Medical Marijuana Advocates Blast Gov. Patrick for Dispensary Delays
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Citing a lack of effort in getting the dispensaries and other part of the law implemented in the timeframe originally set, MPAA is calling on Governor Patrick to own up to his mistakes and make corrections while he is still in office.
“At this point, we are just frustrated and disappointed with the lack of movement,” said Matthew Allen, Executive Director of the MPAA. “It’s been almost two years since this law was signed and patients are still suffering and being arrested. We want Gov. Patrick to rise to the situation and stop patient suffering; there is still time if he has the political will.”
In addition to medical marijuana dispensaries being way over schedule, MPAA is also outraged that patients are still being arrested because the patient registration system is not operational. Additionally, MPAA is concerned that the one-to-one ratio for the patient caregiver system is ridiculous to the point of it not being helpful for patients.
Correct, Not Fast
The Department of Public Health is still currently finalizing the initial batch of medical marijuana dispensaries, hoping that the first will be opening up this winter. In the first round, DPH has said that one dispensary will open in each county, leaving 97-percent of patients within 30 miles of a dispensary.
Rather than rushing the process, DPH is ensuring that all the proper precautions have been made; after all if the dispensaries are not safe than they serve no purpose to the patients they serve.
"This is a new industry, other industries have taken three to four years to be implemented," said Scott Zoback, Communications Manager for the Department of Public Health's Medical Use of Marijuana program. "This is and has always been about patient safety. We have implemented a robust program; we want to make sure that we have the right people running the right dispensaries."
Gubernatorial Candidates React
Both Martha Coakley and Charlie Baker have been critical of the rolling out of the medical marijuana program, with Baker openly saying that he would have rebooted the program after errors in the application process.
"The mismanagement of medical marijuana is yet another example of the failure of one-party rule, and Charlie believes the licensing process should have been rebooted given glaring errors in the application process and state's failure to involve medical professionals with pain management experience,” said Tim Buckley, Baker’s Campaign Manager.
While Coakley’s campaign didn’t respond to email requests for reaction, she has been another to support the blowing up of the dispensary process, saying since February of 2014 that the state should reexamine the process. Coakley has also said that if she were governor, she would have handled the situation differently than Patrick.
“It makes sense for DPH to take a look essentially from scratch because this is important that we do this right,” said Coakley back in February. “You have to do the background checks and vetting that seems to not have been done.”
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