West Tisbury – After two years of effort, Patient Centric of Martha’s Vineyard has been awarded a provisional certificate by state health officials to grow, process and sell medical marijuana on the island.
But how or if it will transport products from the still federally illegal plant across federal water for required testing is still unclear.
The nonprofit corporation’s president, Geoffrey Rose, said he plans to lease an acre of land at 505 State Road in West Tisbury – the former location of Up Island Paint and Tool – where the organization will cultivate and process the marijuana and operate a dispensary. While there are two existing buildings on the property, Rose hasn’t yet decided whether he will renovate or build from scratch.
The state’s review process has been both complex and lengthy, but he has been committed to pushing forward with his proposal to provide medical marijuana to island residents “in a safe and dignified environment,” Rose said. He had submitted a similar proposal for a Vineyard dispensary during the state’s first application round in 2014 but didn’t make the cut.
Rose projects the West Tisbury dispensary will be open for business in the fall of 2017.
While Rose was willing to talk about his excitement over the progress the medical marijuana dispensary proposal has made, he declined to say how he plans to move samples of medical marijuana products to the mainland for routine state-required testing.
In the documents he was required to submit to the state, available on the Department of Public Health’s website, the agency asked in two different letters how Rose would transport the still federally illegal product over federal waters to the mainland.
Rose’s written responses had been completely redacted by the state, leaving the method of transportation a mystery. There is an “understanding that there is a solution,” Rose said.
The Department of Public Health was also vague in response to questions about the transportation problem.
“One of the conditions of the provisional certification is to satisfactorily meet the testing requirements of the Department,” spokesman Thomas Lyons wrote in an email. “We are working with Patient Centric to evaluate how they will meet those standards before the company receives approval to sell to patients.”
So far, dispensary proposals for Dennis, Bourne, Brewster and Mashpee have been issued provisional certificates.
The William Noyes Webster Foundation was one of a small group of applicants awarded provisional certificates from the state in 2014. The Barnstable-based nonprofit organization plans to grow and process the medical marijuana in an existing building at 30 Industrial Road in Plymouth and operate a dispensary at 17 American Way in South Dennis.
The organization’s president, Jane Heatley, said Wednesday she has building permits in hand and general contractors hired for both facilities and renovation is now beginning. The foundation also submitted an application to sell medical marijuana at a location in Dartmouth. State officials awarded a provisional certificate for that proposal earlier this month.
A third proposal for a dispensary in Cambridge is also moving forward, with the city considering a location for the operation, Heatley said.
Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, the nonprofit proponent for the Mashpee dispensary, plans to cultivate and process medical marijuana at a grow facility in Plymouth for dispensaries in both Mashpee and Plymouth.
The Department of Public Health has approved construction for the Plymouth buildings, Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts President Jonathan Herlihy said. He expects construction bids to be in by the end of this month, but work will only begin once Plymouth issues the construction permit.
Designs for the Mashpee dispensary have been submitted to the state for a review that should be completed in early October, Herlihy said.
Haven Center, with provisional certificates already in hand for Brewster and Bourne, secured a certificate for Fall River late last month.
Haven Center President Christopher Taloumis was hesitant to provide a date for when the dispensaries will open, saying only that the organization is “moving forward as best we can.”
The nonprofit’s dispensary locations include 340 MacArthur Blvd. in Bourne’s Monument Beach area, 4018 Main St. in Brewster, and 1435 Pleasant St. in Fall River. Medical marijuana for all three locations will be grown and processed at the Bourne location.
Massachusetts voters legalized medical marijuana via a ballot initiative in 2012. To date, only seven medical marijuana dispensaries are open; none are located on the Cape and Islands.
There are 30,000 medical marijuana patients registered with the state, according to the latest available figures.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Vineyard Medical Marijuana Dispensary Awarded Provisional Certificate
Author: Christine Legere
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Website: Cape Cod Times