Opposition is mounting in several communities where there are proposals to open the state's first medical-marijuana compassion center for patients licensed to smoke marijuana for a variety of medical maladies.
Monday night, the Woonsocket City Council passed a resolution that says, in part, that the largest city in northern Rhode Island "is not conveniently located for patients from throughout" the state, so it is an inappropriate location for a compassion center. Last month, the Coventry Town Council passed a similar, but much more detailed resolution.
The Coventry resolution says that the proposed Community Care Health and Wellness compassion center, at 3-5 Battey Ave., is in a "heavily populated residential area," while the planned location to grow the marijuana at 7 Clark St., "is in close proximity to an elementary school."
Last month, Providence residents near the proposed Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, at 431 Harris Ave., expressed similar complaints about the full-service marijuana center that would be housed in a vacant warehouse that used to serve as a storage facility for state court files.
The growing opposition comes after months of little to no objections over the concept of opening at least one and up to three compassion centers in the state. The Slater and Community Health Care groups are among 15 applicants that are interested in opening a nonprofit center under rules developed by the state Department of Health. There are applications for other centers in Providence as well as for marijuana retail sites in Pawtucket, Portsmouth, the Warwick/Cranston area and northern Rhode Island.
The proposal for the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary in the northern portion of the state prompted Monday night's resolution. When the proposal for the center was made to the state in May it did not include an exact location.
Dennis Gentili, president of Rhode Island Medical, said that the council did not invite him to the meeting, nor have members ever talked to him about his proposal. He said that he would have been "more than happy" to discuss his plans. Gentili wants to open the retail compassion center in a former bank in the Park Square Mall.
His cultivation would be in another part of the city.
The Health Department was expected to select at least one operator of a compassion center last week, but that decision has been postponed until September.
"We want to ensure that all information included in each of the 15 applications for a compassion center license is reviewed carefully and thoroughly," said David R. Gifford, Health Department director. "Due to the larger than anticipated number of applicants and the volume of material submitted, [the Health Department] needs more time to complete this process."
Annemarie Beardsworth, Health Department spokeswoman, said that as long as the proposals adhere to local zoning requirements, the opposition to the centers will have no bearing on the department's selections.
David C. Hughes, director of Community Care Health in Coventry, is not so sure. He said he feels that the Coventry Town Council and other appointed officials are trying to smear his proposed compassion center to sway the Health Department from granting him a license.
"It's going to taint the review process," he predicted.
Hughes is troubled that the Town Council never informed or invited him to address concerns that were included in the resolution. He said that many of the council's objections were based on inaccurate information. For example, he said that the marijuana would be cultivated in a building 2,000 feet from the elementary school, four times farther than the required minimum of 500 feet.
Hughes also said that Police Chief Ronald DaSilva "incorrectly" informed the council that Hughes and his staff did not contact the Police Department. He said that the center's chief of operations had scheduled a meeting with Maj. Richard Schmitter to discuss their security plans and willingness to work with local law enforcement.
"We understand the concern of the Town Council and town officials regarding our proposal to operate a compassion center, but we are confident all concerns would have been adequately addressed if the Town Council had not acted prematurely and recklessly by not acquiring and learning all facts before passing and adopting the resolution."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Providence Journal
Author: W. Zachary Malinowski
Contact: The Providence Journal
Copyright: 2010 The Providence Journal Co.,
Website: Mounting opposition in Rhode Island to proposed medical marijuana centers
Monday night, the Woonsocket City Council passed a resolution that says, in part, that the largest city in northern Rhode Island "is not conveniently located for patients from throughout" the state, so it is an inappropriate location for a compassion center. Last month, the Coventry Town Council passed a similar, but much more detailed resolution.
The Coventry resolution says that the proposed Community Care Health and Wellness compassion center, at 3-5 Battey Ave., is in a "heavily populated residential area," while the planned location to grow the marijuana at 7 Clark St., "is in close proximity to an elementary school."
Last month, Providence residents near the proposed Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, at 431 Harris Ave., expressed similar complaints about the full-service marijuana center that would be housed in a vacant warehouse that used to serve as a storage facility for state court files.
The growing opposition comes after months of little to no objections over the concept of opening at least one and up to three compassion centers in the state. The Slater and Community Health Care groups are among 15 applicants that are interested in opening a nonprofit center under rules developed by the state Department of Health. There are applications for other centers in Providence as well as for marijuana retail sites in Pawtucket, Portsmouth, the Warwick/Cranston area and northern Rhode Island.
The proposal for the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Dispensary in the northern portion of the state prompted Monday night's resolution. When the proposal for the center was made to the state in May it did not include an exact location.
Dennis Gentili, president of Rhode Island Medical, said that the council did not invite him to the meeting, nor have members ever talked to him about his proposal. He said that he would have been "more than happy" to discuss his plans. Gentili wants to open the retail compassion center in a former bank in the Park Square Mall.
His cultivation would be in another part of the city.
The Health Department was expected to select at least one operator of a compassion center last week, but that decision has been postponed until September.
"We want to ensure that all information included in each of the 15 applications for a compassion center license is reviewed carefully and thoroughly," said David R. Gifford, Health Department director. "Due to the larger than anticipated number of applicants and the volume of material submitted, [the Health Department] needs more time to complete this process."
Annemarie Beardsworth, Health Department spokeswoman, said that as long as the proposals adhere to local zoning requirements, the opposition to the centers will have no bearing on the department's selections.
David C. Hughes, director of Community Care Health in Coventry, is not so sure. He said he feels that the Coventry Town Council and other appointed officials are trying to smear his proposed compassion center to sway the Health Department from granting him a license.
"It's going to taint the review process," he predicted.
Hughes is troubled that the Town Council never informed or invited him to address concerns that were included in the resolution. He said that many of the council's objections were based on inaccurate information. For example, he said that the marijuana would be cultivated in a building 2,000 feet from the elementary school, four times farther than the required minimum of 500 feet.
Hughes also said that Police Chief Ronald DaSilva "incorrectly" informed the council that Hughes and his staff did not contact the Police Department. He said that the center's chief of operations had scheduled a meeting with Maj. Richard Schmitter to discuss their security plans and willingness to work with local law enforcement.
"We understand the concern of the Town Council and town officials regarding our proposal to operate a compassion center, but we are confident all concerns would have been adequately addressed if the Town Council had not acted prematurely and recklessly by not acquiring and learning all facts before passing and adopting the resolution."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Providence Journal
Author: W. Zachary Malinowski
Contact: The Providence Journal
Copyright: 2010 The Providence Journal Co.,
Website: Mounting opposition in Rhode Island to proposed medical marijuana centers
