Take Provincetown. There are five adult-use dispensaries in the Cape Township, but the nearest medical dispensaries are over an hour away. Only in a medical dispensary can patients buy cannabis tax-free and with higher THC concentrations.
Although one company, Green Harbor Dispensary, is working to open a medical dispensary in Provincetown, it didn’t have to take that long. Trish Faass, CEO of Heal Cannabis, started the business in 2015 with the intention of opening medicinal stores in Provincetown and Sturbridge. She obtained medical licenses that the company owns at an annual renewal cost of $50,000. Faass planned to build a cultivation and manufacturing center in Warren, but the company ran out of money. Now Heal operates recreational pharmacies but cannot sell medicinal products due to the vertical integration requirement, although Faass would love to do so.
“There are many locals in Provincetown who are medically vulnerable. They need medicinal cannabis with higher doses,” Faass said. “I can’t tell you how many locals ask me, ‘When do you open the doctor’s office?’ ”
Even if there was originally a safety or quality control reason to require a company to inspect products from seed to sale, that logic no longer exists as the recreational market is filled with companies that only grow, manufacture, or retail. Regulators deal with safety concerns by requiring software to track seeds through to sale.
Read more at enews.com.ng