Medical Marijuana: 13 to Watch in Central Mass in 2013

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Tuesday, January 01, 2013

GoLocalWorcester Editors

In 2012, the Bay State voted to legalize medical marijuana, a step that passed by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin, and many are looking at the business opportunities that could possible come to fruition in 2013.

While the new law will take effect on New Year's Day, the Department of Public Health has some time to set guidelines. A maximum of 35 treatment centers can be established in 2013, with at least one but no more than five in each of the state's counties. The number of treatment centers can be modified in later years by the DPH.

According to SeeChange Consulting Inc., an independent financial analysis firm that specializes in new and unique markets, the medical marijuana industry generated $1.7 billion in 2011. That number is expected to climb to nearly $9 billion in the next four years. With some luck, 2013 could be a prosperous year for the Commonwealth.

"It's still going to be very competitive in Massachusetts," said DispensaryPermits.com partner Jig Patel, who has already received inquiries about obtaining a dispensary permit from interest parties in the Commonwealth and as far as Tennessee and Florida.

The DPH starts taking applications in spring of 2013.

While some are less optimistic about the chance that these dispensaries could open soon, some are positing that by 2016 legalization could be on the ballot.

Either way, this issue is sure to make headlines in the new year both locally and nationally as laws and regulations are hammered out for the future.