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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Massachusetts Public Health Council today approved regulations to implement the state law that legalized the medical use of marijuana for patients with a recommendation from their doctor.
The regulations, which will take effect on May 24, require a “registered marijuana dispensary” – previously referred to as a medical marijuana treatment center – and any affiliated registered persons to comply with all municipal rules, regulations, ordinances and bylaws.
While the regulations would not require any municipal oversight or involvement with dispensaries, hardship cultivation registrations or other aspects of the law, the regulations state that “nothing… shall be construed so as to prohibit appropriate, lawful, local oversight and regulation, including fee requirements, that does not conflict or interfere with the operation” of the state regulations.
The regulations establish a two-phase application process for prospective marijuana dispensaries. In the first phase, an applicant must submit to the Department of Public Health documentation of its nonprofit status, financial capacity, and any prior legal involvements.
Upon notification from the DPH that an applicant has cleared the first phase, applicants must notify the chief administrative officer and police chief in the city or town where the registered marijuana dispensary would be sited, if applicable, and the sheriff of the applicable county, of their intent to submit an application in the second phase.
In the second application, applicants will be required to submit a detailed proposal for their registered marijuana dispensary, including:
• The county, city or town in which the proposed dispensary would be sited and, if known, the physical address of the proposed dispensary
• Evidence of compliance with local codes, ordinances and bylaws for the physical address of the dispensary, if known, and for any separate cultivation site, if any
• If available at the time of submission, a description of plans to ensure that the dispensary, and any separate cultivation site, is or will be compliant with local codes, ordinances and bylaws
The second application must also include any demonstration of support or non-opposition furnished by the municipality in which the dispensary would be located.
For purposes of ranking applications, the DPH selection committee will take into account local support for the proposed dispensary as well as the geographical distribution of dispensaries.
The regulations require each dispensary to comply with all local requirements regarding siting. If no local requirements exist, a dispensary shall not be sited within a radius of 500 feet of a school, day care center or any facility in which children commonly congregate.
The regulations allow a dispensary to offer a secure delivery service to homebound patients and require dispensaries to offer financial assistance to patients making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. In many circumstances, this is expected to reduce the need for the DPH to issue hardship registration cards for home cultivation to patients without the ability or financial means to access a registered marijuana dispensary.
Voters passed the Act for Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana by a wide margin last November.
The DPH had released draft regulations to implement the law on March 29. On April 22, the DPH held a public hearing in Boston at which the MMA emphasized the importance of local oversight and clear, early communication with prospective host municipalities during the application process.
On March 13, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office ruled that municipalities may not ban dispensaries outright, but they may regulate the siting of dispensaries through zoning ordinances. The attorney general’s office also ruled that municipalities may enact a temporary moratorium on dispensaries if the purpose is to study the new, complex issues that arise with the implementation the medical marijuana law.
For more information, visit www.mass.gov/medicalmarijuana.
• Download regulations governing the medical marijuana law – 105 CMR 725.000 (1.1M PDF)
• Download the DPH commissioner’s memo to the Public Health Council outlining the intent and objectives of the regulations (99K PDF)