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Julia Dobbelaar, addressing members of the Boston City Council and other officials on Monday, spoke eloquently of her experience as a cancer patient who uses medical marijuana to help ease the pain of her illness.
The Winchester resident was one of several patients who testified before the council's Committee on Government Operations at City Hall ahead of the new state medical marijuana law going into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The focus of the meeting, arranged by Councilor Rob Consalvo, D-5, is to start the process of making zoning changes in anticipation of dispensaries opening in Boston. The challenge, many agreed, is balancing the needs of neighborhoods while also guaranteeing accessibility to patients.
"The zoning code is an always fluid document," said Consalvo at the start of the meeting.
Unlike drugs legalized at the federal level and available by prescription at pharmacies, marijuana will be available through as many as 35 state dispensaries in the first year, according to the law. Each county will have between one and five dispensaries, and qualifying patients can also apply for "personal cultivating licenses" if they are unable to visit a dispensary, for either physical or financial reasons.
Seated across from Consalvo, D-9 Councilor Mark Ciommo and D-2 Councilor Bill Linehan, were other city officials who are also grappling with how to prepare to implement the new law, including Richard McGuinness, department director for regional and environmental planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority; Barbara Ferrer, executive director for the Boston Public Health Commission; Lt. Det. Robert Merner, commander of the Boston Police Department's Drug Control Unit; and Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Bernard O'Rourke.
McGuinness told the councilors that the BRA has added an amendment to the Boston Zoning Code that defines medical marijuana dispensaries as a new use or category. Dispensaries are currently defined as "forbidden" in the code — meaning that for now, any potential dispensary owner would need to get a special permit from the Board of Appeals to open one in Boston. McGuinness added the use will remain forbidden, "until we get more details from the Department of Public Health" about the law's regulations.
Susan Elsbree, communications director at the BRA, added that the city would need to decide how it wants to regulate the zoning of the dispensaries within Boston and the BRA would need to take subsequent action to define where these dispensaries will be allowed.
Ferrer said that it was imperative to "balance the needs of individual patients and our neighborhoods," when considering where dispensaries are located.
During the public comment period of the meeting, Dobbelaar told the councilors, "Location, to me, is a big deal," saying it's essential that facilities be accessible by public transportation. "I don't see this as being scary," she said.
Consalvo concluded by saying the council will be holding further meetings in the new year.
"We need to make sure we're zoning these dispensaries ... in an appropriate way," he said.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: wickedlocal.com
Author: Julie Cohen
Contact: Wicked Local West Roxbury Contact Us
Website: Medical marijuana tops Boston City Council agenda - West Roxbury, MA - Wicked Local West Roxbury
The Winchester resident was one of several patients who testified before the council's Committee on Government Operations at City Hall ahead of the new state medical marijuana law going into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The focus of the meeting, arranged by Councilor Rob Consalvo, D-5, is to start the process of making zoning changes in anticipation of dispensaries opening in Boston. The challenge, many agreed, is balancing the needs of neighborhoods while also guaranteeing accessibility to patients.
"The zoning code is an always fluid document," said Consalvo at the start of the meeting.
Unlike drugs legalized at the federal level and available by prescription at pharmacies, marijuana will be available through as many as 35 state dispensaries in the first year, according to the law. Each county will have between one and five dispensaries, and qualifying patients can also apply for "personal cultivating licenses" if they are unable to visit a dispensary, for either physical or financial reasons.
Seated across from Consalvo, D-9 Councilor Mark Ciommo and D-2 Councilor Bill Linehan, were other city officials who are also grappling with how to prepare to implement the new law, including Richard McGuinness, department director for regional and environmental planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority; Barbara Ferrer, executive director for the Boston Public Health Commission; Lt. Det. Robert Merner, commander of the Boston Police Department's Drug Control Unit; and Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Bernard O'Rourke.
McGuinness told the councilors that the BRA has added an amendment to the Boston Zoning Code that defines medical marijuana dispensaries as a new use or category. Dispensaries are currently defined as "forbidden" in the code — meaning that for now, any potential dispensary owner would need to get a special permit from the Board of Appeals to open one in Boston. McGuinness added the use will remain forbidden, "until we get more details from the Department of Public Health" about the law's regulations.
Susan Elsbree, communications director at the BRA, added that the city would need to decide how it wants to regulate the zoning of the dispensaries within Boston and the BRA would need to take subsequent action to define where these dispensaries will be allowed.
Ferrer said that it was imperative to "balance the needs of individual patients and our neighborhoods," when considering where dispensaries are located.
During the public comment period of the meeting, Dobbelaar told the councilors, "Location, to me, is a big deal," saying it's essential that facilities be accessible by public transportation. "I don't see this as being scary," she said.
Consalvo concluded by saying the council will be holding further meetings in the new year.
"We need to make sure we're zoning these dispensaries ... in an appropriate way," he said.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: wickedlocal.com
Author: Julie Cohen
Contact: Wicked Local West Roxbury Contact Us
Website: Medical marijuana tops Boston City Council agenda - West Roxbury, MA - Wicked Local West Roxbury
