While the Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to inspect the 15 prospective medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, one defiant activist is taking matters into his own hands and has apparently opened a shop in Allston.
Bill Downing operates CBD Please on Lincoln Street in Allston, according to CBS Boston. The products he sells, though, do not contain the high amounts of THC, the active chemical found in marijuana that produce a high, but rather cannabidiol (CBD) derived from hemp.
And he doesn’t care in the slightest if what he’s doing is legal or not.
“I’m not regulated with the Department of Public Health and I don’t need to be,” Downing told the Boston Herald. “I don’t think you’ll find CBD in the regulations, so it’s none of their business. Unless it’s made illegal, it’s not.”
Downing’s latest foray into the therapeutic weed game very much mirrors those of past attempts. The Herald notes further that Downing was issued a cease and desist letter when MassDPH found out he was acting as a marijuana caregiver to over 1,000 patients.
Personal caregivers must be licensed with the state in order to operate and their patients must be qualified under state law to receive marijuana treatment.
BostInno reached out to MassDPH for a comment on the legality of Downing’s shop and what possible steps it intents to take. They responded with the following:
The Massachusetts Medical Use of Marijuana Program regulates and certifies registered marijuana dispensaries in compliance with Massachusetts law on medical use of marijuana. Outside of that, anyone who cultivates, transports, possesses, distributes or sells marijuana in violation of Massachusetts law may be subject to law enforcement action.
Downing may be operating as a rogue outside the bounds of the law, but there’s a good chance he’ll be regarded as a champion in the medical marijuana realm.
Some may recall the medical marijuana ballot initiative was voted on and approved by Bay Staters two years ago. In the meantime, Washington and Colorado have also approved and are fruitfully operating recreational marijuana retailers in the confines of their state lines.
Back in September several patients and advocates gathered under the gilded dome of the Massachusetts State House to express their utter disappointment and frustration with MassDPH for not expediting the licensing processes. No dispensaries have yet been approved by the state to open their doors, let alone plant a single marijuana seed in the ground.
All the while they’ve collected over $3 million in application fees from a pool candidates that was spanned well over 100 strong.
In Boston, MassDPH allowed for a Patriot Care Corp. to move on to the inspectional phase of the dispensary application process through Open County – MassDPH’s way of possibly allowing for more dispensaries to move on despite not being granted inspectional phase status prior.
Both Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor-Elect Charlie Baker have expressed great distaste in the chance that a recreational marijuana ballot initiative be approved, though both have vowed to work directly with MassDPH to streamline the lagging medical marijuana system. Mayor Walsh, for one, is personally against the opening of a dispensary in Boston.
