The Board of Health met for the first time Wednesday with representatives from the non-profit organization proposing to open the first medical marijuana dispensary in Wareham.  David Aubrey, the Chief Operating Officer of Compassionate Care Clinics, said the clinic should open in the next six months, and that it would be located in the institutional zone near Tobey Hospital. The clinic will dispense marijuana to authorized patients in a number of different forms that are most appropriate for a patient's needs, including creams and food.

Compassionate Care Clinics received approval in November from the Board of Selectmen to move forward with opening a dispensary in Wareham.  Final approval from the State Department of Public Health is pending.

Board of Health members expressed several concerns about the the clinic and how it would operate.  Of particular concern was the fact that no physicians or providers in the Wareham area have had any education or briefings on their responsibilities relating to approving a patient's use of medical marijuana.

According to Aubrey, patients seeking to use medical marijuana must first get a confirmation from their regular physician that they qualify to use the medication based on Massachusetts regulations.  These regulations stipulate only ten condition for which medical marijuana can be dispensed, which include such conditions as ALS, cancer, crohn's disease, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, or parkinson's disease.  The clinic will not provide marijuana for recreational or social anxiety purposes.

Once a provider has confirmed the patient meets the criteria for use, the provider must submit a registration request through the a state website.  If approved by the state, a card is issued to the patient, and this must card be presented at the clinic in order to meet with a therapist and be treated.

Amy Weigant, MD and chair of the Board of Health, voiced concerns that physicians are not allowed to prescribe marijuana because it is not approved by the FDA.  She wondered how therapists could determine the correct dosage, especially given the variety of ways a dispensary can provide the marijuana.

Board member Catherine Phinney, a registered nurse, expressed concerns about the appropriateness of dispensing marijuana in a smokeable form. "It doesn't make any sense to introduce a smoke into lungs that were meant to breath air."

Weigant also wondered how therapists could recommend a method or dosage to patients without prior experience. "I don't understand how you can open without having experience dispensing".

Aubrey said the dispensary would open with minimal signage, and would have high security.  Patients would be required to show their approved registration cards before being allowed into a locked area with a therapist.  All therapists will have "rigorous background checks".

Aubrey also told the board that the clinic is required to price their marijuana products based on current street prices.  This makes it less likely that patients could resell the marijuana for a profit. "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is doing everything imaginable to make sure we don't make a lot of money", he said.

Health insurance will not cover the cost of medical marijuana.

The board members agreed that they had many more questions for Compassionate Care Clinic leaders, and asked that they appear again before the board to answer more concerns.