Pubdate: Wed, 03 Aug 2016
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2016 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: Kay Lazar

A BOSTON FIRST: MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR SALE

Young women in pink and powder blue princess costumes handed out 
cards advertising birthday parties to wide-eyed little girls, while 
commuters rushed past on bustling Washington Street to catch the 
Downtown Crossing subway.

Around the corner in a gray building with no signs other than a green 
awning listing 21 Milk St., executives at Patriot Care were preparing 
Tuesday night for a milestone. It's been a long road with more than a 
few bumps, but Boston's first medical marijuana dispensary is finally 
ready for its expected grand opening Wednesday.

The Milk Street shop, across from the historic Old South Meeting 
House, is equipped with infrared security cameras, a foyer, and a 
waiting area for overflow crowds, and will probably have Boston 
police working special details "quite a bit" to ensure safe 
operations, according to company officials.

Even before it opened its doors, more than 200 state-certified 
patients had preregistered with Patriot Care to shop in the 
dispensary, and company leaders said they were prepared to handle at 
least 150 customers a day.

"We're proud to be here," said Robert Mayerson, Patriot Care's chief 
executive. "We're taking a space vacant for 10 years and bringing 
economic vitality back to it."

Patriot Care marks the seventh dispensary to open in Massachusetts, 
nearly four years after state voters approved marijuana for medical 
use. The 2012 ballot initiative envisioned 35 such businesses opening 
in the first year.

Patients who have grown weary of the protracted and contentious 
dispensary licensing process hailed the Boston opening. Patriot Care, 
which opened a Lowell dispensary in February, has been distributing 
discount coupons there for its Boston shop.

"They took a real professional approach to the Boston atmosphere," 
with a chairlift at the street entrance to carry disabled patients up 
the four stairs to the dispensary, said Nichole Snow, executive 
director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance. Snow toured 
the shop Friday.

"I am excited for patients," she said. "It's been a long time coming."

The dispensary interior, with cream-colored walls, plants, bright 
lighting, and sales counters, seems a cross between the bank that 
once occupied the space and a doctor's office.

The opening comes in the same week that the debate over legalizing 
recreational use of marijuana turned sharper, with the president of 
the Boston City Council and another councilor expressing their 
support for a November referendum. That put them in conflict with 
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, among top city and state leaders opposing the measure.

Ever since Patriot Care announced its intention more than a year ago 
to open a medical marijuana dispensary on Milk Street, business 
groups raised questions about potential traffic and security 
complications downtown.

Boston police worried about the specter of on-street drug dealing, 
while residents said they feared their neighborhood, resurrected from 
a crime-infested past, would be dragged back down. Walsh, who opposed 
the 2012 ballot initiative that legalized medicinal use of marijuana, 
made it clear he was less than enthusiastic about a Boston dispensary.

The cornucopia of concerns prompted city leaders to defer approval as 
they sought assurances from Patriot Care.

Some anxieties have eased. Yet even as the company conducted media 
tours Tuesday evening, residents and business leaders expressed 
continuing concerns.

"The devil is in the details, and we probably need a good three-to 
six-month track record," to know how this will work out, said Rishi 
Shukla, cofounder of the Downtown Boston Residents' Association.

"Patriot Care, to their credit, has made some concessions for safety 
and police," Shukla said. "They have agreed to a police detail during 
business hours . . . making sure there aren't lines out the door."

Boston police declined to comment.

The mayor's office released a statement noting that Walsh, despite 
his opposition to the 2012 law, said he will uphold it.

"I am pleased that over the past few months, Patriot Care has worked 
closely with the administration to address many of the neighborhood 
concerns," the statement said.

The mayor's office declined to release a copy of the contract, known 
as a host agreement, it negotiated with Patriot Care in exchange for 
permission to operate. That pact details the amount of money the 
company will give to the city and donate to local charities.

A recent Globe review found Massachusetts cities and towns are 
exacting increasingly hefty payments from dispensaries in exchange 
for letters the companies need to win state licenses.

Mayerson also declined to detail the agreement, but said the company 
has donated space in the basement of the building to Compassionate 
Care ALS, a nonprofit that helps patients with the fatal 
neurodegenerative disease. He said the company also has donated money 
to four other local charities, including AIDS Action Committee of 
Massachusetts.

Company officials stressed that Patriot Care has promised it will not 
sell marijuana for recreational use, even if voters approve the 
initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, known as BID, said 
in a statement it has been working with Patriot Care's leaders, and 
has "maintained consistent communication" regarding the group's 
concerns about adequate lighting, staffing levels, security, hours of 
operation, and signs outside the shop.

"This communication is expected to continue well after they open as 
we do with all businesses in the BID's 34 block district," the statement said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom