Three Of Four ANCs Give Medical Marijuana Dispensaries The Thumbs Up

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Three of the four Advisory Neighborhood Commissions charged with commenting on proposed medical marijuana dispensaries gave their approval to the sites over the last two weeks, moving the city's nascent program away from the pitched battles that took place over where cultivation centers should be located.

ANC 4B voted 6-2 in favor of the dispensary proposed for 6925 Blair Road NW in Takoma. In the resolution, though, it made its final approval contingent on applicant Rabbi Jeffrey Khan signing a binding agreement "stipulating the assignment of an on-site security guard or off-duty police officer during all hours that the Center operates." At a community meeting hosted by Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) on Monday, Khan said he had no objections to such an agreement. Members of the ANC expressed concerns over patients being robbed outside the dispensary.
The approval comes two weeks after ANCs in ward 2 and 6 similarly gave their OK to proposed medical marijuana dispensaries in the West End and on Barracks Row.

Not all ANCs were on board, though. Yesterday ANC 5C voted down a plan for a dispensary at 1334 North Capitol Street NW. The vote was six against, two in favor (all from Bloomingdale) and three abstaining. In early May, the Bates Area Civic Association said it opposed the dispensary, again citing concerns that patients emerging from it would be robbed of their marijuana.

According to the GW Hatchet, a similar concern was raised with the West End dispensary, though it did not affect the final vote.

The ANCs have until the end of this week to submit their comments to the Department of Health, which will factor them into a final scoring and determination as to who gets a license and who doesn't. The four applicants that went to the ANCs had been culled down from 17 initial applications for licenses. Under the rules governing the city's medical marijuana program, five dispensaries will be allowed, along with 10 cultivation centers. (Only six cultivation centers have so far been licensed, though.)

With the regulatory process slowly coming to a close, patients may be getting closer to getting medical marijuana. The program was initially approved by D.C. voters in 1998, and Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) recently said that marijuana should be available by the start of 2013.

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News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dcist.com
Author: Martin Austermuhle
Contact: Contact: DCist
Website: Three of Four ANCs Give Medical Marijuana Dispensaries the Thumbs Up: DCist
 
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