Pubdate: Sat, 05 Sep 2015
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2015 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Felice J. Freyer

MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OPENS IN BROCKTON

BROCKTON - The state's second medical marijuana dispensary opened 
Friday morning, receiving what its president described as brisk but 
orderly business.

"Overall, our patients are very happy today," said David B. Noble, 
president of In Good Health, which was granted a 90-day waiver on 
Wednesday that allows it to sell marijuana that has not been fully 
tested for pesticides and other contaminants.

Noble said that by midday Friday, his dispensary had seen 100 to 150 
customers at its 1200 W. Chestnut St. facility, a sprawling one-story 
building in the city's southeastern corner, near the Easton line. 
Each patient spent about an hour and 15 minutes waiting in line and 
making their purchase, he said.

Some of the patients, Noble said, had been driving dozens of miles to 
the other dispensary, Alternative Therapies Group in Salem. 
Alternative Therapies served 1,500 patients in its first two months 
of operation.

Noble, who held a press conference outside the facility, said he had 
been working two years to make the dispensary a reality. Asked 
whether he was frustrated by the prolonged regulatory process, he 
said he was prepared for it. "Because this was a new process, we had 
to be patient with the entire system," he said.

More than 20,000 people in Massachusetts have obtained certifications 
from their doctor permitting them to buy marijuana for medical 
reasons, and nearly 12,000 have registered to shop in a dispensary. 
But only two dispensaries have opened among the 15 that received 
provisional licenses.

The latest obstacle has been the testing laboratories' difficulties 
in meeting state regulations for screening marijuana for pesticides, 
heavy metals, and other contaminants. Testing lab owners have 
complained that the Massachusetts rules are too stringent.

The state Department of Public Health granted waivers for the Salem 
and Brockton facilities so that patients can gain access to 
marijuana, while the testing laboratories work on buying, testing, 
and calibrating the equipment they will need.

In Good Health is permitted to sell a maximum of 4.23 ounces of plant 
material to each patient or caregiver. Under the waiver, In Good 
Health cannot sell cannabis oils or foods containing the drug.

Noble hired a Brockton police officer in addition to his own security 
detail for the first week of operation.

Each patient, he said, must present a valid medical marijuana card 
and identification, and also pass through a metal detector, before 
being buzzed into the dispensary.

The drug, sold for about $20 a gram, is placed in a child-resistant 
pill bottle and a white paper bag like those used at pharmacies. 
Patients receive a pamphlet describing how the product is grown, 
advice on selecting the best strain, a chart for tracking symptoms, 
and warnings against driving and the risk of dependence.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom