The medical cannabis program in Vermont has been a huge success. So much so, that the state is allowing a fourth medical marijuana dispensary to open next year as a way of expanding access to needy patients.
Applicants have until Sept. 3 to get their paperwork and $2,500 non-refundable application fee into the state Department of Public Safety.
According to the Burlington Free Press, applicants have a long, detailed process ahead of them. Applicants will have to undergo background checks on their personal and financial lives.
The need is there, too. Shayne Lynn, owner of the Champlain Valley Dispensary in Burlington which has been open for about two months says he planned to have about 75 customers by this point. Instead, he’s juggling 175 of them and working to keep up with their plant needs.
“People had been waiting for this,” he said. “We didn’t realize how anxious people are to have this. People say, ‘My God, this is such a relief.'”
Other than access, however, few complaints have been made about the medical cannabis program. Burlington Police Chief Mike Schirling says he isn’t aware of any problems caused by having a dispensary in town.
According to Vermont law, the proposed fourth dispensary in the state will be the last one allowed. Further, state law doesn’t allow them to publish their location publically. Patients are given the location through the medical cannabis program itself.