HUDSON – Two years ago, voters passed a ballot question legalizing the medical use of marijuana to provide relief for patients suffering from various ailments. But with no dispensaries yet to open, the delay has meant more than continued suffering. For some, it has meant arrests and further victimization.
Jonathan, a 30-year-old from Hudson, has been robbed at gunpoint, with the robber getting away with $500 of his money. He has had to navigate the courts fighting charges he said should have never been levied against him in the first place.
Getting his hands on marijuana wasn’t always that easy. Even now, he has to drive across the state, but at least he knows he isn’t going to get robbed – he buys it from a fellow medical marijuana patient.
Jonathan, who asked the Daily News to use only his first name because of family concerns, has osteoarthritis and a replaced hip – they had to swap the old one out after necrosis pretty much killed it.
He has a recommendation from a doctor to use marijuana, which he said eases the pain and has allowed him to cut back on his use of muscle relaxers and painkillers. It also helps with anxiety, he said.
Jonathan is one of myriad medical marijuana patients across the state who are hoping that the state dispensary system will come online soon. Thursday marks two years since voters approved the use of medical marijuana and the licensing of 35 dispensaries across the state, but none have opened.
About a year ago, Jonathan said, he and another patient were sitting outside an apartment complex waiting to buy pot. The would-be dealer came down, got into the car and flashed a gun, robbing Jonathan and his friend.
This spring, a police officer thought the doctor’s recommendation Jonathan carries with him was bogus and charged him with uttering and possession of marijuana. The uttering charge has since been dropped, but he’s still fighting the possession rap.
Jonathan said he would much rather get his product from a dispensary, but said that even when the system comes online, the 11 facilities that have so far gotten provisional approval will still leave him with a long drive.
In Natick, Mickey Martin, the director of the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis, which opened this summer, is holding open houses every week, and while there’s definitely interest in the class, there’s really only an enrollment here and there – one or two a week.
“It’s been good,” Martin said in a phone interview last week. “But it definitely could be better. I think as soon as we see DPH actually issue some licenses it will pick up.”
Page 2 of 3 – He said about 50 students have enrolled in the 12-course class, which offers instruction on cannabis cultivation, science, safety, history, patient service and other topics related to the medical marijuana industry.
Martin said the process has been frustrating for people looking to open dispensaries, but patients have been the ones the most affected by the delay in the rollout of the dispensary system. A caregiver system, meant to provide services in the interim, only allows a would-be caregiver to serve a single patient, making the system untenable both logistically and financially, Martin said.
“There is definitely a big void in the continuum and the patients are the ones suffering,” Martin said. “We get contacted by people all the time who are just trying to figure out where to get medicine… There are a lot of people who don’t even know where to start.”
Matthew Allen of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, said the delayed implementation is “directly responsible for a lot of suffering.”
Allen said the group is working to push the state on a few key initiatives, including prevention of any more holds in the process, the commencement of a new process to license additional dispensaries and a tweak to the caregiver program that would allow a single caregiver to serve more than one patient.
He said the current caregiver system, if followed to the letter of the law, forces a patient to find a caregiver, who can then start cultivating marijuana, a process that takes three months before a yield. The caregiver would have to put in place the infrastructure to grow the marijuana and cultivate it, all for the sake of a single patient.
“We hear about again and again – the economy of it – it’s not fiscally possible for a caregiver to grow for one patient because it’s too expensive,” he said.
The Department of Public Health meanwhile, said in a statement it is working on opening dispensaries, but needs to ensure the process is carried out correctly.
“We are actively inspecting dispensaries now, with the first facilities set to open later this winter,” said Scott Zoback, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health’s Medical Marijuana program. “No one said starting a new industry from scratch would be easy, but we have taken the time to ensure public safety and patient access to quality programs across the commonwealth.”
One of the 11 dispensaries being inspected is Milford Medicinals, which is slated to open at 13 Commercial Way. Company spokesman Michael Dundas said the Department of Public Health is reviewing the company’s architectural review proposal, which basically lays out the building plans for the facility.
Page 3 of 3 – Dundas said the document review will be followed by a site visit, after which the DPH will can make comments and allow the company to either make changes or provide answers sought by the department. That process will be followed by a final inspection, and then, a final certificate of licensure, Dundas said.
Dundas said while the company had originally expected to be open sooner, he thinks the Department of Public Health is making the right moves to make sure the system is in good shape when it launches.
“I would call the actions of the DPH careful and contemplative,” he said. “Some characterized this as delay. DPH has expressed to us that it is important for them to get the job done right the first time.”
Dundas said that while some patient advocates have wondered whether 11 dispensaries will be enough to handle demand off the bat, he believes that the system will be able to handle what should be a reasonably sized pool of patients at first.
“I am inclined to think that there probably will be enough capacity to meet initial demand,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, care in implementing the program will make for a better system in the end.
“I think the care DPH is taking in this process, while it is causing delays, is probably best for the program,” he said.
Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or khatch@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kendall_Hatch.
Patients, advocates say delays in medical marijuana availability continue suffering
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