Pubdate: Tue, 22 Dec 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Fenit Nirappil

DELAY IN LICENSES FOR MEDICAL POT

People who want to buy marijuana in Maryland for medicinal purposes 
are probably going to have to wait until 2017, nearly four years 
after the state made it legal.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission announced Monday that it 
will not award licenses to grow and process the drug until sometime 
in the summer - and industry officials say it will take an additional 
four to six months after that for the product to be ready to sell.

The commission said it has no target date for allowing retail 
dispensaries to begin operating and cannot say when marijuana will be 
available to patients.

Maryland's medical cannabis program was approved by lawmakers in 
2013, but it had to be adjusted multiple times before applications 
could be sought and submitted.

The commission said this year that it would start issuing licenses in 
January but backed off that timetable last month after receiving more 
than 1,000 applications from would-be pot producers and dispensers.

The unexpectedly high interest and the need to vet prospective 
businesses carefully is driving the delay, the commission said.

Several interested growers have started buying land and leasing 
buildings for operations in Maryland so they can launch quickly if 
they are given licenses.

Darrell Carrington, executive director of the Maryland Cannabis 
Industry Association, said that some prospective businesses may not 
be able to afford the waiting period but that those that are well 
planned and well funded should not be threatened.

"Obviously our members are concerned about the length of the time," 
Carrington said. "However, we do understand we have to get this right 
and not just done quickly."

Those waiting to purchase medical marijuana in Maryland say they are 
upset about the latest delay.

Sarah Vogeley and her 10-yearold son, who has epilepsy, moved this 
summer from Virginia to Colorado, where medical marijuana is legally 
available for children. She said the treatments reduced the youth's 
seizures, which seven conventional medications had failed to do.

In October, Vogeley and her son rejoined her husband and two older 
children in Charlottesville, Va., believing they would soon be able 
to legally access medical marijuana through Maryland's out-of-state 
patient provisions. Vogeley said Monday that she now plans to take 
her son back to Colorado, leaving behind her ailing father and 
splitting up her family.

"We just simply can't wait this long," said Vogeley, her voice 
tearful. Under the tightly regulated program, Maryland may not allow 
more than 15 growing facilities statewide and more than two 
dispensaries in each state Senate district. There is no limit on production.

The state has received 146 applications to grow marijuana, 124 to 
process it and 811 to dispense it. Several businesses applied to open 
dispensaries in multiple state Senate districts, in what appears to 
be an attempt to boost their chances of winning licenses. In all, 
there are about 200 business entities seeking dispensary licenses.

Applications are reviewed and scored by the Regional Economic Studies 
Institute of Towson University and third-party experts who assess 
various factors including businesses' horticultural expertise, 
security measures and financial stability.

The commission has final say on who gets licenses. Once an initial 
license is given, growing and processing facilities will have a year 
to build facilities, train staff and raise capital before passing a 
final inspection. Some businesses are already taking these steps in 
hopes of being able to start producing more quickly.

"We have a wonderful wealth of applications to evaluate, and we are 
going to have exceptional professionals, and now we have to do our 
due diligence," said Hannah Byron, the commission's executive director.

Byron is stepping down from her post in January, and no successor has 
been named.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom