Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 2016
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2016 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
Author: Kay Lazar

6TH MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OPENS IN MASS.

Patients voiced hope and frustration as the state's sixth medical 
marijuana dispensary formally opened Tuesday - more than three years 
after voters approved such use, a decision that had been expected to 
usher in dozens of dispensaries by now.

Executives of Patriot Care, operator of the new dispensary, which 
opened in Lowell, described the licensing process as a positive but 
long road and said that they opted for a cautious launch, offering 
just four strains of marijuana in the beginning but no other 
products, such as edibles, tinctures, or oils. And they said they 
want to make sure they have ample supplies. The first dispensaries 
that opened last year quickly ran into supply problems.

"We are going to take a measured approach on the amounts we will have 
people buy for the first few weeks," Robert Mayerson, Patriot's chief 
executive, said in an interview.

"We will have more supply rolling out weekly from our facility, and 
we want to make sure we have as broad an assortment as possible."

Mayerson said 90 patients had preregistered to use the Lowell 
dispensary, and 60 were served Monday as the company quietly opened 
its doors for a soft launch before Tuesday's ribbon-cutting with 
local dignitaries.

"Most of the people who came live probably within a 25-mile radius of 
here, and they are so happy they have a facility they don't have to 
drive hours to get to," Mayerson said.

Patients have complained for months about the lack of dispensaries, 
with just four open before last week. Those dispensaries are in 
Salem, Brockton, Northampton, and Ayer.

A fifth dispensary, New England Treatment Access in Brookline, opened 
Feb. 6, but patients must have an appointment. The company faced 
stiff neighborhood opposition to the dispensary, which is in busy 
Brookline Village. It won town approval by agreeing to restrict hours 
the first few weeks of operation while town officials monitor the business.

The slow pace of dispensary openings - the 2012 voter-approved law 
allowed for 35 facilities the first year - has frustrated patients.

Nichole Snow, executive director of the Massachusetts Patient 
Advocacy Alliance, said the state rule requiring dispensary 
applicants to get a letter of approval or a less enthusiastic 
statement of "nonopposition" from community leaders has mired the 
process in local politics. Such a letter is necessary to get a state license.

"If it was an application process like a liquor store, nobody would 
have to go to the city manager to see if they oppose it," Snow said. 
"This letter of nonopposition is still being used as a vehicle by the 
cities and towns to slow down the process."

The state's licensing process ground to a halt with charges of 
political favoritism during governor Deval Patrick's tenure. 
Controversy surrounding the previous system sparked more than two 
dozen lawsuits.

Regulators from the administration of the current governor, Charlie 
Baker, in May revamped the licensing system, saying the new process 
strips away the subjectivity and secrecy that had tainted it.

Snow said Baker has good intentions and has made improvements, but 
the requirement for applicants to win a community support letter 
still presents a major hurdle.

"Nobody thought these letters would have such a significant damper on 
the process," she said.

About a dozen patients protested outside Patriot Care's opening 
Tuesday. Their anger was directed at a former state health department 
manager, now a lobbyist, who is working to block the legalization of 
marijuana for recreational use.

The legalization push will probably be decided by voters in November. 
But lobbyist Daniel Delaney, who is affiliated with Patriot Care and 
has lobbied in support of other medical marijuana dispensary 
applicants, surprised patient groups when he recently launched his 
antilegalization campaign.

State records show Delaney received $69,000 last year from Patriot 
Care for lobbying work. He also is listed as chief executive of 
Commonwealth Alternative Care, a company seeking a state medical 
marijuana dispensary license in Cambridge. The state's health 
department, where Delaney once worked, grants licenses and regulates 
dispensaries.

Patriot Care is the only company to receive licenses for three 
medical marijuana dispensaries. In addition to the Lowell facility, 
it has won licenses in Boston and Greenfield.

Rachel Ramone Donlan, a 44-year-old patient, drove from Braintree to 
protest Delaney's work with Patriot Care. She said the protesters 
want Patriot Care to cut ties with the lobbyist because they fear 
that if opponents of recreational use succeed, medical marijuana 
dispensaries will "have a monopoly and drive the prices up for patients."

Patriot Care's executives said they are not involved with Delaney's 
campaign and have no plans to sever ties with him as their lobbyist, 
calling him a valued partner.

Delaney said he is not aiming to create a monopoly for medical 
marijuana dispensaries. He said he opposes the ballot initiative to 
legalize recreational marijuana because he feels it might force 
municipalities to permit more recreational marijuana shops than they 
would want.

He said the measure, which would allow households to grow up to 12 
marijuana plants, could fuel a black market for marijuana.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom