MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAS COME TO MASSACHUSETTS AND HUNDREDS OF
PATIENTS HOLDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARDS ARE BEING SERVED
IN DISPENSARIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE, INCLUDING ONE RIGHT HERE
IN OUR REGION. THE BRAND NEW, NEW ENGLAND
TREATMENT ACCESS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY CENTER IN
NORTHAMPTON, OPENED ON SEPTEMBER 28.
AND MONTE BELLEMONTE TOOK A TOUR TO FIND OUT MORE IN THIS MONTH'S
LIFE WITH MONTE SEGMENT. >> NUTRIENT TREATMENT ACCESS,
IT'S THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOP ON CON STREET.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAS BEEN LEGAL IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSETTS SINCE 2012, AND JOINING ME IS LESLIE LAURIE, AND
NOW YOU ARE HERE AT THE HELM OF THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN WHEN IT
COMES TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA. NEW ENGLAND TREATMENT ACCESS.
HOW HARD IS IT TO BECOME A MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT?
>> IT IS NOT REALLY HARD, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STEPS TO
BE ABLE TO BECOME A PATIENT. AND ONE NEEDS TO GO TO
CERTIFYING DOCTORS, GET CERTIFIED, AND DOCTORS IN
MASSACHUSETTS, UNLIKE OTHER STATES, ARE ABLE TO DETERMINE
WHAT THE CONDITION IS, THAT WOULD WORK FOR MEDICAL
MARIJUANA. >> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS
THAT PEOPLE WOULD PRESCRIBE MEDICAL MARIJUANA?
>> WELL, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN THE FEW WEEKS THAT WE HAVE BEEN
OPEN, IT IS REALLY EXCITING, TO HAVE THE DOORS OPEN NOW, IN
NORTHAMPTON, FINALLY AFTER THESE TWO YEARS.
BUT, PEOPLE ARE COMING FOR ISSUES RELATED TO PAIN, ISSUES
RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE IS HAVING CANCER TREATMENTS, AND
THIS IS A REALLY GOOD WAY OF HELPING WITH ISSUES RELATED TO
NAUSEA OR EATING OR SLEEPING. WE HAVE LOTIONS THAT WORK FOR
PSORIASIS. >> SO IT'S NOT ALL JUST SMOKING,
AS MANY PEOPLE THINK. >> AND NOT AT ALL, AND I THINK
AS YOU MAKE YOUR TOUR, WHAT YOU WILL DO IS TO SEE THE DIFFERENT
PRODUCTS THAT WE HAVE, AND WHAT IS SO INTERESTING, IS THAT THE
AVERAGE AGE OF OUR PATIENTS IS 47.
THAT OVER ONE QUARTER OF THE PATIENTS ARE OVER THE AGE OF 60.
AND WE HAVE TWO PATIENTS ARE OVER THE AGE OF 90.
>> WOW. >> AND ARE THEY PEOPLE THAT WERE
USING MARIJUANA BEFORE IT WAS LEGAL OR ARE THEY PEOPLE WHO ARE
NOW JUST SAYING, I NEED AN ALTERNATIVE TO WHAT OTHER
MEDICINES HAVE PROVIDED? >> I WOULD SAY IT'S A
COMBINATION OF BOTH. THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE SO HAPPY
THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO NEED SOMEONE, IN DARK PARKING LOTS,
TO BE ABLE TO GET MEDICATION THAT THEY KNOW IS HELPFUL.
SO, WHAT THIS PLACE AFFORDS PEOPLE IS THE ABILITY TO TRY
DIFFERENT STRAINS, TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT WILL WORK THE BEST FOR
THEM. >> WELL, LET'S GO THROUGH THE
PROCESS OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO COME INTO THE TREATMENT ACT AND
WALK YOU THROUGH THE STEPS AND LOOK AT THE PRODUCTS.
WE'LL NEED NORTON OUTSIDE THE DOOR AND GO THROUGH THE SECURITY
PROCEDURES, AND GO AND CHECK OUT THE BARTENDERS AT THE BAR DOWN
THERE, SO THIS IS THE FIRST SECURITY CHECKPOINT HERE.
THIS IS ASSUMING THAT YOU ALREADY ARE A PATIENT, YOU
SIGNED UP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, AND YOU RECEIVE
YOUR I.D., IT LOOKS LIKE A DRIVER'S LICENSE.
AND YOU ARE GOING TO SHOW THAT MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD INTO THE
CAMERA. THE SECURITY SPECIALIST ON THE
INSIDE WILL VERIFY THAT YOU ARE A PATIENT, AND YOU ARE GOING TO
BE BUZZED INTO THE BUILDING. >> WE'RE IN.
YOU CAN'T OPEN ONE DOOR IN UNTIL THE OTHER DOOR SHUTS.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE, ALMOST LIKE AIRPORT SECURITY, BUT YOU CAN
LEAVE YOUR SHOES ON, BUT WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP?
>> WE CALL AT NO TIME MANTRA, AND ULTIMATELY, THERE IS WHERE
YOUR DOCUMENTS GET CHECKED AGAINST THE STATE DATABASE, SO
YOU WILL GET SECURITY SPECIALISTS HERE AND GIVE THEM
YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE, OR YOUR GOVERNMENT ISSUED
IDENTIFICATION, AND YOUR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH,
MEDICAL MARIJUANA, REGISTRY CARD.
HE PULLS YOU UP AND HE SEES YOUR INFORMATION, IS VALID.
AND YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE SYSTEM, AND YOU WOULD BE BUZZED
INTO THE FLOOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND TREATMENT ACTS, AS THE
DISPENSARY ITSELF. >> LET'S GO TO THE FLOOR.
>> THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR, FROM ANOTHER LIFE.
THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF WHEN I THINK OF MARIJUANA, AND THESE
ARE JUST THE PLANTS THAT PEOPLE WOULD SMOKE, AND SOME OF THE
NAMES, LIKE FACE WRECK, THAT DOES NOT STRIKE ME AS MEDICINAL.
>> THE NAMES, THEMSELVES, JUST LIKE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW,
CABERNET SAUVIGNON OR TYPES OF WINE.
IT TELLS THE PATIENT, THE CONSUMER, IT TELLS IT WHERE IT'S
FROM, AND IT IS A TRANSITION POINT BETWEEN THE ILLEGAL MARKET
WHERE WE WERE IN 2012, AND NOW. AND SO I EXPECT OVER TIME, THESE
NAMES ARE GOING TO CHANGE OR BECOME MORE INDICATIVE OF THE
MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF IT. BUT FOR SOMEBODY THAT WALKS IN,
ALL THEIR LIFE -- >> BY A PSEUDONYM, SO --
>> AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WE ARE IN AN OPIOID CRISIS, IN
THIS AREA AND A LOT OF THAT STEMS FROM LEGAL PRESCRIPTIONS
OF OPIOIDS, THAT THEN PEOPLE ARE GOING, TURNING TO STREET DRUGS
LIKE HEROIN AND DYING. IS THIS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE
SUM OF THOSE SAME THINGS THAT COULD BE PRESCRIBED, OPIATES
FROM DOCTORS, AND IS THERE A DANGER ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF
THESE PRODUCTS IN THE SAME WAY THAT THERE IS A DANGER WITH OPEN
OITDZ? >> THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
THIS IS AN EPIDEMIC. IT'S NOTHING SHORT OF AN
EPIDEMIC. GOVERNOR BAKER HAS SPOKEN TO
THIS AND HAS MADE THE LINK BETWEEN OPIOID ABUSE AND THE
POTENTIAL SUBSTITUTION BY LESS HARMFUL MEDICAL MARIJUANA, AND
THAT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, IS ONE
OF THE UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES OF REGULATING MEDICAL MARIJUANA,
AND IN FACT, THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,
JUST LAST YEAR, ISSUED A REPORT SAYING THAT IN STATES THAT HAVE
LEGAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA, OPIOID OVERDOSES HAVE FALLEN BY 25%.
NOW, IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT, IN 2016, ON THE BALLOT, WILL BE A
QUESTION ABOUT FULL LEGALIZATION, OF MARIJUANA, AND
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR A PLACE LIKE NETA?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN ANOTHER JURISDICTION, IN
WASHINGTON STATE AND IN COLORADO, THAT THE TWO SYSTEMS
OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA, AND ADULT USE CAN CO-EXIST.
THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. FIRST, THIS IS A MEDICINE, AND
IT IS NOT TAXED, YOU KNOW. RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA, DON'T
USE MARIJUANA, IS GOING TO BE TAXED, UP TO 15%.
THE TYPE OF STRAINS, THE TYPE OF GENETICS THAT ONE GROWS FOR A
MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT ARE DIFFERENT, THAN YOU WOULD GROW
FOR A RECREATIONAL PATIENT. I THINK, THIS SHOWS THAT
RESPONSIBLE REGULATIONS CAN WORK.
THAT, YOU KNOW, A CITY CAN REGULATE THIS IN A SAFE MANNER
FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THAT PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY,
AND SO, I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME LESSONS TO BE LEARNED.