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The Bay State's prospective pot peddlers include doctors, lawyers, former Beacon Hill lawmakers and the owner of a hemp clothing boutique – just some of the 181 applicants feverishly competing to open the newly legal dispensaries in what experts predict will be a $1 billion industry.
"We've been in the cannabis field longer than anyone else here in Massachusetts," said Jonathan Napoli, who owns The Hempest, a hemp clothing shop on Newbury Street and in Harvard Square. "We're local players. We're not coming in from Colorado or California or anything."
Napoli wants to open Planting Hope – the name of his proposed pot dispensary – in Dennis, Salem and Boston, though he declined to discuss specific locations.
Officials yesterday released the names of those vying for the 35 medical marijuana dispensary permits the state is doling out the first year of the new law. Also released were the counties – but not the towns – where they hope to set up shop.
"It does seem like a real lot, to be honest with you," said Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus. "It would lead me to believe it must be a lucrative business."
But Napoli said there are no big-money guarantees in the marijuana industry.
"There are a lot of expenses involved," said Napoli. "But the price will only come down as more states start regulating. It remains to be seen how profitable it's going to be. I see a lot of optimistic projections, but I think there will be some unknown bumps down the road."
The biggest, he said, will be persuading cities and towns to allow the dispensaries in their communities. Lynnfield, for example, passed a moratorium that will bar the pot shops from setting up there until the town can work out specific regulations – a process that could take until next spring.
Cities and towns aren't allowed to permanently ban the dispensaries from their communities, but they can zone where they can and can't locate.
"In some cases ... it's a knee-jerk reaction, that people are anti-cannabis" Napoli said. "There is a lot of fear of the unknown out there. But a lot of towns ... are rational about it."
Five of the applicants are listed as doctors and the names of two are followed by "Esq.," a common indication that they are lawyers. At least two former state senators – Republican Brian P. Lees and Democrat Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. – are listed as contact names for dispensaries. Lees could not be reached. Nuciforo is one of five applicants in Hampshire County and hopes to open Kind Medical Inc..
"We think that a dispensary should be patient-centered, it should be safe, secure and allow fair access to patients that need it," Nuciforo said. "We think we can accomplish that for Western Mass."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: bostonherald.com
Author: Chris Cassidy
Contact: Contact Us | Boston Herald
Website: bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/varied_cast_lines_up_for_pot_permits
"We've been in the cannabis field longer than anyone else here in Massachusetts," said Jonathan Napoli, who owns The Hempest, a hemp clothing shop on Newbury Street and in Harvard Square. "We're local players. We're not coming in from Colorado or California or anything."
Napoli wants to open Planting Hope – the name of his proposed pot dispensary – in Dennis, Salem and Boston, though he declined to discuss specific locations.
Officials yesterday released the names of those vying for the 35 medical marijuana dispensary permits the state is doling out the first year of the new law. Also released were the counties – but not the towns – where they hope to set up shop.
"It does seem like a real lot, to be honest with you," said Lynnfield Town Administrator Bill Gustus. "It would lead me to believe it must be a lucrative business."
But Napoli said there are no big-money guarantees in the marijuana industry.
"There are a lot of expenses involved," said Napoli. "But the price will only come down as more states start regulating. It remains to be seen how profitable it's going to be. I see a lot of optimistic projections, but I think there will be some unknown bumps down the road."
The biggest, he said, will be persuading cities and towns to allow the dispensaries in their communities. Lynnfield, for example, passed a moratorium that will bar the pot shops from setting up there until the town can work out specific regulations – a process that could take until next spring.
Cities and towns aren't allowed to permanently ban the dispensaries from their communities, but they can zone where they can and can't locate.
"In some cases ... it's a knee-jerk reaction, that people are anti-cannabis" Napoli said. "There is a lot of fear of the unknown out there. But a lot of towns ... are rational about it."
Five of the applicants are listed as doctors and the names of two are followed by "Esq.," a common indication that they are lawyers. At least two former state senators – Republican Brian P. Lees and Democrat Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. – are listed as contact names for dispensaries. Lees could not be reached. Nuciforo is one of five applicants in Hampshire County and hopes to open Kind Medical Inc..
"We think that a dispensary should be patient-centered, it should be safe, secure and allow fair access to patients that need it," Nuciforo said. "We think we can accomplish that for Western Mass."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: bostonherald.com
Author: Chris Cassidy
Contact: Contact Us | Boston Herald
Website: bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/varied_cast_lines_up_for_pot_permits
