Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Bill Sicard has bad knees and diabetes, so it was no big surprise he decided to try some Tangerine Haze. Throw some Facewreck in while you're at it.
Tangerine Haze and Facewreck are two strains of medical marijuana that became available at the New England Treatment Access dispensary on Conz Street, which opened on Monday.
Massachusetts voters authorized the dispensaries on a 2012 ballot question, but the 118 Conz St. facility was only the third in the state to go online, following ones in Salem, in June, and Brockton, on Sept. 3.
New England Treatment Access has been registering patients at a break-neck rate, many over the past weekend, and is up to 630 and counting. NETA has a second dispensary licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Brookline, but that one has not yet opened.
The Conz Street dispensary has smokable marijuana along with lozenges, pills and topical creams. Some patients, including a man who preceded Sicard, did not want their names publicized.
"My company would fire me," the Easthampton resident said, though he described the business as liberal. That patient, 46, said he uses marijuana for his migraine headaches, some of which can last for months.
"You'd want to cut your head off," he said.
His doctor knew he was using marijuana for the pain and agreed to write him a prescription. To get medical marijuana, a patient has to find a doctor who prescribes it and register with the Department of Public Health, all of which costs money. Insurance plans don't pay for the weed, so that too comes out of their pocket.
Costs range from $15 a gram to $350 an ounce. Lozenges are $5 each. There is also a vaporizing device that fits into a USB computer port. The replaceable pens that contain marijuana oil are $100 apiece.
Sicard, 58, of Greenfield, used to grow his own marijuana, but calculated that it would be more cost effective to get it from NETA. He said it relieves his pain, arthritis and anxiety attacks. Sicard has never smoked cigarettes and seldom drinks.
"I'm not a pill taker," he said. "I feel like a criminal all my life, and now I'm not."
A 69-year-old Westfield woman who has cancer and declined to give her name said marijuana allows her to relax.
"It helps you sleep," she said.
Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz is scheduled to visit NETA on Friday to help celebrate its opening.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Massachusetts: Patients Happy Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens
Author: Fred Contrada
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: CBS News
Website: Massachusetts Live News
Tangerine Haze and Facewreck are two strains of medical marijuana that became available at the New England Treatment Access dispensary on Conz Street, which opened on Monday.
Massachusetts voters authorized the dispensaries on a 2012 ballot question, but the 118 Conz St. facility was only the third in the state to go online, following ones in Salem, in June, and Brockton, on Sept. 3.
New England Treatment Access has been registering patients at a break-neck rate, many over the past weekend, and is up to 630 and counting. NETA has a second dispensary licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Brookline, but that one has not yet opened.
The Conz Street dispensary has smokable marijuana along with lozenges, pills and topical creams. Some patients, including a man who preceded Sicard, did not want their names publicized.
"My company would fire me," the Easthampton resident said, though he described the business as liberal. That patient, 46, said he uses marijuana for his migraine headaches, some of which can last for months.
"You'd want to cut your head off," he said.
His doctor knew he was using marijuana for the pain and agreed to write him a prescription. To get medical marijuana, a patient has to find a doctor who prescribes it and register with the Department of Public Health, all of which costs money. Insurance plans don't pay for the weed, so that too comes out of their pocket.
Costs range from $15 a gram to $350 an ounce. Lozenges are $5 each. There is also a vaporizing device that fits into a USB computer port. The replaceable pens that contain marijuana oil are $100 apiece.
Sicard, 58, of Greenfield, used to grow his own marijuana, but calculated that it would be more cost effective to get it from NETA. He said it relieves his pain, arthritis and anxiety attacks. Sicard has never smoked cigarettes and seldom drinks.
"I'm not a pill taker," he said. "I feel like a criminal all my life, and now I'm not."
A 69-year-old Westfield woman who has cancer and declined to give her name said marijuana allows her to relax.
"It helps you sleep," she said.
Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz is scheduled to visit NETA on Friday to help celebrate its opening.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Massachusetts: Patients Happy Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens
Author: Fred Contrada
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: CBS News
Website: Massachusetts Live News
