Having been in Los Angeles recently and seeing these shops on every corner - and people smoking it along sidewalks and beaches, it disgusts me. Regulations are light, abusers are everywhere and it's as easy to get a prescription as it is for a take-out pizza. I want nothing to do with having this in our town.

I wouldn't have any problem with it. We already have people who smoke it now anyway. Plus I worry more about what a bunch of drunks will do than a bunch of stoners.

I'd be okay with it.

I would not mind a dispensary in Westborough. Apply the same rules as alcohol.

I'm good with it. It would bring more jobs!

Hopefully I would have sold my house by then.

Marijuana is medicine as well as a recreational pleasure for many. I see no problem having a dispensary in any town throughout Central Mass. I find it ironic that people sit idly by as trains carrying dangerous chemicals cut through our landscape but become fearful if something as innocent as pot is made available to those seeking it. .

In my small town of roughly 14,000 there are three package stores and five bars. I'm sure one marijuana dispensary would turn it all into a slum the likes of Flea Bottom!!

Doom and Groomers beware, people get much worse prescriptions at your local CVS. And folks on these meds are out and about. I don't see any problem if any medicine that helps people is sold in this manner. Having a head shop that sells pot to basically anyone in my town is a little different. If feel that these types of business operations, if allowed, should be modeled like brothels in Nevada. They have to be outside city/town limits, and not so easy to get to. If we use this model, the patients will be happy, the state will be happy for the revenue (public services like education can be boosted), and the stoners would be happy (they think), and business would enjoy the extra revenue from pot tourism. Besides disapointing the wing nuts I don't see a downside.

I voted NO on medical marijuana because for every person who uses it for medicinal purposes there are a thousand who just want to get high. There will be some doctors who will prescribe it liberally. People fall for this crap.

I think if each town's zoning boards and BOS selectman address it properly, it won't be an issue. Limit how close to schools and playgrounds they can be. Limit what can be displayed in the storefront, and everyone can move on with their lives.

Believe it or not, cannabis does have medicinal value for certain conditions. For everyone who just cast their vote in the Presidential Elections and the Senate race...if you based your vote on the perceived "war on women", yet still oppose medicinal marijuana, you need to take a long look at yourselves. You claimed Republicans wanted to control women's bodies, yet here our government is regulating what we ALL do in regards to a PLANT.

I think the people voted, so here we are. It will create jobs and revenue. It will take marijuana & $ out of the hands of criminals. Seems like a win/win to me. And folks, before you start thinking your neighborhood is going to be negatively affected by this legislation- remember, your neighbors are already smoking it. Nobody's going to go out and START smoking because of this. It's already there and we've had it decriminalized for years. This doesn't make it legal to walk down the street smoking, or to operate a vehicle while smoking- etc. We're all going to be just fine, so remain calm.

Very well said Monica. :)

I Think it would be great because we have the cancer center in this town so Cancer patients could get their prescriptions right after their appointments

I see no issue with this, but the BOS will probly make them put up a sign warning that devil weed is sold here or something stupid.

I think they should all go stand at D+D and look across Rt 20 and say " What a great idea it was to make them put the building that way"
Perhaps they visited the dispensary when they aproved that idea

We here in Massachusetts have the ability to implement this in a reasonable manner, and the law passed is the first step in doing that- delineating the conditions ("(C) "Debilitating medical condition" shall mean:
Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other conditions as determined in writing by a qualified physician").

The fact of the matter is the conditions listed above are debilitating due to their horrible and often untreatable symptoms. We have passed a law which clearly defines number of dispensaries allowed (a reasonable number given the probable patient load) and some clear guidance on how they are to be operated.

Let's phrase the question differently: "What would you like to see as guidelines for establishing the dispensaries?"

As a patient with severe Crohns, I very much would like to see this done properly. There is substantial space available in medical center buildings at the moment, one restriction could be made that they be operated and leased in real estate which is medically related. Advertising and signage should be restricted, it is simply not something where you are looking to attract off the street business, quite the opposite in fact. In addition, the overall operation and decor should be conducted in a professional manner (licensor require a nurse on staff?) and NOT anything even loosely looking like a "head shop".

This is about getting patients relief that they cannot otherwise find. Recreational pot smoking is already a decriminalized "parking ticket". The hoops that will be required of patients will be much harder (and undoubtedly the prices paid higher) than hitting up the local weed dealer. Sick people don't know weed dealers. They can't hang out in 7-11 parking lots to buy baggies off a sixteen year old kid at two in the morning. Sick people just need a way to safely and consistently get what can be a "miracle drug" in terms of symptom relief some cases. Let's do it right, and establish a DIGNIFIED system we can be proud of.

@Chris- Agreed. What needs to be understood (by patients, physicians, and the public at large) is that marijuana is a medication of last resort. It shouldn't be considered as a first or even second choice. There are very real, significant drawbacks to marijuana, particularly when used in a medical context. It's crude medicine at best, and the side effects (the "High") are not to be underestimated.

I feel that Mass has a chance to be a model system, especially since the pressure to "back door" in recreational smokers is smaller here, due to the fact that the recreational use laws in Massashusetts being so light. I find it unlikely that recreational smokers will want to jump through the required hoops, when it is much easier and cheaper to obtain it recreationally.

Milford has always had a problem with drugs and legallizing pot would help the police to keep a tab on those who use drugs in the first place. It may make it easier for people to use it, but it would help clarify any illegal activity that goes on now.

My brother in law lives in Los Angeles where they have ths=ese everywhere. He says you can find tons of doctors that will write you a prescription just because u claim to have migraines, pain or even a stubbed toe! These are the drug dealers of the future. The moral decay of our society continues!

Sheryl, that's got nothing to do with this discussion. Ray, this isn't LA.. and the law is pretty clear. Thirty five in the state, no more than five in any county.

I'm interested in hearing some ideas, not a re-hash of people who don't support the law just passed, or discussion of legalized recreational pot. This isn't about recreational pot smokers, they enjoy some of the laxest laws in the country here in Massachusetts.

This is a discussion of how and where we ought to consider operating the legal dispensaries needed by real patients, I hope...

Hmm, but of course you provide no evidence of your baseless remark.. once again- recreational smokers already can and do get weed... cheaper and easier than going to a dispensary. Pot for recreational use is all but legal in Mass, but that isn't the discussion. I really think you should read up a bit on the subject.

Let me put it this way- the dispensaries are coming, and the public overwhelmingly approved of the measure. I am interested in the implementation of the law, and how it will impact the areas surrounding. One thing I am sure of- if it isn't handled well, it very well could go the way of Oaksterdam (Oakland) and L.A. - something we do not want.

I would like to see a well-run, professional clinic instead of many of the unused properties that are slowly decaying around us. One question I have is what is the tax status of the dispensed marijuana? If there is sales tax involved, I can imagine there is no small amount of money going to be generated, also- something that may actually turn into a serious boon for cash-strapped municipalities, I would think.

FYI - Massachusetts exempts prescription medications from sales tax, but as this is explicitly is NOT a prescription, merely a recommendation (very different in legal terms) of use of what amounts to an herbal remedy, then the sale ought to be taxable under Mass statute.

I suffer from one of the rarest forms of headaches that there is. I am one of only 12 people that have an implant in the front of my head to try to control the pain. I do not know if it would actually help me at all, but I would be willing to try about anything especially if it is natural. I have had the best Drs try so many man made medications on me that I really don't want anymore. I live in pain every day and if there is something that will help me I would like to have the legal chance to try it. I am afraid that there will be too many people trying to get it and causing problems for those that really do need it. I do know that it will create a large influx of tax dollars that are needed. I just want the places to be ran like a real pharmacy and not a head shop.

Jason, I know what you mean. I sought out and went through what is the best pain management programs in the world- Beth Isreal's Arnold Chronic Pain Management Center. Clearly, associating a clinic or dispensary with the Arnold Clinic would be a high-value one-- because after many medications and several years, I was told by the doctors there that my best chance of living in less pain was to move to a state which allows for medical marijuana, followed immediately by a request from that same doctor that I never reveal that remark because he could lose his license to practice medicine for telling me that simple truth. You cannot imagine what it is to be told that. If nothing else, this law allows doctors to actually discuss this openly with their patients, without needing to fear retribution for what is a private medical decision between a doctor and a patient with little or no other options.

I think that if medical marijuana helps alleviate pain to people like Jason & Paul B. that is a great thing and I'm all for it!
But wait till you see all the people that are gonna get it just to get high. Some doctors will write scripts for it for the smallest of reasons or made up reasons. Medical marijuana will become a cash crop...

Marijuana is already the largest cash crop in the US, Milford senior man. Purdue profits off of OxyContin that's sold in pharmacies and on the street as well. People that want to get high with oxy get scripts from doctors as well. Should we stop providing it in pharmacies? The only point you seem to make is that some people smoke pot to get high.

Well I hate to break it to all you winers but marijuana WILL be fully legal it's just a matter of time this medical legalization is just the first step to prove just how safe this is

Drs can't just "write scripts for the smallest of reasons". The patient has to be suffering from something major. I've been a recreational smoker for about 16 years and would of course love if it became legal across the board but I'll still gladly get my own stuff the "old fashioned way" until that happens. For now, I'm extremely happy that people who truly need it for pain management and to better their quality of life will now have access in Massachusetts. Those of you putting down marijuana like it such a bad thing have no clue. Do you people drink alcohol? Because that is FAR worse for you than marijuana can EVER be. Ever see a severe alcoholic die? I have. My uncle drank himself to death, literally. Not a side-effect that you'd ever see with marijuana. Worst case.. Maybe you go into a Cheetos spiral and wake up covered in orange powder. So to those of you denigrating marijuana on this message board.. Smoke a joint.. That'll help with the pain as you pull out that stick wedged tightly up your asses.

Obama-Biden 61%
Question 3: Medical Marijuana Yes 63%

Who are the bigger dopes? Oh, sorry, its the same people. When are people going to grow-up.

It seems that some people will do ANYthing to curb the behavior of innocent people who happen not to share their prejudices. There's a 'mean-ness' afoot that has turned us into a nation of busybodies who are primed to 'lunge' at anybody who doesn't conform to the straight and narrow path these people would restrict us to. It's just a handy--and anti-intellectual--way to separate people into 'US' and 'THEM' to keep our hatred consistent. It used to be said that "there is no arguing taste"; but there are people who are not satisfied unless their own tastes can be imposed on everybody else. They want to declare our country a "Christian" nation; they want to declare homosexuality illegal. No other personal (and non-coercive) Freedom should be allowed, except their own. The Hallmark of the American experiment is that it is founded on REASON.

The two biggest killers are perfectly legal to buy and use, tobacco and alcohol. I have no problem with it as long as abuse of the system doesn't get out of control.

Anyone who equates ACTUAL medical use with a desire to 'get stoned' clearly has no concept of the pharmacology in play in these diseases, and the method of actin of the chemicals involved. In Crohns for example, it slow gut transit and supresses spasticity, as well as acts to supress nausea and increase appetite. In MS and ALS, the antispasmodic activity is key. In the wasting syndromes and nausea associated with cancer, AIDS, and the like, it is the nausea supression and appetite stimulation. B cell regulation by the anandamide system may be key in new arthritis treatments. This is what it can do, in some cases, like no other medication. This isn't about getting stoned.

By the way, isn't it sad that even now, with the passage of this law, that I still feel afraid to speak about the subject for fear of retribution? Let's be clear: All of my above statements are purely hearsay, as I of course have never consumed it, not even when I was down to 120 pounds and literally dying. Nope. Not even when the nonstop physical torture was makng me actively contemplate suicide. Nope. Not even after doctors told me it was my best chance at stopping the suffering. Not a puff. Be happy you don't know what it is to be sick, and scared too.

Joseph, you are clearly a troll.. if you want weed to get stoned, it is available much more cheaply and easily on the street. If you are willing to go through all the medical hoops, the IDENTIFICATION of who you are and the fact you have weed, and pay what in most states is twice the street price to buy a joint at a dispensary... well, logic dictates. Joseph, what a sad little life you must lead. Your actions and words mock people who truly suffer, people who have no other option. To do so and brag about it-- smacks of troll and nothing more.

Cannabidiol in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Brief Overview.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22815234

Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain by targeting α3 glycine receptors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22585736

These are a couple of articles of the HUNDREDS you should read. What needs to happen now is that we remove the stigma, so that real research can be done on WHY it works, so the effects can be replicated without needing to resort to such a crude method.

Ive been smoking 17yrs....and the best thing about prohibitionists is their extremely clueless about who smokes cannabis they believe that only "certian types" smoke it which makes it easier for me and my friends to remain in the closet so to speak.....we have extremely high paying professional jobs.....

If prohibitionists really knew how much cannabis is out there they would be demanding an end to the massive waste of tax dollars......The world health organization report to the UN listed the US as the worlds largest consumer of cannabis at over 55 million not the 12-15million thats often cited......

Do you really believe that its only kids and adult hippies and 40yr old loser and his parents basement? Dont be naive......its doctors nurses teachers athletes mothers fathers all types of respected members of society.....

Are alcohol consumers all child beating wife killing drunk driving trailer park trash? No and not all cannabis smokers are cheech and chong or jeff spaqoli some are billionaires like ted turner steve jobs before he passed and sir richard branson

Some are athletes like michael phelps are book writers like steven king or nobel prize winning physists like francis crick or kerri mullins.....

There's a reason cannabis prohibition is dying maybe you should educate yourself to find out why.....

Again, Chris.. Recreational cannabis isn't the subject here... the newly enacted medical law is- and how to reasonably implement it- so as to service patients who actually need it rather than people who just want to get high. Massachusetts actually has some of laxest (well, CO and OR seem to have to have gone totally legal) laws as pertains to weed for recreational use.

I admittedly have a vested interest in seeing this done properly. I and people like me are the folks specifically targetted by this law, and to be honest, I find it sad that recreational pot smokers attempt to piggyback upon those that need it. I have no problem with folks who recreationally use pot- but that simply is not the subject matter of this discussion, the purpose of the dispensaries, or something that ought to be associated with it.

Put one on the corner of my street for all I care. I bet you that same asshole up top isn't disgusted when he's swilling alcohol on a weekend.
I'm not gonna depend on you people or society a whole to parent my children anyways so it doesn't matter what's out on the street ill teach em right from wrong.
Maybe we should worry about the entire generation destroyed by OxyContin and heroin before we bother glorified cigarette smokers. Actually cigs are a thousand times worse. Just like alcohol

By the way I was on methadone for pain management for nine years. Marijuana is the only thing that allowed me to get any sort of life back. I don't drink and I dont use any other drugs. It really bothers me that people assume to know better than my own doctor. And as far as kids getting the weed. You can already get it in any school cafe across America. It's time to wake up. Seriously people

But Paul lets be real about this. The system is and will be wracked with abuse. Medical is the next logical step toward legalization. Take the profitability away and there'll never be another marijuana crime in America unless its someone stealing your plant or your stash. What's really rediculous is acting like pot is harmful when there's a thousand drugs on the legal market that'll actually kill you

This is not about getting stoned, Keith. This is about people who simply have no other medical options. I encourage you to become a member of NORML or MASSCANN, organizations that are working with a goal of legalization for recreational use- but please don't confuse your desire to get stoned with someone who has a medical need.

Hi, Paul H.

I've been keeping up with your posts on this site, and I find that you make more sense than most (because your views are the same as mine on this topic). Is there some way I can get in touch with you off this site? If so, you can reach me at aybayb(at)aol.com. I hope you'll get in touch...some things you've mentioned are quite important (to me).

Barb R. Folks who have no need to use marijuana don't understand there are many of us with medical conditions that simply do not respond to traditional treatments. So....we are forced to simply tolerate pain, nausea, and other issues year after year, when some form of marijuana may very well help people to feel halfway healthy and be able to function the way those of you without the same health problems do. I would never have even TRIED medical marijuana except that unrelenting nausea pushed me in that direction and my doctor totally approved of giving me a prescription to see if it helps me. I'm not using it recreationally, not that I'm bothered by those who do. Please, just don't take steps to keep this product out of the hands of those of us who are sick and need help otherwise unavailable. If it was you, a relative or friend desperate for relief, you might well see this entirely differently.

Here's a paragraph from a recent article by a CNN editor who suffers from Crohns, the disease which has ravaged me so severely that I can no longer maintain a job- the disease that amounts to physical torture until it kills you.

"Each person suffering from the disease will have their own private hell made up of variations of these components, but all will share the guarantee of loss of normal life, and the knowledge that there is no cure. During my worst times it's been so tough that, exhausted from battling the pain, frustration and fear, I've cried myself to sleep on the bathroom floor." - http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/07/health/crohns-personal-struggle/index.html

THIS is what a few puffs of weed can help. The receptor responsible for much of the pain is the receptor that Cannabidiol (a component of weed) unlocks. The ONLY source of the chemical is pot at the moment.

Please understand THAT is what this is about. It's not about getting high.

Without bias- here's one of THOUSANDS of studies that are now finally being allowed. In time, we will get a "real" medicine based on this. Until then, weed is the only option that exists.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22095142
"Impact of cannabis treatment on the quality of life, weight and clinical disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease patients: a pilot prospective study."

We patients don't want to be "stoners". We don't want to "get high". We are trying to survive.

We just want to be able to get the one medication that can help, without having to feel like criminals, live in fear of arrest, or hang outside of a convenience store at two in the morning to buy a bag of questionable weed from a fifteen year old kid. We want to be better than that. This law, that is what it is supposed to be. We could really use a little support. Let's do this right. I don't want to see a "head shop". I want to go to a pharmacy- and if that's not possible, then I want to get as close to that as possible.

I personally would LOVE to be involved in some of the actual discussions regarding this. If possible, I would love to be able to maybe even work in such a place part time. Being sick like this is terrible. Being able to help others who also suffer- that's a pretty noble goal, in my mind.

Paul H... Methadone is a synthetic opiate painkiller with fewer "high" producing side effects. It's considered to be one of the better opiate-based painkillers when used for long-term pain managmement. It was invented by the Germans in 1937, gaining popularity quickly because wartime blockades prevented them from getting supplied with plant-derived Morphine and Hydromorphone.

It is also used for maintainance therapy and tapering off to break opiate addiction to such things as heroin and oxycodone, because it tends to give less of the 'reward' feeling than a comparable dose of a more harmful opiate. In many cases, both for managing chronic pain and for treating addiction, Methadone has been a wonder drug.

Please understand this is a medical issue being discussed, and not nonsense about conspiracies and getting high.

However, here's reality: I sought out a pain clinic to work out a long term plan to manage the pain of my disease. One of the best in the USA. I want to avoid heavy narcotic addiction as much as I can- the reality is that all long term opiate regimens are also understood to be an addiciton (physical need due to the changes caused by the drug itself) to the painkiller in use. It really becomes a question of minimizing this type of impact. In terms of opiates, I am able to manage with a synthetic form of codeine called Tramadol, which produces almost no narcotic side effects except tiredness and produces only mild physical addiction. Been on it for twelve years, it is a godsend... But I am in fact addicted to the chemical and would suffer withdrawal symptoms if I stopped abruptly.

The sad part is that I discussed the fact that when I could get it, I would get relief comparable and better than heavy painkillers could provide, simply from a few puffs on a joint.

The response? That if I would 'contract' with the pain clinic to NOT use marijuana, they would be able to give me a prescription for OXYCONTIN.

This is the reality.

One of the reasons I left Milford was because of the high percentage of drug use amongst their citizens. And now that I know they are opening up a brothel-style marajuana dispensary on the outskirts of town, I definitely will never move back there!

Nope. I have no problem. The people have voted. like anything there will be a pecentage of people that abuse it and get bogus scripts but I think it will be watched close by authorities.I do think that they should make it look like a legit business and not a head shop as that perception doesn't help what they want. Do I think it is as dangerous as drinking and driving? Yes, but that was not the blogs question.

Yes Paul, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to never set foot in Milford again!