New State Medical Marijuana Rules Put in Place

New regulations will go into effect tomorrow, May 24.

New rules for the medical use of marijuana have been written into the commonwealth's regulatory code by the Massachusetts Public Health Council, according to State House News Service report. Among the new regulations are how much marijuana can be generally used by patients, the licensing procedure for medical marijuana dispensaries and how low-income patients can get access, according to the report. These regulations will go into effect tomorrow, May 24, according to the Lowell Sun. In November, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana as part of a treatment. Under the law, the state was operating under a 120-day window starting Jan. 1 for creating regulations for medical marijuana …

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Framingham Abandons Marijuana Zone; Moves Ahead with Temporary Ban on Dispensaries

Massachusetts Attorney General's Office rules communities can place temporary moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries but it can not ban them within its borders.

The Town of Framingham has decided to put on hold a zoning district to allow medical marijuana dispensaries along Route 9, next to Natick. Tuesday night, Framingham Selectmen removed the proposed medical marijuana dispensary zoned district from the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. But Framingham Town Meeting will still have a say on medical marijuana as Framingham Selectmen Tuesday placed on the warrant a proposed article to establish a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries until July 1, 2014. “We’ve developed a bylaw but we’re waiting to see if it will fit with the state’s direction,” Planning Board Chair Tom Mahoney said last week at a public hearing on the proposed moratorium article. “This moratorium gives us time to wait …

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Marijuana Moratorium Sent to Town Meeting Vote

The Framingham Planning Board recommended a bylaw that would restrict dispensaries in town until 2014.

Medical marijuana is coming to Massachusetts and Framingham Planning Board members said they don’t want to stand in the way of businesses that are interested in the town. They also said that they want to wait for guidance from the state before approving new zoning regulations. “We’ve developed a bylaw but we’re waiting to see if it will fit with the state’s direction,” Chairman of the Planning Board Tom Mahoney said. “This moratorium gives us time to wait for the state’s guidance.” While no residents chose to comment on the moratorium, when the Planning Board took up the original zoning bylaw after several residents commented about the need for medical marijuana in town. “This is a place where people will need a card to get in and to get …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: March 7

Framingham Farmers Market cancelled due to Winter Storm Watch; Framingham Planning Board holding public hearing on Medical Marijuana zone tonight.

Our daily column, 5 Things You Need to Know Today, will help you to get your day started and offer you some fodder for water cooler conversation. 1. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Middlesex County and the Metrowest area including Framingham as a batch of rain and snow moves its way into southern New England. After some rain yesterday, the storm is expected to continue all day and end Friday.  WHDH forecasters are predicting a rain/snow mix for west of Boston - some areas west of I-95, including Framingham, could get 3-5 inches of snow, depending on where the rain/snow line falls. 2. Due to the storm, today's Framingham Farmers Market has been cancelled. The manager is trying to reschedule the market for …

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Susan Petroni

8:19 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Framingham Farmers Market has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 14 - same place and same time.   more ›

Patch Facts

5 Things You Need To Know Today: March 5

Principals will present budget requests to the School Committee while the CFO/Town Manager will present the proposed municipal budget to Selectmen tonight; also Whole Foods & Mystic Fitness Yoga are screening documentary Hungry for Change.

Our daily column, 5 Things You Need to Know Today, will help you to get your day started and offer you some fodder for water cooler conversation. 1. It's the start of another budget season for the Town of Framingham. Framingham Public School principals will present budget requests before the Framingham School Committee tonight. Meeting starts at 7:30 in the King Building. Across town, The CFO and Town Manager will make recommendations on the municipal side of the FY14 budget to Framingham Selectmen, whose meeting starts at 7 in the Memorial Building. 2. The use of traffic calming measures along Edmands Road to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety is under consideration by the Town of Framingham. Framingham Selectmen will be discussing …

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Susan Petroni

1:39 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Did anyone go see the movie? Tell us what you thought!   more ›

UPDATED: CannaMed Opens; Says Booked Through End of February

Practice's only purpose is to write recommendations for patients who want medical marijuana.

As of the first of January any doctor in Massachusetts can now write a recommendation for a patient who seeks marijuana for medical purposes. However, no dispensary exists to fulfill that recommendation, but that hasn't stopped a California company from opening this week a medical practice that will focus only on writing recommendations for medical marijuana. CannaMed told New England Cable News (NECN) it is booked solid with appointments through the end of February. Renee Nunez told NECN Tuesday, "People have been calling since November." The medical practice was to have opened at 945 Concord St, but after other tenants complained to the landlord the business had to find a new location in Framingham; which still has not made public, for …

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Gerald C W Heng Sr.

12:28 am on Friday, February 8, 2013

Its really a good time to give the Native American Medicine Man's medicinal relief to the latter day Amercans, without Criminalizing the Use thereof ! Gerald Heng Sr. Washington DC [vacationing]   more ›

Framingham Drafting Zoning Bylaw for Marijuana Dispensaries

Proposed restrictions on where the shops can be located will be unveiled later this month.

Framingham officials hope to finish drafting language for a bylaw regulating medical marijuana dispensaries sometime this month, as the Town of Framingham races the calendar to get regulations in place before the businesses begin to establish themselves.   Town Manager Robert Halpin said a task force of planning, zoning and law enforcement officials has been working on language for several weeks and should have it ready to be presented to Selectmen this month and be placed on the warrant for the annual Town Meeting on April 30.  That date could be problematic, Halpin noted, because the medical marijuana law passed by voters in November gives state officials until April 1 to establish regulations for carrying out the law, including licenses…

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Town Manager Says Medical Marijuana Firm Jumping the Gun

A medical practice that now says it will open in January in Framingham may have to wait months before it can write its first recommendation for medical marijuana.

A medical marijuana company that now plans to open early in 2013 will likely have to wait months longer before it can write any recommendations for medical marijuana, under the state's new law, Town Manager Bob Halpin said Tuesday night at the Framingham Selectmen's meeting.  As first reported by Framingham Patch last week, CannaMed of Boston has made plans to open a Framingham office at 945 Concord St., where doctors will meet with patients and review medical records to see if they qualify to receive medical marijuana recommendations. CannaMed has originally said it would be open for business before the end of 2012, telling a Patch reporter that appointments were being scheduled as early as Dec. 15. But the company on Monday said it would…

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Medical Marijuana Practice To Delay Opening Until January 2013

A spokesperson for CannaMed of Boston told Framingham Patch Monday it will delay its opening until January 2013

Originally scheduled to open Dec. 15, CannaMed of Boston, a medical marijuana practice has decided to delay it opening until Saturday, Jan. 5, said company spokeswoman Renee Nunez. She said the company opted to delay its opening to answer local officials' and residents' questions about how a medical marijuana practice operates. Originally, the company was scheduling patients as of Dec. 15. Last month, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question that makes the Commonwealth the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana. The law allows for patients with HIV, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, or other very serious and painful conditions to obtain a card from the state permitting them to purchase and possess up-to a 60-day …

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UPDATED: California Company Opens Medical Marijuana Practice in Framingham

A medical company calling itself CannaMed of Boston has opened and has begun booking patients, who seek to be recommended medical marijuana.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question that makes the Commonwealth the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana. Beginning in 2013, patients with HIV, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, or other very serious and painful conditions can now obtain a card from the state permitting them to purchase and possess up-to a 60-day supply of marijuana. The new law also means a new business to Framingham. CannaMed of Boston has opened at 945 Concord St. It is a franchise of a California-based medical company. Framingham is its first location in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been given oversight of implementing the rules of the new medical marijuana law, which takes effect in …

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