Jacob Bell
New Member
The District's medical marijuana program is proceeding as quickly as, well, someone with a mighty buzz behind the wheel of a car.
City officials gave word yesterday that the application deadline for the five dispensaries that will get marijuana to qualifying patients has been moved from October 31 to November 15, citing the need to "address the volume of questions that it has received and to allow applicants to have the time to make adjustments." The two-week extension will similarly apply to every other deadline for the dispensary process, pushing the final announcement of the lucky winners back to March 30.
Applicants for the 10 cultivation centers, which will grow the marijuana, were also offered a two-week extension; all the applications were turned in on September 30. According to the District's Department of Health, which is managing the city's medical marijuana program, the cultivation center licenses will be awarded on January 31.
Earlier this year, city officials said that medical marijuana should be available to patients by mid-2012, 14 years after a 1998 initiative was endorsed by 69 percent of District voters. The most significant delay in the program was Congress' insistence that it not move forward, resistance that was only overcome in 2009. Since then, District officials have published four versions of the many rules and regulations governing the who, what, why, when and how of medical marijuana in the city.
To gain one of the 15 licenses -- 10 for cultivation centers, five for dispensaries -- hopefuls have to submit lengthy applications and pay a $5,000 application fee, only half of which is refundable. Applications are judged on a 250-point scale, with security plans and community input accounting for a great deal of the score.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dcist.com
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Gothamist LLC.
Website: Yet Another Delay For D.C. Medical Marijuana Program
City officials gave word yesterday that the application deadline for the five dispensaries that will get marijuana to qualifying patients has been moved from October 31 to November 15, citing the need to "address the volume of questions that it has received and to allow applicants to have the time to make adjustments." The two-week extension will similarly apply to every other deadline for the dispensary process, pushing the final announcement of the lucky winners back to March 30.
Applicants for the 10 cultivation centers, which will grow the marijuana, were also offered a two-week extension; all the applications were turned in on September 30. According to the District's Department of Health, which is managing the city's medical marijuana program, the cultivation center licenses will be awarded on January 31.
Earlier this year, city officials said that medical marijuana should be available to patients by mid-2012, 14 years after a 1998 initiative was endorsed by 69 percent of District voters. The most significant delay in the program was Congress' insistence that it not move forward, resistance that was only overcome in 2009. Since then, District officials have published four versions of the many rules and regulations governing the who, what, why, when and how of medical marijuana in the city.
To gain one of the 15 licenses -- 10 for cultivation centers, five for dispensaries -- hopefuls have to submit lengthy applications and pay a $5,000 application fee, only half of which is refundable. Applications are judged on a 250-point scale, with security plans and community input accounting for a great deal of the score.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dcist.com
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Gothamist LLC.
Website: Yet Another Delay For D.C. Medical Marijuana Program
