating proposals for local dispensaries.

"We are neither encouraging or discouraging at this point," Halpin 
said last week.

"The best medicine ever"

At CannaMed in Framingham, Dr. Getz gives his patients a standard 
spiel. He starts off by saying they don't have to sell him on how 
medical marijuana will help ease their pain.

"I know how useful it is medically," he told Claire, the woman from 
the Cape, and two other patients who sat on folding chairs in a 
waiting room last Wednesday.

Most primary care doctors aren't yet willing to prescribe pot, Getz 
said. "Doctors are a conservative crew and this is a new law," he 
said. But Getz, who came out of retirement to take this job, is happy 
to write a letter of recommendation and issue photo ID cards for 
patients who bring good records about their diagnoses and treatment.

Getz said he mainly sees people who are complaining of chronic pain, 
gastrointestinal problems and psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety 
and depression.

People who qualify for medical marijuana can smoke it to immediately 
relieve pain, or eat it cooked in brownies or other types of food for 
a longer-lasting effect, Getz said.

He told the patients to use pot discreetly and in private. The 
medication could cause sleepiness and people should use caution in 
driving or operating machinery, he said.

"DUI is still DUI," Getz told the group of patients before evaluating 
them individually.

Talia Duci works as CannaMed's office manager but is also a patient.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Townsend, said marijuana has really 
helped with her post-traumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, 
attention deficit disorder, depression and anxiety.

"It's just the best medicine ever," she said. "There's no such thing 
as a side effect -- aside from munchies and sleepiness."

Waiting for dispensaries

Until shops open, qualifying patients are on their own to find 
medical marijuana.

Getz said the state allows patients to grow their own pot or buy it 
from a licensed caregiver. While dispensaries are open in Rhode 
Island, he doesn't recommend Massachusetts residents go there.

Getz said he anticipates dispensaries will be open in the Bay State 
next spring.

"Ultimately that's what we're waiting for," CannaMed's regional 
manager Renee Nunez said. "That's what patients are waiting for."

The doctor's office isn't allowed to tell patients how to get 
marijuana and only suggests they do an online search, Nunez said.

Duci said she got lucky and found a caregiver. Prices vary, but 
patients can expect to pay about $90 for a quarter ounce of pot, she said.

Under the law, patients who qualify for recommendations can possess 
up to 10 ounces, or a generous 60-day supply of dried marijuana, Getz said.

Claire, the patient from the Cape, said she hoped to find a caregiver 
and bake her medicine into brownies.

She paid $200 for her appointment with Getz, because she was 
desperate to try relieving her pain with cannabis instead of heavy 
narcotics. Puffing on a cigarette outside the medical office, she 
talked about how her blown and bulging discs put her on Social 
Security Disability Insurance at 37.

"I just want it to work," she said. "The painkillers will kill you."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom