The path to medical marijuana in Massachusetts has begun to unfurl, but Boston-area residents still await the opening of a dispensary in the city.
Alternative Therapies Inc. in Salem and In Good Health, Inc. in Brockton are the only medical marijuana dispensaries open in the state. In Good Health opened its doors Friday.
“The pace at which dispensaries open is up to them, as a function of their business,” said Scott Zoback, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. “If someone right now wanted to visit a medical marijuana dispensary, they would have to go out to Brockton or Salem to have those services.”
In Good Health first received its license to operate from the DPH in April.
“We are very much looking forward to opening our doors and serving the needs of patients in Brockton and beyond,” In Good Health president David Noble said in the April statement. “We are grateful for the support we have received from the patient community and leaders in the city of Brockton, and for the state’s approval.”
Medical marijuana use was legalized in Massachusetts in 2012 under former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Marijuana was also decriminalized in 2009, meaning possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for those over the age of 18 will only be a civil offense.
There are more dispensaries in the application process that will begin operation in Massachusetts soon, Zoback said.
“There are 15 that have been provisionally approved and there are about 100 that are in the application process, but those are a little behind in terms of timeline,” Zoback said.
Zoback expressed excitement for how the medical marijuana program is progressing across the state.
“The medical marijuana program continues to move forward and dispensaries continue to move forward in the Boston area,” Zoback said. “Our goal is to ensure safe dispensaries around the state.”
Efforts to revamp the dispensary application process were instated to grant licenses to dispensaries on a rolling basis, in the same way that they are granted to pharmacies, The Daily Free Press reported on April 13, 2015.
Progress will continue because there are dispensary applications in the works and quite a bit of demand for their services, Zoback said.
“There has been good progress made, both with dispensaries already provisionally approved, and those that have applied in the ongoing application process,” Zoback said. “There seems to be a good pace of demand and we are satisfied.”
Several residents expressed how medical marijuana should be available to those who need it and how there should be a dispensary open in Boston.
Derek Chu, 19, of Brighton, said people deserve convenient access to something they are using as medication.
“Medication is very important,” Chu said. “People need it and I believe you should be able to get it locally. There should be a dispensary located around [Boston].”
Yolanda Brown, 39, of Dorchester, said that as long as it is controlled and for medical use, there shouldn’t be any problem with having a marijuana dispensary in Boston.
“I would say people that really need medical marijuana and not just want to smoke it [recreationally] should have access in Boston,” Brown said. “I don’t think crime would go up if there was a law in place stating that it was only for medical use.”
Moses Gonzalez, 32, of Back Bay, said there should be a dispensary in Boston because it creates a controlled sale in reasonable distance.
“With the changes in society, it would be nice if people didn’t have to travel so far. In some parts of the United States, it has worked out and been somewhat controlled and it would be nice for people to have a local source,” he said. “If anything it probably would promote a more controlled environment and bring in some jobs and make people realize that weed isn’t the most terrible thing.”
Hannah Libby contributed to the reporting of this article.
““The pace at which dispensaries open is up to them, as a function of their business,” said Scott Zoback, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. ” ??!!! So, I’m guessing Scott Zoback is using far too much cannabis himself. In Good Health for example had plenty of product and was chomping at the bit to open but couldn’t get the needed paperwork from DPH. There are other companies out there approved to grow, do you think they are just sitting around deciding NOT to open while their plants wither and die?