Medical Marijuana Now Legal But Few Patients On First Day

by 1 Comment

NEW YORK: Lisa Valle stood outside Bloomfield Industries‘ medical marijuana dispensary Thursday knowing she couldn’t get medicine for her sick daughter, but she wanted to go inside anyway.

“It’s been a long road,” Lisa said.

Her daughter, Maya, has a severe form of Epilepsy that causes seizures. Lisa and Maya’s doctors believe the medical marijuana may help. Thursday is the first day the drug is legal in New York State, following 2014 passage of the Compassionate Care Act.

But Lisa doesn’t have a patient certification card, which is necessary before the marijuana can be sold.

 

NY Launches Medical Marijuana Program Thursday

by 3 Comments

NEW YORK: New York is the latest state to allow its citizens to use medical marijuana.

The Empire State kicked off its medical marijuana program Thursday with eight dispensaries opening for business.  The program comes 18 months after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act.

It makes non-smokeable forms of medical marijuana available to New Yorkers.

Medical Marijuana Taxes To Illinois Total $57K In 1st Month

by Leave a Comment

ILLINOIS: Illinois officials say the state’s first medical marijuana patients have purchased nearly $801,000 worth of cannabis during the program’s first month.

Program director Joseph Wright announced the figures Wednesday. The numbers indicate Illinois has collected roughly $56,550 in taxes from wholesale sales of medical marijuana during the month. Marijuana wholesalers pay a 7 percent tax to the state.

Wright says licensed dispensaries have served 1,713 unique patients. That’s nearly half the 3,600 patients who have been approved for the program.

Legal marijuana sales began Nov. 9 in Illinois. There are now 16 licensed dispensaries operating in Illinois.

Maryland Flooded With Almost 900 Medical Marijuana Applications

by Leave a Comment

MARYLAND: Applicants seeking to be among the first in the state to legally grow, process or dispense medical marijuana flooded the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission with 882 submissions before a recent deadline, meaning interest in the nascent industry far outpaces available licenses.

The huge number also means officials have been wading through mounds of additional applications since a submission period closed Nov. 6. The medical cannabis commission said that evening it had processed 355 applications with many more to go.

But the state updated its statistics Thursday, adding that most among the new tally of 882 applications were from those seeking to sell medical marijuana. The medical cannabis commission received 705 dispenser license applications, 102 grower license applications and 75 processor license applications. The application period opened in September.

Medical Marijuana For Sale In Illinois

by Leave a Comment

ILLINOIS: Patients lined up at the door on the first day of sales of medical marijuana in Illinois.

Rico was one of 200 people to get a prescription filled at The Clinic Mundelein, one of nine medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. The 20-year Army veteran suffers from severe back pain.

“This is just like I went to the doctor to get my medication,” Rico said. “For year I’ve been taking Percocet and they’ve been giving me Dilaudid, and that just makes it to where I can’t function.”

Only patients with state-issued ID cards who are registered at a dispensary can purchase medical marijuana. The state has issued only about 3,300 IDs. Bob Morgan helped develop the program.

“We need more patients. We have a lot of patients who say they’re interested who are choosing not to participate. We want to make sure those who are eligible and want to participate can,” Morgan said.

Oregon Marijuana Dispensaries Report Brisk Sales On Opening Day

by 2 Comments

OREGON: The line formed at Oregrown before the doors opened at 8 a.m. Thursday and stayed that way until the shop closed nearly 16 hours later.

The numbers alone tell the story: More than 1,100 customers came through the downtown Bend shop on Thursday, the first day of legal marijuana sales in Oregon, said Oregrown owner Aviv Hadar. In all, they spent a staggering $55,000.

“The numbers just blew us away,” he said.

Legal recreational marijuana sales got underway in Oregon this week with 245 dispensaries eligible to sell the drug. Many shops in Portland, home to more than 100 marijuana dispensaries, saw brisk business Thursday.

Oregon Dispensaries Prepare For Legal Marijuana

by 1 Comment

OREGON:  The Oregon Health Authority says there over 300 registered medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon.

Emerald City Medicinal is one of 19 in Eugene that can legally start selling recreational marijuana to adults as of Thursday, October 1st.

Measure 91, passed by voters in 2014, allows the sale of recreational marijuana at medicinal dispensaries.

Customers are legally allowed to buy seven grams of marijuana, which is a quarter of the one ounce legal carrying limit.

Emerald City says the cost of seven grams depends on the type of cannabis.

It says there are thousands of varieties out there to choose from.

Henderson Approves 4th Medical Marijuana Dispensary

by Leave a Comment

By Eric Hartley
Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEVADA:  The Henderson City Council approved a medical marijuana dispensary Tuesday night that plans to open on Eastern Avenue, south of the 215 Beltway.

The Henderson City Council approved a medical marijuana dispensary Tuesday night that plans to open on Eastern Avenue, south of the 215 Beltway.

The Source Henderson becomes the fourth dispensary approved in the city, three of which are within about two miles of each other.

None have opened yet. Clark County has only one dispensary in business, Euphoria Wellness in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

Andrew Jolley, the co-owner and CEO of The Source’s parent company, said the dispensary plans to apply for building permits in a few weeks and could be open by the new year.

“Our partner owns the shopping center,” Jolley told the council with a smile. “That always helps.”

Andover MA Eying Special Zone For Medical Marijuana Clinics

by Leave a Comment

MASSACHUSETTS:  Voters at the 2014 spring Town Meeting may be asked to decide where to allow the sale of medical marijuana in Andover.

Town Planning Director Paul Materazzo has put together a committee that is working on regulations and a zoning bylaw that would allow the sale of medical marijuana in certain parts of town and prohibit it in others.

So far, the committee, made up of 10 town officials, has identified five locations for a possible dispensary, including recently rezoned parcels of land on River and Dascomb roads, property across from the IRS on Lowell Street, the Doctor’s Park on Haverhill Street and Ballardvale Street in the Lowell Junction area.

“We’re not suggesting one site over another,” Materazzo said. “We are just starting the conversation.” [Read more…]