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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire is one step closer to giving qualifying patients access to medical marijuana.
The state's Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday it has selected three vendors to open four dispensaries across the state, although specific locations have not been chosen. New Hampshire passed a medical marijuana law in 2013, and the state is behind schedule in making the treatment available. Under the law, licenses should have been awarded in January.
Each vendor must now receive a registration certificate from the state, a process that will include gathering local approval from the cities and towns where they plan to operate. Registration materials must be submitted by the end of August, and HHS officials predict the centers will open in eight to nine months.
"We will work closely with the selected treatment centers to make them operational as soon as possible so that they can open their doors and begin to provide relief to the individuals who are in need and suffering from serious medical conditions," HHS Commissioner Nick Toumpas said in a statement.
One dispensary will be located in each of four geographic areas: Belknap, Strafford and Rockingham counties; Merrimack and Hillsborough Counties; Sullivan and Cheshire counties; and Grafton, Carroll and Coos counties.
Three companies have been licensed to operate the dispensaries, known as alternative treatment centers: Sanctuary ATC, Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of NH and Temescal Wellness, which will operate two.
New Hampshire's medical marijuana law will allow people with a limited set of illnesses and symptoms to receive medical marijuana with written approval from their doctors. Qualifying conditions include: Cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pancreatitis, spinal cord injury or disease or traumatic brain injury. A bill going through the Legislature could add several additional illnesses.
Patients must also be issued an identification card to access medical marijuana. The department says it will begin accepting applications for ID cards six weeks before the first treatment center is scheduled to open.
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