The smallest state in the nation will get its third and final medical marijuana dispensary on Wednesday, according to a Rhode Island TV station.
Summit Medical Compassion Center, located in the town of Warwick, will serve at least 25 patients who have been approved by the state so far, with another 50 waiting for the green light from Rhode Island officials. Another several hundred patients are expected to apply for permission to purchase medical marijuana from Summit as well.
Rhode Island has one of the smallest number of dispensaries allowed in the country – only three – out of the 23 states that have some form of legal MMJ. All dispensaries are required to be nonprofits.
The state’s dispensary structure leaves plenty of room for Summit to grow. The two other dispensaries in Rhode Island – Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center and the Thomas C. Slater Compassionate Care Center – had 1,647 and 4,781 patients, respectively, as of early November.
Rhode Island has more than 9,600 registered MMJ patients, and a significant percentage of the population admits to using marijuana. According to a survey released this past summer, nearly 13% of Rhode Island residents used cannabis between July and August.
