Pubdate: Fri, 14 Jun 2013
Source: Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA)
Copyright: 2013 South Coast Media Group
Contact:  http://www.southcoasttoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/422
Author: Curt Brown

PROVENCHER HAS SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY, 
BUT WILL WORK THROUGH THEM IF NEEDED

NEW BEDFORD - Although Police Chief David A. Provencher is not in 
favor of a medical marijuana dispensary in the city, he said he is 
committed to working through his security concerns with the prospective owners.

The chief told The Standard-Times editorial board Thursday his 
"preference" is that the Center for Alternative Life Medicine locate 
outside New Bedford.

But Provencher said the principals with CALM, which wants to open a 
full-scale marijuana dispensary that would serve residents of Bristol 
County, have offered to show him their business plan and in 
particular their security arrangements.

"It's not for me to decide whether it should be here or not," he 
said, adding his responsibility is it to oversee the law. "I'm 
withholding judgment until I see their plan."

T.J. Thomas, CALM's director, said the chief expressed the same 
concerns to him at a meeting last week. "He may not agree with it but 
he understands he has to work with it because it's the law," he said. 
"He's not for it."

Thomas said Provencher is concerned about "security protocols" and 
wants to know how safely the facility will operate.

CALM has "pretty much" finalized the terms of a lease for a 
dispensary in the city's South End but does not have an agreement, 
according to Thomas.

Provencher said he has read the regulations for a medical marijuana 
dispensary but is not "comfortable" with how they relate to operating 
a facility. "It's way too soon for any of us to have a concrete 
discussion," he said.

The state will license 14 treatment dispensaries, one for each 
county, but no more than five per county and no more than 35 for the 
entire state, according to the law.

The law allows clients with a prescription to have up to 10 ounces of 
marijuana or a 60-day supply in their homes. Provencher also 
described marijuana as "a gateway" drug that often leads to other 
drug use and said he has concerns about it possibly being diverted.

He said he has read of children as young as five testing positive for 
marijuana because of exposure. "That's disturbing to me," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom