A group that applied to build a medical marijuana dispensary in town was denied by the state Friday.
Green ReliefMD wanted to construct a facility on Goodwin Road near Route 236 across from a popular tavern. The group scored 52 points in an evaluation conducted by the state Department of Health and Human Services – well short of the minimum score of 70.
"It's disappointing," said Green Relief member Ron Fousek.
The facility would have been located in a 3,800-square-foot former medical building with 3 1⁄2 acres of land that would have been used to grow marijuana.
Four other groups that challenged Green Relief for the rights to build a single dispensary in York County also fell short in DHHS's evaluation.
The department approved dispensary sites in six of eight designated districts scattered across the state. The groups that applied for the district comprising Washington and Hancock counties also failed to meet the 70-point minimum.
The groups that were denied, as well as other groups, can reapply by Aug. 20. Winners will be announced by Aug. 31.
The closest approved site to York County is a facility slated for Portland that could be open in as little as two months. Other approved sites include Wilton, Thomaston, Hermon and Fort Kent. The last site will be in either Waterville or Augusta.
Maine residents approved for medical marijuana can buy the drug at any site.
Fousek said Green Relief will submit another application and hire consultants to determine where it can make improvements.
"We obviously have to step up our game. We need to do a house cleaning and figure out where we went wrong."
Green Relief scored well in some areas, like security, but scored lower in other areas like convenience of location and business experience.
In general, the losing applicants failed to demonstrate a nonprofit "mission," according to Cathy Cobb, director of DHHS's Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services. She said the department was weary of applications that represented "get-rich-quick schemes."
Green Relief scored the second-lowest of the five groups evaluated by the department for the single York County dispensary location. Ahead Care of Sanford scored 65; Primary Organic Therapy of Kittery scored 64; Maine Patient's Center of Cornish scored 59; and Green Mark of Saco scored 45.
In November, voters passed a medical marijuana dispensary law – making Maine the fifth state to enact the measure. It allows patients with chronic pain to obtain up to 2 1⁄2 ounces of the drug at a time.
After the vote, many communities moved to ban dispensaries, including Sanford and North Berwick. The Eliot Board of Selectmen tried to do so, but voters struck down a proposed moratorium. The board then scrambled to pass an ordinance that prohibits a dispensary from being located near schools or residential areas.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Roland Fernald said it was important to establish the regulations so they would have applied to Green Relief if it had been awarded the Eliot site.
Fousek said his group will decide if it wants to take another shot at Eliot or apply for a dispensary in a different community.
Fernald said the town is prepared if a dispensary eventually comes to down.
"We will make sure everything is run right."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Fosters
Author: JASON CLAFFEY
Copyright: 2010 Geo. J. Foster Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Green ReliefMD wanted to construct a facility on Goodwin Road near Route 236 across from a popular tavern. The group scored 52 points in an evaluation conducted by the state Department of Health and Human Services – well short of the minimum score of 70.
"It's disappointing," said Green Relief member Ron Fousek.
The facility would have been located in a 3,800-square-foot former medical building with 3 1⁄2 acres of land that would have been used to grow marijuana.
Four other groups that challenged Green Relief for the rights to build a single dispensary in York County also fell short in DHHS's evaluation.
The department approved dispensary sites in six of eight designated districts scattered across the state. The groups that applied for the district comprising Washington and Hancock counties also failed to meet the 70-point minimum.
The groups that were denied, as well as other groups, can reapply by Aug. 20. Winners will be announced by Aug. 31.
The closest approved site to York County is a facility slated for Portland that could be open in as little as two months. Other approved sites include Wilton, Thomaston, Hermon and Fort Kent. The last site will be in either Waterville or Augusta.
Maine residents approved for medical marijuana can buy the drug at any site.
Fousek said Green Relief will submit another application and hire consultants to determine where it can make improvements.
"We obviously have to step up our game. We need to do a house cleaning and figure out where we went wrong."
Green Relief scored well in some areas, like security, but scored lower in other areas like convenience of location and business experience.
In general, the losing applicants failed to demonstrate a nonprofit "mission," according to Cathy Cobb, director of DHHS's Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services. She said the department was weary of applications that represented "get-rich-quick schemes."
Green Relief scored the second-lowest of the five groups evaluated by the department for the single York County dispensary location. Ahead Care of Sanford scored 65; Primary Organic Therapy of Kittery scored 64; Maine Patient's Center of Cornish scored 59; and Green Mark of Saco scored 45.
In November, voters passed a medical marijuana dispensary law – making Maine the fifth state to enact the measure. It allows patients with chronic pain to obtain up to 2 1⁄2 ounces of the drug at a time.
After the vote, many communities moved to ban dispensaries, including Sanford and North Berwick. The Eliot Board of Selectmen tried to do so, but voters struck down a proposed moratorium. The board then scrambled to pass an ordinance that prohibits a dispensary from being located near schools or residential areas.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Roland Fernald said it was important to establish the regulations so they would have applied to Green Relief if it had been awarded the Eliot site.
Fousek said his group will decide if it wants to take another shot at Eliot or apply for a dispensary in a different community.
Fernald said the town is prepared if a dispensary eventually comes to down.
"We will make sure everything is run right."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Fosters
Author: JASON CLAFFEY
Copyright: 2010 Geo. J. Foster Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
