MA Marijuana Dispensaries Raise State Millions, Remain Unopened

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Despite raising more than $3 million in nonrefundable application fees from potential medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, Massachusetts has yet to see a single marijuana dispensary open its doors, or even be completely approved by the state for that matter.

As dispensaries continue to battle through inspection processes, they continue to have to pay fees; fees that have even translated to patients through the state’s recently announced registration system. Combined with the many delays to the dispensary process and other problems that patients are currently experiencing, many marijuana advocates are becoming increasingly upset in regards to how the legalization of medical marijuana is playing out in the Commonwealth.

“If the Department of Public Health was serious about the safety and well-being of patients, then they would implement dispensaries as soon as possible,” said Morgan Fox, Communications Manager for the Marijuana Policy Project, a nationwide organization with the goal of legalizing marijuana in the United States. “The licensing fees combined with the multitude of delays are piling up; the longer patients have to wait, the more disadvantaged they become.”

Each Phase 1 applicant for a dispensary had to pay $1,500; making it to the second phase brought another $30,000 fee. Additionally, each dispensary has to pay a $500 registration fee annually, and a minimum of $1,500 for an architectural review.

Fees Galore

Many medical marijuana advocates are okay with the amount of fees being passed onto dispensaries – after all the law was formed to push the costs onto dispensaries and not to patients themselves – but they are not okay with the fees that are being passed onto patients as a part of the registration process; $50 per year for registration plus $10 for a lost card and $100 for hardship cultivation.

While the start of the registration process is a welcomed sight for patients because proper registration means no more patients being arrested for not having proper paperwork, but there are still many problems with the registration, problems that Matthew Allen, Executive Director of Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, hopes are solve soon for the sake of the patients.

“It is a step forward because the registration process has been launched, but it brings a whole new host of problems to patients,” said Allen. “The law states that this process should be revenue neutral for patients; patients shouldn’t be paying a yearly fee, especially because that doesn’t happen with any other form of medicine. There are also concerns that the deadline for applying (January 1st) is too soon, especially because not everyone has access to a computer.”

Heading Toward the Final Stages

While the dispensaries are far behind in terms of their implementation, the state says that currently approved dispensaries are entering the final stages of inspection, meaning that they are almost ready to being growing so they can open their doors.

Although in June it was stated that dispensaries could be opened by June, it is looking more and more like early 2015 could be the earliest that these dispensaries could open. Although pushed far beyond what the law initially set forth, state officials continue to point out that this is a new industry and will take some time to open properly.

“Providing safe patient access is a priority of the program, and we are proud that dispensaries are now in the final Inspection Phase prior to opening,” said John Polanowicz, Secretary of Health and Human Services. “Once dispensaries pass inspection and meet local requirements, they will be ready to start growing and preparing to open. Some dispensaries have indicated they will be ready to do so by the end of this year. As part of our commitment to ensuring patient access across the Commonwealth, DPH is also currently reviewing applications for dispensaries in open counties”