Worcester Marijuana Dispensary Hits Snag: What’s Next?

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Another blow has been dealt to proponents of medical marijuana in Worcester.

On Tuesday, it was announced that John Glowik, owner of Prime Wellness of Massachusetts Inc, could not reach a lease agreement for retail space with the property owners at 358 Park Avenue in Worcester to open a medical marijuana dispensary.

In an email sent to his constituents, District 5 City Councilor Gary Rosen said, “While John Glowik...continues to look for an appropriate site in that area, he has just informed us that he has not reached a lease or purchase & sale agreement with a property owner in the area.”

Councilor Rosen's email continued, “If, in the future, he (or other potential dispensary owners) presents us with copies of such an agreement, we will schedule a community meeting so that residents, business owners and other interested parties have the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions on such a facility.”

So what now for Worcester and Central Massachusetts?

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, applicants do not submit location information until later in the application process. However, in the case of Prime Wellness, if Glowik still wants to open a dispensary in Worcester, he will need to find another location in order to be considered for final approval.

According to an application review of dispensaries in 2014, 14 businesses in Worcester County submitted an application for a proposed marijuana dispensary (see map below).

In total, Prime Wellness Center, Inc. submitted three applications for dispensaries on June 29.

As GoLocalWorcester reported earlier this month, of the 15 certified registered marijuana dispensaries in the state, only one is located in Central Massachusetts. Milford Medicinals, Inc received its provisional certificate from the state over a year ago.

"The limited amount of license granted by the Department of Public Health has left a huge area of Worcester County underrepresented,” Executive Director of Massachusetts Patients Advocacy Alliance, Matthew Allen told GoLocalWorcester. “The DPH says that there will be dispensaries within thirty miles, but that is based on a radius and not travel time. Some of these dispensaries could be as far as an hour or two away from patients based on traffic which does not provide patients with easy access to the medicine that they deserve.”

The license in Worcester – which was initially granted to Good Chemistry of Massachusetts Inc.- was ultimately denied. Good Chemistry said that they sent letters to and met with Mayor Joe Petty, City Manager Ed Augustus, and Police Chief Gary Gemme, but their application was later denied because Good Chemistry never met with Gemme.

However, at the end of June, Good Chemistry, a Colorado-based company, re-applied to be a registered marijuana dispensary. Good Chemistry’s proposed site will be on Harding Street in Worcester - in the heart of the Canal District area. Good Chemistry also submitted two additional applications for dispensaries in undisclosed areas.

As of July 27, still only one registered marijuana dispensary had been approved to sell by the state. Alternative Group Therapy (AGT) in Salem remains the single dispensary and is currently in the midst of a three month temporary waiver it was granted on June 24.

“Patients have waited to access marijuana for medical purposes for far too long,”said Governor Charlie Baker, following the announcement of AGT’s waiver approval. “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.”

The waiver allows a three month period for ATG to dispense only a maximum of 4.23 ounces of marijuana to qualifying 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.”

Three dispensaries in Massachusetts have received their final certificate of registration and are waiting for an approval to begin selling - including MassMedium Corp in Taunton, New England Treatment Access in Northampton, and Central Ave Compassionate Center in Ayer.

Total # of Applications in 2014 by County in MA - Image: Mass.gov

Related Slideshow: 10 Things You Need to Know About Marijuana Dispensaries in MA

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#10

The first marijuana dispensary didn't open in Massachusetts until 3 years after voters approved the use of the therapeutic drug.

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#9

June 29, 2015 was the first day that companies could apply to open dispensaries and over 50 applications were submitted.

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#8

The state has awarded 15 out of the allotted 35 applicants with the privilege of growing and selling medical marijuana.

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#7

So far, only six have been given permission to open their doors. :

- In Good Health in Brockton they plan to open later in the summer

- Alternative Therapies Group which was the first to open on June 24

- Compassionate Care in Ayer plan to open later in the summer

- New England Treatment Access (2) which will have its cultivation site in Franklin and dispensaries planned for Brookline and Northampton they plan to open in the fall

- Patriot Care in Lowell

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#6

In Good Health’s president says that their dispensary will open for business in weeks following on the heels of ATG..

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#5

Governor Baker wanted to revamp the medical marijuana licensing process and treat it like any other health care facility.

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#4

Previously, the state set deadlines for applications, then analyzed the entiregroup simultaneously. Now, the process will allow dispensaries to apply for licenses on a rolling basis, and each one will be scored individually.