Marijuana Dispensary Set To Open In Brockton
BROCKTON (CBS) - After years of delays and controversy, the first medical marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts opened for business just a month ago in Salem, with a long line of patients waiting to make their first purchase. But get this. The website for the Alternative Therapies Dispensary says it is "sold out" of medicine for the time being. The next marijuana dispensary set to open is in Brockton. We took a closer look Friday, and found business ready to bloom.
The first thing that hits you when you go into the growing facility of the "In Good Health" dispensary in Brockton is the pungent smell of marijuana buds, all kinds of marijuana buds. "We have 32 different strains growing in our facility," says David Noble, who is president of the non-profit that runs the facility. He took us through the four "flowering" rooms where plants are growing. They started them from seeds, though Noble won't say where the seeds come from.
The plants are moved to larger and larger pots as they grow. The largest will reach about six feet tall. "We have approximately 36 more days to go before these plants will be harvested," Noble says, referring to the most mature plants in the dispensary.
Security will be tight. Each patient must show a state medical card to get in, the metal detector is next, followed by more ID checks. "Once the patients have gone through four checkpoints, they'll then come into our retail dispensary space," says Noble.
Hoping to open late summer, the dispensary will offer smokable, edible and topical marijuana. "Our ounces will range from $250 to $400, depending on the strain you buy," says Noble. With the Salem dispensary already sold out, Noble hopes his system keeps the Brockton facility in business. "We create different lag times between plants so we can have a perpetual harvest," he says.
The In Good Health dispensary says it will give 3% of gross revenues to Brockton for general use, and another 1% will go to drug and alcohol programs in the city. The facility will serve about 500 patients.
For more information on medical marijuana in Mass. visit: Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health Medical Marijuana