Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The Compassionate Sciences Alternative Treatment Center will open Monday, introducing a medical marijuana competitor to the south Jersey market as participation in the state's slow-going program continues to climb.
Dispensary employees were weighing and stuffing four strains of cannabis in air-tight bags Thursday in anticipation of the 40 patients scheduled to make the first purchases on opening day, dispensary manager Gretchen McCarthy said. Appointments are required for the first week of operation, she said.
So far, 100 patients have selected Compassionate Sciences in Camden County to be their dispensary, many switching their affiliation from either Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair, Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor, or Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge.
Compassionate Sciences is prepared to serve 1,800 patients purchasing an ounce, and as many as 4,000 when all 12 strains they intend to offer are available, Michael Nelson, the general manager said.
The wide reception area painted dark blue and off-white and lined with leather chairs, faces a counter with roped-off aisles, so patients can form multiple lines waiting their turn.
Operating since December 2012, the state program has 5,500 participants, most of whom are patients and a smaller number of caregivers licensed to buy cannabis on a patient's behalf when they are too sick to make the trip.
During a media tour of the indoor growing facility and retail site, Nelson and McCarthy say they'll compete by offering overall lower prices, as well as a 20 percent discount for patients who receive Medicaid, Social Security disability benefits and other public assistance programs. Veterans will get a 10 percent discount, McCarthy added.
Compassionate Sciences will charge $120 for a quarter-ounce of cannabis and $480 for an ounce, including sales tax, Nelson said. Prices elsewhere are as much as $500 to $560 an ounce with tax, making New Jersey the most expensive program in the nation, according to a Star-Ledger analysis.
McCarthy said for patients, "the biggest question is are you going to be lower than the other dispensaries? We are getting mostly transfers right now from other dispensaries."
State rules allow patients to buy a maximum of 2 ounces a month, but dosages are dictated by their doctors.
Nelson said they have an application pending with the state to produce two topical marijuana products and a cannabis lozenge. If approved, they would be the first non-smokable products available in the state.
The managers also touted their professional experience running medical marijuana operations in other states - McCarthy in Maine, and Nelson in Illinois, Montana, Washington and Colorado. The strains they sell are "proven from a patient point of view," Nelson said.
Two strains that have helped children with epilepsy in other states will be available in the weeks to come, he added.
It's been a slow march to opening day. The state Health Department selected Compassionate Sciences and five other newly-formed nonprofit groups to produce marijuana for the program 4-1/2 years ago.
First, they could not find a community willing to host a medical marijuana operation, Nelson said. "We got turned down in Maple Shade. That was six months worth of work to show up at the planning and zoning (boards), only to find out they were not truly supportive."
"It's the most challenging part of the business wherever you go," he said. "You have landlords who don't like it or if you find one willing, they don't own the building free and clear so then you have a problem with the bank, because they don't want to underwrite a building that's involved in it."
At the state level, "the background investigations were very thorough and that probably accounted for the longest length of time," said Nelson, a senior vice president for the parent company, Palliatech, which was also subject to financial review.
Peter Rosenfeld, a 60-year-old registered patient from Collingswood, is among the first people scheduled to visit the dispensary on opening day. He said he was pleased with the discounts and that he no longer has to make the trek to Garden State Dispensary.
"i work with patients, driving them up to the other dispensaries. It's a three-hour round trip and many of these people are not in good shape," Rosenfeld said. They started using the Egg Harbor dispensary when it opened, he said, but "in the early days they had trouble with quality and they never got used to using it, even though i think it has improved quite a bit."
"I'm also very excited about the discounts," Rosenfeld said. "The vast majority are living on disability and simply cannot afford the prices here."
Rosenfeld, who toured the facility, added: "They looked very professional in my walk-through. I just hope they are able to maintain quality and supply."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Dozens signed up for N.J. medical marijuana dispensary opening Monday
Author: Susan K. Livio
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: King 5 News
Website: New Jersey News
Dispensary employees were weighing and stuffing four strains of cannabis in air-tight bags Thursday in anticipation of the 40 patients scheduled to make the first purchases on opening day, dispensary manager Gretchen McCarthy said. Appointments are required for the first week of operation, she said.
So far, 100 patients have selected Compassionate Sciences in Camden County to be their dispensary, many switching their affiliation from either Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair, Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor, or Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge.
Compassionate Sciences is prepared to serve 1,800 patients purchasing an ounce, and as many as 4,000 when all 12 strains they intend to offer are available, Michael Nelson, the general manager said.
The wide reception area painted dark blue and off-white and lined with leather chairs, faces a counter with roped-off aisles, so patients can form multiple lines waiting their turn.
Operating since December 2012, the state program has 5,500 participants, most of whom are patients and a smaller number of caregivers licensed to buy cannabis on a patient's behalf when they are too sick to make the trip.
During a media tour of the indoor growing facility and retail site, Nelson and McCarthy say they'll compete by offering overall lower prices, as well as a 20 percent discount for patients who receive Medicaid, Social Security disability benefits and other public assistance programs. Veterans will get a 10 percent discount, McCarthy added.
Compassionate Sciences will charge $120 for a quarter-ounce of cannabis and $480 for an ounce, including sales tax, Nelson said. Prices elsewhere are as much as $500 to $560 an ounce with tax, making New Jersey the most expensive program in the nation, according to a Star-Ledger analysis.
McCarthy said for patients, "the biggest question is are you going to be lower than the other dispensaries? We are getting mostly transfers right now from other dispensaries."
State rules allow patients to buy a maximum of 2 ounces a month, but dosages are dictated by their doctors.
Nelson said they have an application pending with the state to produce two topical marijuana products and a cannabis lozenge. If approved, they would be the first non-smokable products available in the state.
The managers also touted their professional experience running medical marijuana operations in other states - McCarthy in Maine, and Nelson in Illinois, Montana, Washington and Colorado. The strains they sell are "proven from a patient point of view," Nelson said.
Two strains that have helped children with epilepsy in other states will be available in the weeks to come, he added.
It's been a slow march to opening day. The state Health Department selected Compassionate Sciences and five other newly-formed nonprofit groups to produce marijuana for the program 4-1/2 years ago.
First, they could not find a community willing to host a medical marijuana operation, Nelson said. "We got turned down in Maple Shade. That was six months worth of work to show up at the planning and zoning (boards), only to find out they were not truly supportive."
"It's the most challenging part of the business wherever you go," he said. "You have landlords who don't like it or if you find one willing, they don't own the building free and clear so then you have a problem with the bank, because they don't want to underwrite a building that's involved in it."
At the state level, "the background investigations were very thorough and that probably accounted for the longest length of time," said Nelson, a senior vice president for the parent company, Palliatech, which was also subject to financial review.
Peter Rosenfeld, a 60-year-old registered patient from Collingswood, is among the first people scheduled to visit the dispensary on opening day. He said he was pleased with the discounts and that he no longer has to make the trek to Garden State Dispensary.
"i work with patients, driving them up to the other dispensaries. It's a three-hour round trip and many of these people are not in good shape," Rosenfeld said. They started using the Egg Harbor dispensary when it opened, he said, but "in the early days they had trouble with quality and they never got used to using it, even though i think it has improved quite a bit."
"I'm also very excited about the discounts," Rosenfeld said. "The vast majority are living on disability and simply cannot afford the prices here."
Rosenfeld, who toured the facility, added: "They looked very professional in my walk-through. I just hope they are able to maintain quality and supply."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Dozens signed up for N.J. medical marijuana dispensary opening Monday
Author: Susan K. Livio
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: King 5 News
Website: New Jersey News
