Since the inception of the Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana and its passage in 2012, the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance's agenda has been solely to support the patients and their safe access to medical marijuana. We aim to implement the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Program as written in statute and as intended in spirit. Throughout the years, our organization's task list may have changed, but our agenda has remained the same. Safe access for patients!
Our Mission: The Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, Inc. will have the purpose of working with local and state governmental bodies to ensure the social welfare of medical marijuana patients, doctors, caregivers, medical professionals, advocates, and the general public while developing and implementing laws, policies, and regulations related to medical marijuana and its safe use. The corporation will conduct such other activities and programs in furtherance of the foregoing purposes as may be carried out by a corporation organized under the massachusetts general laws chapter 180 and under section 501(c)(4) of the internal revenue code. The corporation will not engage in any activity that requires registration with the massachusetts department of public health.
"The House and Senate are debating a host of changes to the voter-approved law, which allows adults 21 and older to have up to 10 ounces of the drug, and a dozen pot plants on their property. Most of the proposed changes focus on increasing a 12 percent maximum tax rate and giving cities and towns more power to block retail pot shops, which are set to open next year.
But the proposals also would shift regulation of medical pot from the state Department of Public Health to a new cannabis control commission, which would operate similar to the state’s casino board.
Medical marijuana advocates say that essentially lumps people who use cannabis for medicinal purposes in with those who just want to get stoned.
Snow said the focus on commercial pot will marginalize patients and hurt medical marijuana dispensaries that are still struggling to develop a viable industry.
That’s what happened in Washington state, she said, which effectively dismantled its medical marijuana program last year, merging it with recreational pot. Most medical dispensaries were shut out of the recreational market, Snow said, and scores of pediatric patients couldn’t get their medicine."
A group of medical marijuana patients on Monday called it "scandalous" that Gov. Deval Patrick's administration will take more than two years to open any medical marijuana dispensaries.
"More than 20,000 people have obtained the required physician certifications to legally buy marijuana for medical use, and nearly 12,000 of them have completed registration to shop in a dispensary, state records show.
"It’s been four years since Massachusetts voters approved medical pot, and this is just the ninth dispensary to open. 55 others are well into the approval process."