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The state Department of Consumer Protection will initially award only three marijuana-growing licenses as Connecticut ramps up its program to allow medicinal use of the drug.
But Easton farmer Joseph Palmieri Jr., who wants to start a medical marijuana cultivation operation in Bridgeport, says the DCP is doing the right thing.
The agency had originally planned for as many as 10 grow facilities to supply the estimated thousands of eligible patients with ailments allowed under the 2012 medical marijuana law.
But on Friday evening, the department posted on its website news that only a fraction of the 10 will go forward at first, to supply the approximately 900 patients who have currently applied or/and have been accepted into the program.
"I think they're really looking at the demand," Palmieri said Saturday afternoon. "The demand is not there, at this point. I think they're being prudent by not flooding the market."
The deadline for hand-delivered proposals is 3 p.m. on Nov. 15 at DCP headquarters in Hartford.
Palmieri, who also owns an environmental clean-up company based in Bridgeport, said that he finds the application process fair and detailed.
"I spent all night reviewing it," Palmieri said. "It's a very thorough application. I am very confident that I will meet all the requirements."
The agency also announced that three-to-five dispensary licenses will be awarded, most likely in the more-populated counties, including Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford, Litchfield and New London County.
It's the first time that the number of dispensaries, which will be run by licensed state pharmacists, has been declared by the department.
"With the final regulations' posting on the Secretary of State's website, the regulations for the palliative use of marijuana became effective today, and we are moving forward immediately with the next phase of implementation, to identify those entities that will produce and dispense medical marijuana to patients certified in Connecticut," Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said in a statement early Friday evening.
The department reserves the right to increase the number of growers and dispensaries, depending on demand.
Also, if there are not enough qualified applicants, the DCP may not award three grow licenses, according to the agency website.
The competitive process to apply for a growing license includes a $25,000 application fee and a $75,000 registration fee, both nonrefundable. Proposed locations, site and business plans, marketing strategies, financial statements and organization charts, as well as resumes of agricultural experience and plans for transporting marijuana to dispensaries are required.
The dispensary application requires site, business, marketing and organizational plans.
Rubenstein is hopeful that state growers and dispensaries can be up and running by the late winter or early spring of 2014.
Patients certified by their doctors and registered with the DCP have been legally allowed to possess marijuana since October of last year, but the actual transactions involved in their obtaining marijuana will be illegal until the growers can bring crops to maturity and harvest.
The palliative marijuana will come in smokable and edible forms, but candy has been banned under the law.
Under the program, patients over the age of 18 will be allowed to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana per month.
There is a potential for tens of thousands of state residents with debilitating ailments, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn's disease or post-traumatic stress disorder, to join the program as it progresses. But the Connecticut State Medical Society has not endorsed the program.
Eighteen states have similar programs and two more have approved similar laws.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: norwalkcitizenonline.com
Author: Ken Dixon
Contact: Contact Us - Norwalk Citizen
Website: State to award only 3 medical pot licenses - Norwalk Citizen
But Easton farmer Joseph Palmieri Jr., who wants to start a medical marijuana cultivation operation in Bridgeport, says the DCP is doing the right thing.
The agency had originally planned for as many as 10 grow facilities to supply the estimated thousands of eligible patients with ailments allowed under the 2012 medical marijuana law.
But on Friday evening, the department posted on its website news that only a fraction of the 10 will go forward at first, to supply the approximately 900 patients who have currently applied or/and have been accepted into the program.
"I think they're really looking at the demand," Palmieri said Saturday afternoon. "The demand is not there, at this point. I think they're being prudent by not flooding the market."
The deadline for hand-delivered proposals is 3 p.m. on Nov. 15 at DCP headquarters in Hartford.
Palmieri, who also owns an environmental clean-up company based in Bridgeport, said that he finds the application process fair and detailed.
"I spent all night reviewing it," Palmieri said. "It's a very thorough application. I am very confident that I will meet all the requirements."
The agency also announced that three-to-five dispensary licenses will be awarded, most likely in the more-populated counties, including Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford, Litchfield and New London County.
It's the first time that the number of dispensaries, which will be run by licensed state pharmacists, has been declared by the department.
"With the final regulations' posting on the Secretary of State's website, the regulations for the palliative use of marijuana became effective today, and we are moving forward immediately with the next phase of implementation, to identify those entities that will produce and dispense medical marijuana to patients certified in Connecticut," Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said in a statement early Friday evening.
The department reserves the right to increase the number of growers and dispensaries, depending on demand.
Also, if there are not enough qualified applicants, the DCP may not award three grow licenses, according to the agency website.
The competitive process to apply for a growing license includes a $25,000 application fee and a $75,000 registration fee, both nonrefundable. Proposed locations, site and business plans, marketing strategies, financial statements and organization charts, as well as resumes of agricultural experience and plans for transporting marijuana to dispensaries are required.
The dispensary application requires site, business, marketing and organizational plans.
Rubenstein is hopeful that state growers and dispensaries can be up and running by the late winter or early spring of 2014.
Patients certified by their doctors and registered with the DCP have been legally allowed to possess marijuana since October of last year, but the actual transactions involved in their obtaining marijuana will be illegal until the growers can bring crops to maturity and harvest.
The palliative marijuana will come in smokable and edible forms, but candy has been banned under the law.
Under the program, patients over the age of 18 will be allowed to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana per month.
There is a potential for tens of thousands of state residents with debilitating ailments, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn's disease or post-traumatic stress disorder, to join the program as it progresses. But the Connecticut State Medical Society has not endorsed the program.
Eighteen states have similar programs and two more have approved similar laws.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: norwalkcitizenonline.com
Author: Ken Dixon
Contact: Contact Us - Norwalk Citizen
Website: State to award only 3 medical pot licenses - Norwalk Citizen
