Boston News Today - BRIEFS: MASS DISPENSARY UPDATE FAQ

We thought you might be wondering …

Did it take a judge to get some momentum for the medical marijuana program in Mass?

Yes. Last Monday, a judge in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston officially noted what we have all known for a while—that the Department of Public Health screwed the pudding, and that the agency wrongfully denied licenses to two dispensaries in particular.

Which ones?

Ones proposed by Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts (MMM) for Mashpee and Plymouth.

Isn’t that the one owned by a politician?

Not owned, but yes, former US Congressman William Delahunt was heading MMM at one time, but now even he is too disgusted with the bureaucratic bullshit to proceed in the industry.

What happened with that whole thing?

On the macro level, former Governor Deval Patrick apparently didn’t want dispensaries opening on his watch, and sabotaged the process. On a micro level, in scrutinizing dispensary applications even more than the state does things like security and surveillance contracts, the commonwealth went way overboard. MMM, though a relative whale compared to other operations, caught the shit end of the stick during an overzealous second review, and was put out for minor discrepancies with their initial proposal.

So does that mean I can get the medical pot that I need like, tomorrow?

LOL. No, sorry, if it were only that simple. New Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker seems to have good intentions, and is completely revamping the system on the dispensary and patient ends. That new process won’t be introduced until May 15 though, so only time will tell. As for the dispensaries themselves: 15 licenses have been awarded so far, though with the aforementioned court decisions and the new process being installed, who the hell really knows. In any case, it looks like the first shop, In Good Health, will open in Brockton this summer. See you there.