3 New Hampshire Dispensary Applicants Get Initial Approval

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New Hampshire’s first dispensaries received state approval to begin operations, but they must now get local permission and a separate state certificate to open their doors.

Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of New Hampshire, Temescal Wellness, and Sanctuary ATC were selected from 14 applicants to operate four MMJ outlets in the state. Temescal Wellness will operate two of the dispensaries, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Each of the three companies must now go through a post-selection registration process to receive a certificate to operate what the state calls an “alternative treatment center.”

While New Hampshire officials forecast dispensaries could open in eight to nine months, that timeline may change as the businesses seek zoning and other local approvals. Patient applications for MMJs card will be accepted about six weeks prior to the first dispensary opening.

Dispensaries, which will be located in one of four quadrants of the state, must now find cities willing to take them.

John Martin, the chief of licensing and certification for the Department of Health and Human Services, told New Hampshire Public Radio his agency will work with municipalities where the companies want to open. If cities or counties won’t approve the dispensaries, however, they’ll need to find an alternate location.
“The bottom line is they do have to have local approval,” Martin told the radio station. “If they can’t get it, then they’ll need to look at another jurisdiction.”