Medical marijuana is a contentious issue here in Massachusetts. Despite the fact that the herbal (medicinal) remedy was voted into law by Bay Staters back in 2012, dispensaries have yet to put a single seed in the ground, let alone open up their doors for patients. Nevertheless, the inaugural New England Cannabis Convention will take place in Boston in January 2015.
According to The Huntington News, the inaugural NECC will take place on January 31 at the Castle at Park Plaza. The idea of the event is to connect patients with growers and vendors, surely a chore for both parties these days given the painstakingly slow licensing process that’s been condemned and called into question several times already.
“We are here to support patients,” marijuana activist Mike Cann, who is responsible for booking the convention’s speakers and presentations, told The Huntington News. “We also want to get the businesses, people and politicians together in the same room and [start] raising the underground to the above-ground and bringing synergy between these groups.”
The local publication went on to note that the convention will hardly resemble other weed-centric gatherings, including the freedom rallies that annually take place on Boston Common both in support of legalization and an expedited medical licensure process. Rather, the focus will be networking and raising patient awareness for best products and edibles that may suit their personal affliction, and best practices on the part of the Commonwealth for implementation.
In late September the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance hosted a press conference in which several patients expressed their sheer frustration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which oversees the statewide medical marijuana effort, for failing to comply with the law and open dispensaries in a timely manner.
MassDPH has allowed for 11 of the more than 180 initial dispensary applicants to proceed to this point in the process, an inspection phase, after which even less could be allowed to formally open their doors. Those 11 were chosen based, in part, on the fact that they’re able to serve 97 percent of patients within a 30 mile radius – unacceptable, for if you’ve driven the back roads of Massachusetts as pointed out MPAA executive director Matthew Allen, you know that a 30-mile drive can take up to 45 minutes or more to reach the destination.
Though MassDPH estimates the first dispensary could open as early as November, it’s a highly unlikely scenario given the fact that dispensaries are waiting for a governmental green light before putting seeds in the ground. Either way, the NECC will take place on January 31.
