New MMJ State (MA) What to Expect? Find Dr?

Awesome write-up! I've only been to IGH so far, but it was a great experience. I went down again this past weekend in the hopes of getting some edibles but they weren't in stock. I've tried the Green Ribbon, Kimbo Kush, White Knuckles, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries. All were great, but I'd have to say that the Green Ribbon and White Knuckles were my favorites. Great smell and flavor on both.

They're definitely on the expensive side so I don't see myself going there on a consistent basis for flower. Maybe for edibles and concentrates once they get those rolling. Thankfully I have a great caregiver with bud that just tested at 30%, and with much better prices so I'll be good on that end. I'm from the Merrimack Valley area so pretty much all 3 dispensaries are out of my way. I'm hoping the Patriot Care in Lowell gets their final certificate soon so I'll have something reasonably close.

Thanks for the info, it makes ATG sound better than some of the reviews I saw, which said they only had catatonic, and no other flowers.

I was going to check out IGH, but they were closed, so I just called a delivery service. Got to my door 45 minutes from making the call. My previous caregiver required a few days notice before they'd deliver, which could be inconvenient. I do want to make it to a dispensary sometime, though, as it'd be nice to be able to compare nugs against each other instead of taking the word of the service.

The state has proposed new standards for measuring contaminants in cannabis. The new protocols which will take effect in the spring of 2016 will allow higher levels of most contaminants, but will also require labeling making it clear that the product is safe only up to a certain amount. Once the new protocols are adopted the state will permit registered patients to purchase up to ten ounces per two months.

I've started this google doc so we can keep track of dispensary pricing. Since the state won't let them publish their prices we can do it for them. Please update it with whatever prices you know and it can be a great resource for patients wanting to do some comparison pricing.

I can't edit that. ATG is $47 8th. I forget the oz prices.

You should be able to use Leafly and online to find out info about dispensaries. Our newspapers don't publish the prices of cannabis at dispensaries or stores in WA state. Prices and strain info are easy to find, I refer to Leafly and online info is really great. Some of the stores don't keep things updated.

CarolKing said:

You should be able to use Leafly and online to find out info about dispensaries. Our newspapers don't publish the prices of cannabis at dispensaries or stores in WA state. Prices and strain info are easy to find, I refer to Leafly and online info is really great. Some of the stores don't keep things updated.

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The caregivers post prices online and leafly etc, but the actual licensed dispensaries won't right now. They are walking on eggshells because of MA laws rules about "no advertising" so everyone is playing it safe rather than sorry. Kind of crazy. Its not like they are "advertising" anyway, someone would have to go out and have a MMJ card already. No one can just see the "ad" and go to the store and buy it like a box of twinkies. Not sure who this strange law is protecting exactly.

http://m.imgur.com/a/JabXd

So I made my first visit to a MMJ dispensary in Massachusetts, New England Treatment Access in Northhampton. The place was clean, sleak and had like a ski lodge aesthetic to it. The employees were all courteous, helpful and enthusiastic. The whole experience was foreign but awesome at the same time. I need to get out of that illegal mindset. The meds ive tested so far are incredible, and very helpful for my ailments, and the flavours from the different strains taste great in the Arizer Solo. Can't wait to go back again.

I've been using Boston Best Buds and Boston Plant Power as my caregivers. It's been a little over a year since I've had my medical card and countless purchases later I still can't believe there is a delivery service for weed!

Still have yet to step foot into a dispensary, given my location none are particularly conveniently located, but I'm excited for more and more to open up.

Legalization will be here soon!

Chicken Charlie said:

The state has proposed new standards for measuring contaminants in cannabis. The new protocols which will take effect in the spring of 2016 will allow higher levels of most contaminants, but will also require labeling making it clear that the product is safe only up to a certain amount. Once the new protocols are adopted the state will permit registered patients to purchase up to ten ounces per two months.

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YES!!! Finally, quantity limits for medical users that let them buy their cannabis the way anybody would buy any other medicine - in larger quantities for 1-3 months' supply at a time!

I think ideally 1 pound per 3 months would be a good benchmark, as no doubt more significant savings could be had for the patient who buys a pound at a time rather than 10 zips.

Still, I am so relieved to finally see a legislature thinking in terms of medicine and not forcing patients to live like junkies having to get a fix every few days/week. That is not how people buy medicine and is frankly degrading.

herbivore21 said:

YES!!! Finally, quantity limits for medical users that let them buy their cannabis the way anybody would buy any other medicine - in larger quantities for 1-3 months' supply at a time!

I think ideally 1 pound per 3 months would be a good benchmark, as no doubt more significant savings could be had for the patient who buys a pound at a time rather than 10 zips.

Still, I am so relieved to finally see a legislature thinking in terms of medicine and not forcing patients to live like junkies having to get a fix every few days/week. That is not how people buy medicine and is frankly degrading.

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I had to do a triple take. You aren't from here. This is OUR thread you stay the hell out! JK

I agree nothing is more frustrating than unreasonable limits. Maybe I don't want to spend $20 in gas and missed time during a work day to go pick up a small amount of medicine. Maybe I'd like to be inconvenienced once every couple months not every couple weeks?

We are allowed 10 oz by law. Anything should be fair game as long as you have less than 10 oz. Why does it matter how much you use or how fast, so long as you keep it under possessing that 10oz that the people voted on? Its clearly to avoid people from getting away with huge amounts at one time IE trafficking.

darkrom said:

I had to do a triple take. You aren't from here. This is OUR thread you stay the hell out! JK

I agree nothing is more frustrating than unreasonable limits. Maybe I don't want to spend $20 in gas and missed time during a work day to go pick up a small amount of medicine. Maybe I'd like to be inconvenienced once every couple months not every couple weeks?

We are allowed 10 oz by law. Anything should be fair game as long as you have less than 10 oz. Why does it matter how much you use or how fast, so long as you keep it under possessing that 10oz that the people voted on? Its clearly to avoid people from getting away with huge amounts at one time IE trafficking.

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lol I knew I shouldn't have posted here! I did hear that MA was an exclusive state, especially among my fellow academics in Boston

I agree it is almost certainly limited at all to prevent people getting and trafficking large amounts. So many places around the world that are being so stupid with legalization, I'm hearing of circumstances allowing a gram or two of oil at a time for patients and this kinda shit. Like sure 1g or 2g might be a few months worth of oil for an occasional recreational user, but for a medical user, this might be a week or even a few days' worth! I am so glad to see your state at least thinking in the right kind of timescale (months' worth of medicine rather than days/weeks) when considering what amount is reasonable for an individual patient without making it too easy to funnel meds into the illegal market. Warms my heart!

@herbivore21
Wanna hear something funny? A kid I went to school with just got charged with "possession of a class B drug" for under an ounce of hash oil. Here in MA, where the dispensaries sell hash oil. He was a patient...

The law rarely makes sense. I no longer even care, I just avoid the law entirely and live my life. Luckily everything I want to do as a patient is legal in this state, but I was doing the same shit long before it was. I can't worry so much, especially about endless battles

darkrom said:

@herbivore21
Wanna hear something funny? A kid I went to school with just got charged with "possession of a class B drug" for under an ounce of hash oil. Here in MA, where the dispensaries sell hash oil. He was a patient...

The law rarely makes sense. I no longer even care, I just avoid the law entirely and live my life. Luckily everything I want to do as a patient is legal in this state, but I was doing the same shit long before it was. I can't worry so much, especially about endless battles

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Holy shit! So he got charged for having a bunch of meds on him when he has an established need for said meds? Like I don't mean to pick on your fine state but under an ounce of oil is much less than what one might extract from 10 ounces! Hell he could reasonably make double that amount with his bimonthly allowance!

What is interesting is that the rules surrounding flowers do not surround actives, so you could grow beastly GW style chemovars with significantly higher resin content and have 10 ounces that might make 70-80g of oil for argument's sake, rather than the same amount of very good conventionally grown nugs which might give you 40-50g.

What are the limits for concentrates? Are they clear and do they account for how much concentrate may be produced from the allowed amount of flowers?

Went to ATG and got 2 strains. Catatonic at 23% CBD, and gorilla glue at 27% THC. The CBD bud is interesting. I can't judge yet, but so far it seems like it's working very effectively. The gorilla glue is some of the nicest buds I've seen in a long time. I was hesitant to pay so much more at the dispensaries compared to my caregiver, but I think this trip was worth it.

Rizzalso said:

I'm hoping the Patriot Care in Lowell gets their final certificate soon so I'll have something reasonably close.

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I just pre-registered with PatriotCare over the weekend. Lowell has a pre-opening event on Feb 15 and Grand Opening on Feb 16. If you didn't pre-register be sure you ask them about the coupon they were giving out for $10 off a purchase of $20 or more (good until Feb 29, 2016).

Better still, boycott them because one of their "political consultants" has launched an initiative to block full repeal this November. I'm thinking all patients should boycott them until they come out in full support of total legalization. I can't back it up but someone on Reddit claims they have actively opposed full repeal in other states.

One of the delivery guys from a caregiver and I were shooting the shit during one of his deliveries and he couldn't stop raving about Neta (http://netacare.org/) to the point that he even said "stop buying from these guys I work for, go to Neta in brookline". This was a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one so I made an appointment and went in....


...only to get turned away at the door because my actual prescription had expired. Grrr. Got it renewed on Friday but haven't had a chance to go in yet. Neta Brookline is in an old beautiful bank building and purportedly has really good quality medicine. I'm planning a visit there on Wednesday and will report back, have any other folks here tried them?

Whelp, I after a few days with their product I can tell y'all that NETA Brookline is damn awesome! I posted my haul in the My Stash thread here http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/my-stash.2149/page-114#post-932326 so you can see the quality.

This place is great, there's a small parking lot with a cop (required by the city of brookline) and you get buzzed in the front door by ringing a bell and holding your ID card up to a little camera. Seems shady at first but as soon as you step in a wonderful smell wafts over you and, upon climbing up a short flight of stairs, you're greeted by a receptionist behind a glass partition. They ask for your MMJ card and driver's license, check to see if your actual prescription is up to date (see previous post), and then let you through into the main room.

Tall vaulted ceilings, a short queuing line to the budtenders (I counted 4 who were serving customers), TV monitors with pictures of herb and glass display cases showing their wares, and two other NETA reps who asked me to fill out a first-visit questionnaire. Did that, hopped in line, reviewed the additional paperwork provided which included a menu! Here's the flower portion from their online menu:




I waited about 15 minutes with 5 people in front of me, and then met my first legit budtender man and lady. I explained what I was looking for, swapped some experiences with them, got to see and smell the different strains, and then ordered White Berry, Grape Ape, and Sour Tsunami x Cataract Kush. The weed is stored in a vault but for easy distribution they have large tupperware containers with a few boveda packs thrown in. The buds are pretty small, probably for easy weighing, and before weighing they would show and offer the buds for me to inspect, smell, etc. Buds are weighed, fee paid (they take cash and debit, debit has a $2 fee and they have to round up to the next $5 and give you cash for the difference, due to the debit system).

Bud is stashed into black plastic tubes with locking lids (not childproof, purportedly), these tubes were placed in a larger baggie:


No smell detectable!


Overall, excellent experience, I'll post pics of the actual menu with prices when I get home.

Nice review. Process seems the same as ATG in Salem. Sounds very very similar anyway. I've heard good things about Brookline NETA location but its too far for me sadly.

I'll be respectfully lurking here as I am from Mass and hope to move back home someday.

As promised, here is the menu! Prices are at the top of the second page.







In other related news, talks about opening a Sage dispensary in Cambridge are starting back up again, regarding zoning shit. http://www.cambridgeday.com/2016/02...ary-sage-cannabis-chief-takes-the-initiative/

The Sour Tsunami is the best CBD strain I've tried to date. It's 1:1 at about 10% THC, 10% CBD, so that might be what I like about it, but I prefer it to the 20+% CBD strain that ATG has. Also ATGs limit on their CBD bud make me hesitant to try higher doses of it.

ATG has fuller buds, which I prefer, but the small NETA buds are absolutely covered in heads. NETA being in an old bank really adds to the ambiance, and they offer a discount for first time customers. I prefer the lighting in ATG, as NETA seemed a bit dim, but the bud tender I had at NETA was so much more knowledgeable than the budtender at ATG I had last time.

zor said:

As promised, here is the menu! Prices are at the top of the second page.

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Thanks for posting a current menu with prices.

Everybody, don't forget to update this google doc with prices too.

Here are some pics from my last 2 ATG pickups.

This Captain's Cake is easily the best bud I've ever seen/vaped:




And some cobbler:

Should have grabbed some of that Cake. Hows it taste? I just spent the last $$$ I have for a bit to get a brand new volcano at the witch dr right down the street from ATG. I want to get the cake soon.

I've been going with a delivery service lately but I always check ATG. I want the cannatonic while they have it, and that damn cake!