Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The journey from voters approving a new measure, to the state allowing it, can be a long and arduous one, as evidenced by the dearth of medicinal marijuana dispensaries since they were approved in 2012 and the state Legislature's six-month delay of last year's approval of recreational weed.
But in Worcester, local authorities are using the delays to get a jump start on enacting local regulations, as the local Division of Public Health constructs rules for the dispensaries that will be setting up shop in the Heart of the Commonwealth.
The final say on the regulations, and whether local regulations get enacted at all, will come from the Worcester Board of Health. The board, which was reorganized into a regulatory body in 2014 after lying dormant for years, will review regulations that DPH Director Karyn Clark said have been in the works for about a year.
"It's very different from, say, a tobacco permit application," Clark said.
The issue with medical marijuana is, even though voters overwhelmingly approved it, there are concerns that go beyond the stated health benefits. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug with no accepted medical applications, the same category as heroin. Many residents in Worcester hold weed and opioids in the same esteem, arguing that dispensaries will attract the same crime and danger that has defined the black market for drugs for years. That's in addition to the usual concerns with opening a new business and the added complications of interacting with the health industry.
For that reason, Clark said the proposed regulations will feature an interdepartmental review team from the city that will feature police, fire, code and others. Review from multiple departments was also part of the city's process for granting letters of non-opposition to the four dispensaries chosen as part of a process that ended in July of last year when City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. reached his self-imposed maximum.
The deal for getting the letter of non-opposition, a key part of the state application process, was for payments to the city and neighborhood that scale with time, in addition to a percentage of gross sales. But while residents applauded deriving some revenue from the dispensaries, one overarching fear expressed at public hearings was the goal of the companies applying to the city was not purely medicinal, but was instead an attempt to get a head start on the recreational market, anticipating a positive vote for the industry.
Good Chemistry, which has announced its intention to set up a dispensary to Harrison Street, is focusing on medical marijuana, and will make a determination on recreational sales when the state develops its regulations, according to a company representative. The state legislature recently voted to override Question 4's intended recreational start date of January and give themselves six months to develop statewide regulations.
The other three non-opposed dispensaries are Mission Massachusetts on Lincoln Street, Medicinal Alternatives on Millbury Street and Prime Wellness on Pullman Street, none of which were able to be reached by press time.
Currently, Worcester residents with a medicinal cannabis card must travel to Boston or farther to fill a prescription. Although the Worcester Board of Health voted unanimously to oppose Question 4, the ballot measure laying out a legalization schedule for recreational marijuana, the main concern at a Jan. 9 meeting was ensuring their deliberations did not hold up any medicinal dispensary openings. Clark assured them it would not — the state process takes so long that nothing the Worcester board does in the next few months will have a negative impact on the four dispensaries going through the process.
"These [proposed] regulations are not holding off medical marijuana in the city of Worcester," Clark said.
That's not to say the medicinal regulations will not get a thorough vetting for the board, although the question of how the recreational legalization will impact medicinal dispensaries looms large.
"It feels like this is being regulated more like a recreational substance than a medical substance," Board of Health Vice-Chair Abbie Averbach said.
In Worcester, roughly 53 percent of voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana, in line with the state average. The Board of Health will receive DPH's regulation recommendations for its February meeting, Clark said, with a public hearing scheduled for March 1.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Local Medicinal Marijuana Regulations On The Horizon For Worcester
Author: Tom Quinn
Contact: (508)749-3166
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Worcester Magazine
But in Worcester, local authorities are using the delays to get a jump start on enacting local regulations, as the local Division of Public Health constructs rules for the dispensaries that will be setting up shop in the Heart of the Commonwealth.
The final say on the regulations, and whether local regulations get enacted at all, will come from the Worcester Board of Health. The board, which was reorganized into a regulatory body in 2014 after lying dormant for years, will review regulations that DPH Director Karyn Clark said have been in the works for about a year.
"It's very different from, say, a tobacco permit application," Clark said.
The issue with medical marijuana is, even though voters overwhelmingly approved it, there are concerns that go beyond the stated health benefits. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug with no accepted medical applications, the same category as heroin. Many residents in Worcester hold weed and opioids in the same esteem, arguing that dispensaries will attract the same crime and danger that has defined the black market for drugs for years. That's in addition to the usual concerns with opening a new business and the added complications of interacting with the health industry.
For that reason, Clark said the proposed regulations will feature an interdepartmental review team from the city that will feature police, fire, code and others. Review from multiple departments was also part of the city's process for granting letters of non-opposition to the four dispensaries chosen as part of a process that ended in July of last year when City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. reached his self-imposed maximum.
The deal for getting the letter of non-opposition, a key part of the state application process, was for payments to the city and neighborhood that scale with time, in addition to a percentage of gross sales. But while residents applauded deriving some revenue from the dispensaries, one overarching fear expressed at public hearings was the goal of the companies applying to the city was not purely medicinal, but was instead an attempt to get a head start on the recreational market, anticipating a positive vote for the industry.
Good Chemistry, which has announced its intention to set up a dispensary to Harrison Street, is focusing on medical marijuana, and will make a determination on recreational sales when the state develops its regulations, according to a company representative. The state legislature recently voted to override Question 4's intended recreational start date of January and give themselves six months to develop statewide regulations.
The other three non-opposed dispensaries are Mission Massachusetts on Lincoln Street, Medicinal Alternatives on Millbury Street and Prime Wellness on Pullman Street, none of which were able to be reached by press time.
Currently, Worcester residents with a medicinal cannabis card must travel to Boston or farther to fill a prescription. Although the Worcester Board of Health voted unanimously to oppose Question 4, the ballot measure laying out a legalization schedule for recreational marijuana, the main concern at a Jan. 9 meeting was ensuring their deliberations did not hold up any medicinal dispensary openings. Clark assured them it would not — the state process takes so long that nothing the Worcester board does in the next few months will have a negative impact on the four dispensaries going through the process.
"These [proposed] regulations are not holding off medical marijuana in the city of Worcester," Clark said.
That's not to say the medicinal regulations will not get a thorough vetting for the board, although the question of how the recreational legalization will impact medicinal dispensaries looms large.
"It feels like this is being regulated more like a recreational substance than a medical substance," Board of Health Vice-Chair Abbie Averbach said.
In Worcester, roughly 53 percent of voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana, in line with the state average. The Board of Health will receive DPH's regulation recommendations for its February meeting, Clark said, with a public hearing scheduled for March 1.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Local Medicinal Marijuana Regulations On The Horizon For Worcester
Author: Tom Quinn
Contact: (508)749-3166
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Worcester Magazine
