With Connecticut’s soon to be on the books, businesses are preparing to set up dispensaries in the state.
The law will bring a whole new industry to the state, and the Associated Press talked to one company owner who expects it to be a robust business.
‘‘We expect competition to be fierce,’’ Bruce Bedrick, head of Medbox Inc., reportedly said. ‘‘As much as I want to be in the business, a lot of other people will be in the business.’’
Under the law, patients must receive a doctor’s note to be able to use the drug and register with the Department of Consumer Protection. The patient and his or her primary caregiver can hold up to a one-month supply of marijuana, according a .
Malloy said that the law offers these “safeguards.”
- Unlike California and several other states, patients must have both a physician’s recommendation and a registration form from the Department of Consumer Protection, which is shared with law enforcement.
- Medical marijuana cannot be used in any public place, near children under the age of 18, in buses or other motor vehicles, on school grounds, nor in college dormitories.
- A panel of doctors selected by the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection will determine how much marijuana may be possessed by patients, depending on the type of illness involved.
- Medical marijuana can only be sold legally by registered pharmacists who have been approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection, and those pharmacists can only sell marijuana that is produced by special licensed growers. Approved marijuana will be packaged in the same way as prescription drugs according to dosage.
- Doctors recommending marijuana will be carefully monitored through the existing Prescription Monitoring Program in order to identify those who demonstrate a pattern of excessive recommendation of medical marijuana.
Paul Petrone contributed to this report.
