Pubdate: Fri, 14 Feb 2014
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2014 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52

DPH SHOULD REVEAL SCORING DATA ON MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

MUCH OF THE recent controversy over medical marijuana licenses 
centers on complaints that some companies exaggerated how much local 
support they had. The application process gave extra points to firms 
with letters of support or statements of non-opposition in the places 
where they plan to open a dispensary. But city officials across the 
state shied away from writing such letters.

Some applicants were unable to show any sign of local support.

So it is understandable that those who failed to get the highly 
coveted licenses are upset by the notion that some winners may have 
stretched the truth.

So far, such complaints have been made about three companies: Good 
Chemistry, a firm started by a team from Denver, submitted a letter 
of support from Boston City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy. Murphy says 
the company failed to inform him about its plan to open in the Back 
Bay, a location he does not support.

Green Heart Holistic, a California firm, claimed to have the support 
of City Councilor Tito Jackson for its dispensary, which it hopes to 
open near Boston Medical Center. Jackson says he met with the group 
but didn't give his blessing for that neighborhood, which already 
hosts several methadone clinics.

A third firm, Healthy Pharms, received a license for Haverhill after 
submitting a letter from City Councilor Robert H. Scatamacchia that 
said the city was neither in favor nor opposed.

Scatamacchia now insists that his letter was not meant to boost the 
firm's application and that Healthy Pharms mischaracterized other 
statements from public officials as endorsements. The companies have 
apologized for what they have called clerical errors or misunderstandings.

It is crucial that these firms be truthful with the state, and that 
the selection process is seen as fair. Officials are now verifying 
letters of support.

Companies that deliberately misled the Department of Public Health 
ought to have their licenses revoked.

But these allegations are part of a bigger problem that is not being 
addressed: NIMBYism. Despite the fact that Massachusetts voters opted 
overwhelmingly for marijuana dispensaries, risk-averse elected 
officials are reluctant to volunteer their neighborhoods and towns. 
Those officials who did write letters of support are bound to get 
complaints from angry constituents.

But as long as this law exists, there will be a need to find suitable 
locations for dispensaries. There should be far more public 
engagement around this issue.

It hardly seems preferable to locate dispensaries in remote or 
economically depressed areas that are more likely to welcome them 
than near existing medical facilities. These matters require serious 
thought and debate, not politics and finger-pointing.

Still, the state Department of Public Health should do itself a favor 
and promptly release the full scoring sheets that it used to 
determine the licensees, so that the public can see how many points 
these companies picked up for having "local support." It's possible 
that Good Chemistry and Green Heart were chosen because of their 
years of experience in Colorado and California, not because of 
alleged support from Jackson and Murphy. DPH spokesman David Kibbe 
says that the score sheets will be posted as soon as all the 
applicants are debriefed.

Given the level of public interest, the department ought to expedite 
that process.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom