The state’s emerging medical marijuana industry has been well received. This is owing to the applications being received from various Companies who have expressed interest in opening medical marijuana dispensaries.
The opportunity to apply for the licenses was also celebrated by a majority of marijuana executives who said that they had lost thousands of dollars during former Governor Deval Patrick’s administration. Patrick’s administration is said to have been blemished with political favoritism, conflicts of interest alongside questionable financial structures. All this climaxed with dozens of filed lawsuits with the worst being that patients had no dispensaries to go to.
However, the system of awarding licenses has now been revamped through Governor Charlie Baker’s administration with regulators promising to strip away elements of subjectivity and secrecy witnessed during Patrick’s tenure.
Various applicants the likes of Brian Lees, a former Republican state senator, have given positive testimonies of the process citing that it was real and more transparent than it has been before. Brian is one of the many applicants who had applied but was denied the under former Governor Deval Patrick administration.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Scott Zoback, said that over 50applicants have already been submitted. However, names of the applicants have not been released as yet but information will be made available to the Department of Public Health’s website gradually.
With different groups having applied for the licenses, you can expect to have intense competition. Nevertheless, competition is good and a foundation for any business. As such it will be useful for the Marijuana market as well as the patients since it will give them options.
The Public Health’s department has posted guidelines that will be used to judge each application. Unlike in the old system where used the scoring method with applications being pitted against each other, the current one will be on merit basis.
So far a majority of applicants seems confident with Baker administration’s plan to regulate and line the license application and processing process.
Via: MMJ Observer
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