Business
How Massachusetts’ First and Only Medical Cannabis Dispensary is Serving the State’s 18,000 Registered Patients
Even though medical cannabis has been legal in Massachusetts
since November 2012, legal red tape and controversy over how to award licenses
to dispensaries has been in the way of getting the product
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap radius”]E[/dropcap]ven though medical cannabis has been legal in Massachusetts since Nov. 2012, legal red tape and controversy over how to award licenses to dispensaries has been in the way of getting the product to the people. However, just last month, Massachusetts finally opened its first official medical cannabis dispensary in the state.
According to the Boston Globe, Alternative Therapies Group in Salem, MA is in unbelievably high
demand. Alternative Therapies Group does business by appointment only, and even then, there is often a wait. Patients cannot see or smell the products; instead they have to view them on a computer screen, and then pick them up from another area in the dispensary after they make their selection. The business only takes cash, and prices for the products rival those on the black market.
Despite all that, Alternative Therapies Group is certainly not to blame. There are currently 18,000 people approved for medical cannabis in Massachusetts, and clearly one dispensary cannot service all those people, especially when they all want product at once due to the long wait for dispensaries to open their doors. Still, despite this, medical patients are coming out to get cannabis, and are happy to finally be able to receive the relief they seek.
We fought a long time for this,” Peter Hayashi, a retired neuropsychologist, told the Boston Globe.
“Marijuana has helped me be up and around more normally.” Hayashi explains that he has a painful neurological condition that makes him sensitive to cold, and that he has been getting cannabis from Maine because it is the only thing that helps with his pain. Now, although the setup at this dispensary may be less than ideal, he is finally able to seek treatment in his home state.
This is great news for this New England state, and now that the hurdle of actually opening a dispensary is finally cleared, many more are sure to follow suit. Soon, Massachusetts will join the ranks of medical legalization success stories across the U.S.
