Truth Seeker
New Member
More than 100 applications were submitted Thursday to open medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts, at least two of them potentially for the Cape and Islands, according to the state Department of Public Health.
"We believe people on Cape Cod need their medicine," Tim McCarthy, an applicant from Truro, said Thursday.
The applications had to be hand delivered to the state Department of Public Health in Boston between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday.
The attorney for McCarthy and his business partners dropped off their proposal – and the nonrefundable $1,500 application fee – around 12:30 p.m., McCarthy said.
Boston attorney Valerio Romano delivered several applications, including one for a woman he described as a single investor who is considering locating a dispensary in Dennis, which is allowing dispensaries in its industrial zone.
The DPH is scheduled to publish a list of applicants on its website today. DPH Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said in a Thursday conference call she hadn't had a chance to look at the proposals yet and didn't know how many had been submitted from each county.
Massachusetts voters approved a law in November that allows the DPH to register up to 35 nonprofit marijuana dispensaries across the state, with at least one but no more than five dispensaries per county. The law allows those with prescriptions to possess 10 ounces of marijuana every two months.
The Thursday deadline was for Phase 1 in the application process, which does not tie applicants down to a location, Bartlett said.
Romano said his client mentioned Dennis as a possible site but could "wind up in North Adams and the Berkshires."
Members of the DPH medical marijuana program team will conduct background checks on applicants and review the applications for financial viability. By mid-September they will decide who to invite to participate in the more stringent Phase 2 part of the application process, Bartlett said.
An as-yet-to-be-appointed committee of public health experts, state officials and others will review Phase 2 applications for site appropriateness, proposed geographic location and public-safety issues, among other considerations, she said.
Copies of Phase 2 applications will be made available to the public, Bartlett said.
"We're hopeful there's an applicant in every county," she said.
Applicants who make the initial cut will be notified Sept. 18, and they will have 45 days to submit their applications for Phase 2, Romano said. The fee for continuing the process is $30,000, also nonrefundable.
After the state makes the decision about who gets a permit, it likely will be June or July before dispensaries open their doors, he said.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are being required to grow their own plants in a "seed-to-sale approach," Bartlett said. "It's a full operation under one registration."
She said there is a provision that would allow a dispensary to purchase a limited amount of product from another dispensary in an emergency.
On the Cape and Islands, only Nantucket and Dennis have enacted bylaws to govern the operation of marijuana dispensaries, including the zones in which they can operate.
Nantucket limits the operations to the industrial zone near the airport and the area near Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
Dennis allows dispensaries in the industrial zone covering the area south of Route 6 to Great Western Road, east of Route 134 to the Harwich town line. DPH officials estimate that from .5 to 1 percent of Massachusetts residents will register to use medical marijuana, Bartlett said. "That's really just an educated guess."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: capecodonline.com
Author: Cynthia McCormick
Contact: Contact Us
Website: 100-plus apply to dispense medical pot in state | CapeCodOnline.com
"We believe people on Cape Cod need their medicine," Tim McCarthy, an applicant from Truro, said Thursday.
The applications had to be hand delivered to the state Department of Public Health in Boston between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday.
The attorney for McCarthy and his business partners dropped off their proposal – and the nonrefundable $1,500 application fee – around 12:30 p.m., McCarthy said.
Boston attorney Valerio Romano delivered several applications, including one for a woman he described as a single investor who is considering locating a dispensary in Dennis, which is allowing dispensaries in its industrial zone.
The DPH is scheduled to publish a list of applicants on its website today. DPH Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said in a Thursday conference call she hadn't had a chance to look at the proposals yet and didn't know how many had been submitted from each county.
Massachusetts voters approved a law in November that allows the DPH to register up to 35 nonprofit marijuana dispensaries across the state, with at least one but no more than five dispensaries per county. The law allows those with prescriptions to possess 10 ounces of marijuana every two months.
The Thursday deadline was for Phase 1 in the application process, which does not tie applicants down to a location, Bartlett said.
Romano said his client mentioned Dennis as a possible site but could "wind up in North Adams and the Berkshires."
Members of the DPH medical marijuana program team will conduct background checks on applicants and review the applications for financial viability. By mid-September they will decide who to invite to participate in the more stringent Phase 2 part of the application process, Bartlett said.
An as-yet-to-be-appointed committee of public health experts, state officials and others will review Phase 2 applications for site appropriateness, proposed geographic location and public-safety issues, among other considerations, she said.
Copies of Phase 2 applications will be made available to the public, Bartlett said.
"We're hopeful there's an applicant in every county," she said.
Applicants who make the initial cut will be notified Sept. 18, and they will have 45 days to submit their applications for Phase 2, Romano said. The fee for continuing the process is $30,000, also nonrefundable.
After the state makes the decision about who gets a permit, it likely will be June or July before dispensaries open their doors, he said.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are being required to grow their own plants in a "seed-to-sale approach," Bartlett said. "It's a full operation under one registration."
She said there is a provision that would allow a dispensary to purchase a limited amount of product from another dispensary in an emergency.
On the Cape and Islands, only Nantucket and Dennis have enacted bylaws to govern the operation of marijuana dispensaries, including the zones in which they can operate.
Nantucket limits the operations to the industrial zone near the airport and the area near Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
Dennis allows dispensaries in the industrial zone covering the area south of Route 6 to Great Western Road, east of Route 134 to the Harwich town line. DPH officials estimate that from .5 to 1 percent of Massachusetts residents will register to use medical marijuana, Bartlett said. "That's really just an educated guess."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: capecodonline.com
Author: Cynthia McCormick
Contact: Contact Us
Website: 100-plus apply to dispense medical pot in state | CapeCodOnline.com
