Mass. Medical Marijuana Shops Get Initial Clearance, Others Rejected

BOSTON (AP) — Eleven medical marijuana dispensaries have been cleared to move forward in Massachusetts while several others that had received initial clearance were rejected after a further review, state public health officials announced Friday. The process had been on hold for several months while the state worked to verify information provided in the applications of 20 companies that were initially given provisional clearance for licenses in January. Karen Van Unen, head of the state’s medical marijuana program, said the 11 remaining dispensaries survived the enhanced investigation process but will still be subjected to final inspections before they can open. WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Bernice Corpuz reports. Mass. Medical Marijuana Shops Get Initial Clearance, Others RejectedWBZ NewsRadio 1030playpausejQuery(document).ready(function($) { cbs_audio_player_v2("audio-player-1"); }); Van Unen said the first dispensaries could open by November. She said 97 percent of Massachusetts residents will live within 30 miles of one of the dispensaries. Under a law approved by voters in November 2012, as many as 35 dispensaries in Massachusetts would be allowed to grow and sell marijuana for patients with certain medical conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. The 11 applicants cleared to move forward to the inspection phase are in Dennis, Salem, Haverhill, Northampton, Ayer, Newton, Lowell, Quincy, Brookline, Brockton and Milford. The nine ...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Heard On WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Local Politics Watch Listen Bernice Corpuz CBS Boston DPH Massachusetts Medical Marijuana WBZ TV WILLIAM DELAHUNT Source Type: news