The Massachusetts Department of Health are going after caregivers who are selling cannabis to more than one medical marijuana patient. According to officials, some 1,300 patients and 17 caregivers were sent letters last week gently reminding them that it is illegal under state law to do things like, say, post extra meds for sale on Cragislist.
But patients say that it is the only way they can legally access meds while the state drags their heels trying to get dispensaries up and open, likely not until the Fall.
“I have been put in a terrible situation,” patient David Tamarin told the Boston Globe. “The legalization of medical marijuana should make it easier, not more difficult, for a patient to get his medicine.”
Tamarin received one of the letters last week telling him to find another caregiver.
The move stems from caregivers like William Downing, who runs Yankee Care Givers which he openly admits serves around 1,000 patients. Patients are allowed up to 10 ounces every 60 days. Downing says the rules are unclear and while they say a caregiver can only supply one patient at a time, some take that quite literally: only serving one customer at a time. Downing stopped selling cannabis since receiving the letter, but says he’ll likely file a lawsuit and needs patient support.
Activists argue that the state is ignoring patient needs. Forcing people to find another caregiver or to grow their own means patients could go without meds for months.