20 Massachusetts Dispensaries Licensed, Will Open This Summer for Business

Marijuana.com

After awarding 20 licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries yesterday, Massachusetts immediately becomes the epicenter for MMJ in New England and the East Coast. While all of New England has medical marijuana, there are less than 10 dispensaries in every East Coast state, and access remains limited to seriously ill patients.

While Massachusetts will also have a strict health policy for patients (you have to really be sick), it’s not quite as oppressive, and these 20 dispensaries should be up and running this summer. Among the license winners were the DeAngelos who own Harborside Health Center, one of America’s largest (and most controversial) dispensaries, and also appeared on the Discovery reality show Weed Wars two years ago.

But there’s an oddity that reeks like rotten brick weed: three of the licenses were handed to a William Delahunt, a former congressman with direct ties to the application committee and process–along with being the head of “Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts. Perhaps Delahunt’s intentions are proper and his business plan was that superior–or perhaps the playing field simply wasn’t even, and two would-be business owners got hosed:

Also approved Friday was the application of former US representative William D. Delahunt, who successfully won all three licenses he sought to open dispensaries in Mashpee, Taunton and Plymouth.

Delahunt, a Democrat who represented Cape Cod and much of the South Shore before becoming a lobbyist, is chief executive of Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts. His entry into the competitive process sparked concerns about the potential for preferential treatment.

In January, the state Republican Party called for the governor to appoint an independent commission to select the licenses, saying Delahunt’s friendship with state Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett, whose office awarded the licenses, “created the appearance of a rigged system designed to favor the politically connected at the expense of the critically ill.” The governor opted not to appoint an independent commission.

Representative Keiko Orrall, a Lakeville Republican whose district includes Taunton, said Friday that Delahunt’s applications might have received the highest scores but “it’s just curious out of all these licenses he won three.”

“It feels like the same old politics in play,” Orrall said.

Asked about the concerns, Delahunt said, “I’m just like anybody else,” adding that he has no influence at the department. [Boston Globe]

Except you’re not. You were in Congress, you have political ties, and clearly have some pull.

People say life is all about connections, and that it’s not what you know–but who you know. Unfortunately, it looks like this aphorism kind of appears to ring true for our nation’s next big industry, at least in Massachusetts.