Twenty applicants have received provisional approval to operate a medicinal marijuana dispensary in in Massachusetts today, including a company called Garden Remedies, Inc., which seeks to operate in Newton.
Newton chosen for medical marijuana dispensary
by Greg Reibman | Jan 31, 2014 | Newton | 23 comments
I’m sure this won’t be popular but I am totally against this law and even more against the potential of this place opening up in West Newton Square area. I don’t want this place in my neighborhood.
@TWT: We are talking about a business that is heavily regulated, more like a medical office than a liquor store.
Trevor Jones provides more details on Wicked Local
I hope I am never in need of medical marijuana, but it’d be nice to be able to walk there if I did need it. I actually think West Newton Square is as good a place as any, given that it ‘s going to be one of only 4 in Middlesex County. (Or is that a minimum of 4 per county?) It’s handy to the Pike, on commuter rail and bus routes, not far from 128. And if anyone tries to break in at night, Police HQ is a minute away. Parking’s not great, but where is it great?
Does anyone know much square footage these places will need? Will they be at street level or in elevator buildings for accessibility?
According to the application on file, Garden Remedies, Inc. will be located at 697 Washington St. in Newtonville, which is close to Whole Foods.
Fear of medical marijuana is way over the top. I’m not upset that a facility is being located here because I think Newton has a pretty good record of regulating and managing things like this. I’ve never smoked the bewitching weed, but like Julie, I would be extremely angry if anyone tried to stand in the way of me or family members using it as a pain and anxiety reliever if we were sick with cancer or some other debilitating disease.
Sorry, that’s Julia Malakie, not Julie
So much for those who thought the alderman were killing Newton’s chances by thinking about how they wanted to handle this.
Thought provoking Op-Ed in the Globe (November 1) from Karen Mukacy, the “leader” of “Garden remedies”, Newton’s proposed medicinal Marijuana dispensary. I’m sure that there will be abuse of this system, but frankly, that’s small potatoes-it already exists- as long as those that truly need it finally have access to a helpful medication.
It’s a matter of time until it’s just a regulated substance like alcohol, and that day can’t come soon enough. I’ve never smoked weed (No desire, and have been randomly tested for work since 17) and don’t have much of a desire to. That said, I know people who have died from alcohol abused, as well as those who have had their lives ruined by alcohol. I know many people who use marijuana recreationally and have had zero issues.
Newton is filled with doctors who prescribe narcotics (as they should much of the time) and plenty of places to get those. Ask anyone who works at CVS pharmacy and they will tell you about all the junkies who have prescriptions, as well as those who try to steal, or lie their way to getting pills. When opiate based pain-killers become too expensive, guess what comes next? Heroin.
Laws based in racism are the root of the ban on marijuana. As a veteran, I have many friends who have had their lives seriously impacted by prescription sleeping pills. I know many who have turned (illegally) to marijuana and have had much more success in sleeping through the night without some of the terrifying side effects of powerful sleeping pills. Marijuana seems to have some legitimate medicinal uses, but even as a recreational item, it is no worse than alcohol.
Having grown up in NPS, virtually everyone in my grade smoked weed and drank. Plenty of parents smoked weed as well, everyone knew who they were. There were also alcoholic parents, and my mother specifically remembers a parent teacher conference when I was in grade school where my teacher reeked of booze.
The war on drugs is almost as stupid as Iraq and now Afghanistan… maybe the president will actually work to end ONE of them… but based off recent interviews, like everything else, he seems to be pretty useless on the subject.
Mike
This should be fine, location is reasonably good actually, it is in a block of businesses that include an acupuncture, insurance, optometrist, and massage therapy. It is also close to the medical offices on Craft street. From my understanding of how things will be dispensed, for the most part it will be in a smokeless form, eg it will be food, pill, drink etc. based limiting odor impact on neighbors. Its location does have good transit access as well, while not being directly in the Newtonville village center.
@Greg, I understand completely what this is all about and how “regulated” it will be. I don’t agree with it and I don’t want it in my back yard. I just saw on the news that the location that is being looked at is in Newtonville, about a block away from Cabots. At least that’s farther away from my neighborhood but still, I don’t want it here.
Why? You dont mind CVS by your house, right? How about the liquor stores? Don’t be rediculous.
Mike
@Mike [Not Striar]– I want to acknowledge your longer post above, because I agree with nearly every point you made. In particular that racism [and ignorance] is at the root of laws against marijuana. Also, I’m so glad to know that there are young people like you who still understand the true meaning of freedom. Most people my age have become so comfortable being sheep, they have lost all sense of what it means to be an American.
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@mgwa– Whether or not your comment was directed at me, as one of the more vocal critics of the Board of Aldermen’s handling of medical marijuana, I’d like to address your underlying point anyway, because you’re suggesting that the Board’s actions were appropriate, and they were not.
While I’m glad that the Board’s ill conceived and wholly unnecessary restrictions did not keep Newton from receiving initial State approval for a medical marijuana dispensary, this is the juncture at which the result of their actions will now become more evident. In addition to restrictive zoning, the Board added a Special Permit requirement for medical marijuana dispensaries. In order for the applicant who was awarded “provisional approval” to proceed, they must now apply for and be granted [or denied] a Special Permit from the City. That process provides an open invitation for every anti-marijuana evangelist to espouse their ignorance in a public forum. This will no doubt serve to further stigmatize medical marijuana, and intimidate patients who might benefit from its use.
@mike (not striar). You have no idea what I mind or don’t mind other than my opinion on this subject. And I’m not “red”iculous. You are free to disagree but have some respect for the opinions of others.
Marijuana is not illegal because of any actual danger from the drug. It’s a combination of ignorance, racism and corporate interests (greed, corruption, etc) that resulted in it being banned in the first place. I understand why people that have never tried it would go along with what’s been said about it for decades, but we do have the Internet now and you can read the actual history. There’s been quite a lot of bogus research trying to show that it’s bad for you and has no benefits. So there is a lot of mythology, most of it as far as I know is not well supported. So we come to 2014 and people are still worried about it. I find it very sad. Of all the things to complain about, marijuana being carefully dispensed for the very sick people among us? Really?
Excuse any spelling mistakes, I send most stuff from my smartphone and this page isnt formatted in a way that allows for easy proofing/editing.
And you are being ridiculous. I know a lot of you guys love the government… you know, the same one that has us engaged in multiple wars the last decade… the one that tries to protect us from “the shoulder thing that goes up,” and most importantly the one that protects us from ourselves by fueling the biggest criminal organization we have ever known through the war on drugs (while trafficking firearms and making back room deals as well, all big news stories).
You are ridiculous if you accept a society that consumes alcohol and allows for the over-prescription of powerful pharmacuticals that are increadably chemically addictive and at the same time thumb your nose at marijuana. Educate yourself about the issue, and if you still feel as you do after the fact consider how hypocritical your position is.
As I mentioned, I’ve never so much as touched weed, nor do I really care to. But I drink, and have known drunks, and have had narcotic pain killers subscribed as long ago as grade school for a tonsilectomy. It is my personal opinion that if one is to take a step back, look at this reality, and then decide that marijuana, medical marijuana no less is something which is to be prohibited, than they in fact are ridiculous.
Mike
Prescribed**
Mike Striar said, “they must now apply for and be granted [or denied] a Special Permit from the City. That process provides an open invitation for every anti-marijuana evangelist to espouse their ignorance in a public forum.”
I’m a bit surprised that this would trouble you, as you seem to be a strong advocate for freedoms.
Even though I am fully supportive of these dispensaries, and in fact would support legalizing marijuana more generally, I don’t worry about folks who disagree with those stances to have their say. Democracy IS messy, but its the best we got.
[ i say this gently, as I do appreciate you have a more personal stake in this issue than most, so I suspect that might drive a fear these dispensaries will get short-circuited.] I don’t see that happening. But on balance we’re better off not stifling dissent.
@Dan– “Democracy” is what took place at the ballot box more than a year ago, when medical marijuana was overwhelmingly approved. That ballot initiative did not provide for a veto by Special Permit. Dispensaries should have been treated like pharmacies or liquor stores in our local zoning regs. This extra layer of bureaucracy requiring a Special Permit, serves to further stigmatize medical marijuana, intimidate patients, prolong the process, and ultimately supersedes the voter’s authority with the Board’s authority.
Well, there is a wrinkle to ballot initiatives. The legislature can kill them by taking no action, or they can make modifications to them if they deem appropriate, or can just pass them along as is.
You may know, I don’t, if the Special Permitting you reference was a function of the legislature adding that in, or whether that was simply Newton’s doing.
This whole think with dispensaries is quite new, so it doesn’t seem crazy that the city might want to retain some control, at least early on as this shakes out.. You’ve probably read where banks have been showing some hesitation in funding these dispensaries, fearing possible fed action.
Dan– Let’s pretend for a moment that this debate was about a women’s reproductive clinic, instead of a marijuana dispensary. Do you think the BoA would have created a public forum for anti abortion zealots to weigh-in?
If abortion were a federal crime and Massachusetts were one of 20 states that were experimenting with new regulations to allow it in a few clinics provided a doctor certified that the mother’s health were in jeopardy, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the BOA were inviting debate. I’m sure there is a better analogy – can’t think of one right now.