The Vermont Department of Public Safety has conditionally approved a medical marijuana dispensary in the town of Brattleboro.
The dispensary – called Southern Vermont Wellness, Inc. – will be the fourth and final MMJ center to open in the state as part of Vermont’s medical marijuana program, which was signed into law in 2011.
Vermont legalized marijuana for medical purposes in 2004 but is just now moving forward with establishing dispensaries. The first two centers opened this summer, kick-starting what is expected to eventually be a $2 million market. The state’s law caps the number of patients who can register with dispensaries at 1,000, limiting the market’s potential.
The Brattleboro dispensary will be located just a handful of miles from the state’s border with Massachusetts, which is still working through its own medical marijuana law. In October, the Massachusetts Department of Health moved 158 applicants for medical marijuana businesses on to the next phase of the process.
The department hopes to award licenses on Jan. 21.
