Pubdate: Sat, 01 Feb 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Priyanka Dayal McCluskey

WALSH RESIGNED TO POT SHOP

Bay State Approves 20 Marijuana Dispensaries

Bay State officials took a big step into uncharted territory 
yesterday with the approval of 20 medical marijuana dispensaries from 
Cape Cod to western Massachusetts.

Two pot shops were approved for Boston - one in the Back Bay and 
another in Roxbury. The state Department of Public Health also gave 
the go-ahead to dispensaries in Mashpee, Dennis, Taunton, Fairhaven, 
Salem, Haverhill, Holyoke, Northampton, Lowell, Ayer, Newton, 
Cambridge, Brookline, Quincy, Plymouth, Brockton, Milford and Worcester.

The facilities are expected to open their doors as early as this 
summer, if they win final approvals from local permitting boards.

"Only dispensaries with the highest quality applications were 
selected to be a part of this new industry, which will create 
hundreds of jobs while maintaining community safety," said Karen van 
Unen, executive director of DPH's medical marijuana program.

One consulting firm scored all the applicants, and another contractor 
did background checks. A DPH-appointed committee then made 
recommendations to van Unen, who had final say on who was awarded the licenses.

"We focused only on the application itself and the strength of the 
application: Was the applicant ready? Were they qualified?" said 
Walpole Deputy Police Chief John Carmichael Jr., a member of the 
selection committee. "All of the political aspect was taken out of it."

Yet three of the 20 coveted licenses went to former U.S. Rep. William 
Delahunt. He denied his insider status played a role in the process, 
telling the Herald, "I don't know what I'm inside to. I'm not in government."

The winners were named from a pool of 181 applicants that was later 
narrowed to 100. State law allows for a maximum of 35 pot 
dispensaries spread throughout Massachusetts. Four counties - 
Berkshire, Franklin, Dukes and Nantucket - did not win any 
dispensaries, but the DPH invited a handful of qualified applicants 
to reapply for licenses in those counties.

Nationwide, 20 states allow for medical marijuana dispensaries.

The new pot shops here will be allowed to grow and sell marijuana for 
patients suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's 
disease, to name a few. Users need approval from their doctors before 
they can buy pot. Each dispensary license costs $50,000 a year.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom