Never mind that the state Department of Health has yet to grant a single license for a compassion center where medical marijuana would be distributed, local officials are all set to go on record against one that's seeking a permit to set up shop in Park Square. The City Council will consider a resolution on Monday denouncing the proposal, which City Council President John Ward calls "illegal." Ward said the facility is in violation of the state law that allows DOH to license compassion centers on condition they are no closer than 500 feet from the nearest school.
The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary envisions opening in a vacant branch of Bank of America in Park Square — which Ward says is closer to a Catholic elementary school than the law allows.
"The law clearly indicates that a compassion center or distribution center cannot be located within 500 feet of a public or private school," said Ward. "That location is only 350 feet from the property line of Monsignor Gadoury School."
The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary is one of 15 proposed compassion centers in the state whose license applications are up for consideration by DOH. Jerome Smith, a former state lawmaker and the retired chief clerk of the District Court, and Dennis Gentili, an administrator in the Thompson, Conn. public school district and longtime city educator, are seeking the permit for the only compassion center in northern Rhode Island. Others have been proposed in Pawtucket, Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Coventry and Portsmouth.
DOH had said it would make a decision on licensing up to three facilities by July 30, but Health Director David Gifford issued a statement several days ago indicating that the department would probably need until at least early September to do so. He said DOH received more applications than it expected and officials want to make a thorough evaluation of the materials.
Four members of the City Council are already on record in support of the anti-dispensary resolution — including Ward, Stella Brien, William D. Schneck Jr. and Suzanne J. Vadenais. Ward said Councilman Dan Gendron's name would also be added to the resolution before the panel meets on Monday.
The tersely-worded resolution is just six sentences long and does not delve into the hotly debated pros and cons surrounding the issue of medical marijuana. Nor is the proximity of the Monsignor Gadoury School cited as grounds for deep-sixing the proposal.
The only material issue the measure cites as cause for opposing the dispensary is that the proposed location isn't central enough to the state for the convenience of those it is intended to serve.
"Whereas," the measure reads, "one of the criteria to be considered in the granting of a compassion center certificate is the convenience to patients from throughout the State of Rhode Island... and the City of Woonsocket, being at the most northerly point of Rhode Island...the City Council of the City of Woonsocket hereby formally expresses its opposition to the location of a medical marijuana compassion center in the City of Woonsocket."
Mayor Leo T. Fontaine could not be reached for comment Friday, but he told The Call several weeks ago that he, too, is opposed to the Park Square dispensary.
The resolution has no binding effect on DOH's discretion in whether to grant the license, but Ward said he hopes the resolution rises above the level of a mere symbolic protest. He said the medical marijuana law says DOH must factor into its evaluation of licenses whether compassion centers are supported or opposed in the communities where they intend to do business.
Ward said some officials may oppose the facility because federal law still does not recognize medical marijuana or perhaps because they see compassion centers as a step toward blanket decriminalization of a controlled substance. But the council president said it isn't necessary for officials to delve too deeply into the lively philosophical debate surrounding the issue.
"I specifically tried to avoid that," Ward said. "Expressing our opinion in a general way is really more in keeping with the spirit of the law."
Ward said that he doesn't know whether all seven members of the City Council will vote in favor of the resolution and, though he is personally opposed to the compassion center, he hasn't gotten all that much feedback from constituents about it. Ward said he did receive a handful of calls from neighbors of the Marchegiano Club on St. Louis Avenue, a shuttered social club where the operators of the dispensary plan on growing the marijuana they would distribute from the Park Square site.
Ward said the neighbors expressed concerns about security. In a rough draft of their business plan, submitted as part of the license application, Gentili and Smith say they would employ about 10 full-time workers during their startup year, spending roughly $440,000 on personnel — about 25 percent of it for security.
Rhode Island is one of 14 states that allow possession of small amounts of marijuana to treat symptoms of AIDS, hepatitis, glaucoma, cancer and other debilitating afflictions. The General Assembly amended the 2006 medical marijuana law last year to make it easier for authorized patients to obtain the drug safely and legally. Rhode Island is among far fewer states, including California, Maine and Colorado, where storefront-style sales of marijuana are also legal.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Woonsocket Call
Author: RUSS OLIVO
Contact: Woonsocket Call
Copyright: 2010 Woonsocket Call
Website: City looks to block compassion center
The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary envisions opening in a vacant branch of Bank of America in Park Square — which Ward says is closer to a Catholic elementary school than the law allows.
"The law clearly indicates that a compassion center or distribution center cannot be located within 500 feet of a public or private school," said Ward. "That location is only 350 feet from the property line of Monsignor Gadoury School."
The Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary is one of 15 proposed compassion centers in the state whose license applications are up for consideration by DOH. Jerome Smith, a former state lawmaker and the retired chief clerk of the District Court, and Dennis Gentili, an administrator in the Thompson, Conn. public school district and longtime city educator, are seeking the permit for the only compassion center in northern Rhode Island. Others have been proposed in Pawtucket, Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Coventry and Portsmouth.
DOH had said it would make a decision on licensing up to three facilities by July 30, but Health Director David Gifford issued a statement several days ago indicating that the department would probably need until at least early September to do so. He said DOH received more applications than it expected and officials want to make a thorough evaluation of the materials.
Four members of the City Council are already on record in support of the anti-dispensary resolution — including Ward, Stella Brien, William D. Schneck Jr. and Suzanne J. Vadenais. Ward said Councilman Dan Gendron's name would also be added to the resolution before the panel meets on Monday.
The tersely-worded resolution is just six sentences long and does not delve into the hotly debated pros and cons surrounding the issue of medical marijuana. Nor is the proximity of the Monsignor Gadoury School cited as grounds for deep-sixing the proposal.
The only material issue the measure cites as cause for opposing the dispensary is that the proposed location isn't central enough to the state for the convenience of those it is intended to serve.
"Whereas," the measure reads, "one of the criteria to be considered in the granting of a compassion center certificate is the convenience to patients from throughout the State of Rhode Island... and the City of Woonsocket, being at the most northerly point of Rhode Island...the City Council of the City of Woonsocket hereby formally expresses its opposition to the location of a medical marijuana compassion center in the City of Woonsocket."
Mayor Leo T. Fontaine could not be reached for comment Friday, but he told The Call several weeks ago that he, too, is opposed to the Park Square dispensary.
The resolution has no binding effect on DOH's discretion in whether to grant the license, but Ward said he hopes the resolution rises above the level of a mere symbolic protest. He said the medical marijuana law says DOH must factor into its evaluation of licenses whether compassion centers are supported or opposed in the communities where they intend to do business.
Ward said some officials may oppose the facility because federal law still does not recognize medical marijuana or perhaps because they see compassion centers as a step toward blanket decriminalization of a controlled substance. But the council president said it isn't necessary for officials to delve too deeply into the lively philosophical debate surrounding the issue.
"I specifically tried to avoid that," Ward said. "Expressing our opinion in a general way is really more in keeping with the spirit of the law."
Ward said that he doesn't know whether all seven members of the City Council will vote in favor of the resolution and, though he is personally opposed to the compassion center, he hasn't gotten all that much feedback from constituents about it. Ward said he did receive a handful of calls from neighbors of the Marchegiano Club on St. Louis Avenue, a shuttered social club where the operators of the dispensary plan on growing the marijuana they would distribute from the Park Square site.
Ward said the neighbors expressed concerns about security. In a rough draft of their business plan, submitted as part of the license application, Gentili and Smith say they would employ about 10 full-time workers during their startup year, spending roughly $440,000 on personnel — about 25 percent of it for security.
Rhode Island is one of 14 states that allow possession of small amounts of marijuana to treat symptoms of AIDS, hepatitis, glaucoma, cancer and other debilitating afflictions. The General Assembly amended the 2006 medical marijuana law last year to make it easier for authorized patients to obtain the drug safely and legally. Rhode Island is among far fewer states, including California, Maine and Colorado, where storefront-style sales of marijuana are also legal.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Woonsocket Call
Author: RUSS OLIVO
Contact: Woonsocket Call
Copyright: 2010 Woonsocket Call
Website: City looks to block compassion center
