NEW: Governor Baker Approves Sale of Medical Marijuana in MA
Friday, June 19, 2015
“Patients have waited to access marijuana for medical purposes for far too long,”said Governor Baker. “This waiver will allow industry laboratories a little more time to reach full operation while providing safe amounts of medical marijuana for qualifying patients who need it.”
Alternative Therapy Group (ATG) of Salem requested the waiver and met the final inspection records required by the Department of Public Health.
ATG's first batch of medical marijuana was unable to test for 11 of the mandated pesticides. Thanks to the waiver granted by Baker, marijuana for medical use can be distributed with a label that discloses to the consumer the chemicals that were not tested.
“We are not lowering our standards for the testing of marijuana for medical purposes. Safety is job one,” said Marylou Sudders, Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “The waiver allows for small amounts of marijuana to be dispensed for medical use while testing facilities ramp up.”
The waiver allows a three month period for ATG to dispense only a maximum of 4.23 ounces of marijuana to qualifty patients for a 60-day supply.
“We carefully considered the initial testing results and we will review the standards going forward,” said Dr. Monica Bharel, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health. “We believe these levels provide for patient health protections while allowing the first dispensary to distribute marijuana for medical use as voted on in 2012.”
Related Slideshow: The Highest Marijuana Prices in 2015 in New England by State
Forbes.com recently released a graphic that looks at how much an ounce of marijuana costs in every state in America, as well as the District of Columbia. The national average is $324.
Below is a look at where New England states fall in the rankings, as well as where marijuana is the most expensive and least expensive nationally.
#6 Maine
#5 Rhode Island
#4 Connecticut
#3 Massachusetts
#2 New Hampshire
#1 Vermont
U.S. Lowest: Oregon
U.S. Highest: N. Dakota
Related Articles
- Worcester Left Without Medical Marijuana Dispensary
- Nearly Half of MA Medical Marijuana Dispensary Licenses Eliminated
- No Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Worcester Outrages Advocates
- Worcester Fighting to Remove Synthetic Marijuana from City
- MA Advocates Outraged Over Further Marijuana Dispensary Delays
- MA Medical Marijuana Delays/Missteps Continue to Outrage Advocates
- Senate Revamps Efforts to Remove Synthetic Marijuana from Mass.
- MA Marijuana Dispensaries Raise State Millions, Remain Unopened
- Medical Marijuana Taxation Amendments Debated in MA Budget
- Is Massachusetts Stalling on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries?
- Leonardo Angiulo: Further Refining the Investigation of Marijuana Offenses
- Senate Budget Amendment Aims to Ban Synthetic Marijuana
- Personality Test of Marijuana Users Reveals Surprising Results
- State Police Arrest Worcester Man, Seize $1 Million in Marijuana
- DEA Crackdown Further Delays Marijuana Dispensaries, Advocates Say
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It