On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced which applicants would be moving on the medical marijuana dispensary phase. Of the 20 that were considered for provisional status, and the eight that were allowed to apply for an alternate location, 11 will be moving forward as provisionally certified Registered Marijuana Dispensaries an onto the inspectional phase.

Karen van Unen, executive director of MassDPH’s Medical Use of Marijuana Program, was joined by Kevin Palaia, Principal, ICF, International and Jack Nichols, Director, Creative Services, Inc., in outlining how the process has moved forward thus far and how it will continue to work.

Noticeably absent from the dispensaries awarded provisional certification are former U.S. Representative William Delahunt’s Medial Marijuana of Massachusetts (for which his three dispensary applications were allowed to move on to the second phase), who has direct ties to DPH Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett, and the two dispensaries eyeing Boston to set up shop – Good Chemistry of Massachusetts and Green Heart Holistic & Pharmaceuticals.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh made it abundantly clear that he’s opposed to any medical marijuana dispensaries being open in city limits, despite the Boston City Council’s willingness to consider them.

“It’s all about implementing the will of the voters,” van Unen stated.

Given that the will of the voters dictates that 35 dispensaries are allowed to open in the Bay State, she and her constituent team members are implementing an Open County process so that each county not represented by a medical marijuana dispensary can vie to do so.

Application for consideration of Open County will be available for submission beginning July 9 and be due by August 29 at the latest. An announcement conveying approval from MassDPH will come some time in October.

But, for those applicants unfortunate to have been denied the opportunity to advance in the process, van Unen iterated that “all applicants not selected will continue to remain there.”

They will, however, be afforded an opportunity to engage in an appeals process with the Superior Court.

Items taken into consideration to continue onward included locations in Massachusetts there is a high volume of patients suffering from debilitating diseases (the DPH used cancer and HIV as examples though it’s not exclusive to them), as well as any relationships between the dispensaries’ relationships with host communities, amongst others.

The 11 dispensaries moving forward to the inspectional phase will be able to serve 97 percent of the state’s population, and a person traveling to the furthest dispensary will need not go more than 30 miles.

According to van Unen, pending inspection, some dispensaries could open their doors as soon as the end of November, while most will likely do so sometime in February next year.

The dispensaries awarded provisional certifications are as follows:

  1. Alternative Therapies Group, Inc. (Salem)
  2. Bay State Relief, Inc. dba Milford Medicinals, Inc. (Milford)
  3. Central Ave Compassionate Care, Inc. (Ayer)
  4. Ermont, Inc. (Quincy)
  5. Garden Remedies, Inc. (Newton)
  6. Healthy Parms, Inc. (Harverhill)
  7. In Good HEalth, Inc. (Brockton)
  8. New England Treatment Access, Inc. (Brookline)
  9. New England Treatment Access, Inc. (Northampton)
  10. Patriot Care Corp. (Lowell)
  11. William Noyes Webster Foundation, Inc. (Dennis)

Despite a number of controversies surrounding the entire process – from Delahunt’s connection to Bartlett, to how the scoring system was created and implemented – van Unen expressed that she thinks the system is “fabulous” and without much, if any, flaws.

Before any of the aforementioned dispensaries can open their doors, MassDPH will conduct inspections on grow-readiness, processing and retail-readiness to ensure “product safety and quality; security, storage and transportation; and responsiveness to patient needs.”

Applicants must also collaborate with the city or town in which they will be opening in order to comply with all municipal regulations.

Image via Shutterstock

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