Swampscott pols seek correct med marijuana prescription

SWAMPSCOTT – Swampscott selectmen are already discussing the possibility of a medical marijuana dispensary in town.Selectman Barry Greenfield said he was in favor of Swampscott having a dispensary, and he didn?t agree with Peabody?s decision to oppose having one in their city after 63 percent of the state voted favorably for medical marijuana.?Peabody has 10 liquor stores and eight pharmacies, so they are already in the business of allowing adults to partake in prescription pills and alcohol,” Greenfield said in an interview Monday. “Marijuana is a lot safer, and it?s more highly regulated.”Greenfield cited a 2009 Center for Disease Control that said 80,000 deaths stemmed from alcohol abuse and 34,800 were prescription pill-related deaths. “Marijuana was zero,” said Greenfield. He also said 50 percent of people in the United States have a prescription, with an average of four prescriptions per person.Greenfield said he was happy with Salem?s recent decision to accept a dispensary if the state deems it a location site, since there are only 32 allowed in the state and they are spread among counties, with population density playing a large factor.?If they get one, I?m not sure Swampscott will be on the list,” he said.Selectman Glenn Kessler said the decision to have a dispensary in Swampscott should be something decided by public forum.?My fervent hope is that our state and local government figure out ways to implement this new program, and that we will be able to figure out a way to be able to discuss this as a community and come to a determination if it would make sense for Swampscott to have a dispensary in town,” he said Monday.Kessler said it made most sense to him to have the dispensaries located near hospitals.Greenfield said there will be more information about where the dispensaries will be in March. “I think everybody is just waiting for more information,” he said. That includes Chairman Rich Malagrifa, who said Monday that he didn?t have enough information to make a decision on whether or not he wanted to support the dispensary or not.Greenfield said he didn?t know if Swampscott would receive tax revenue beyond property tax from the dispensary. He said in some states where they already have dispensaries there is significant tax revenue at the local level, but he suspected Massachusetts? state government would be keeping all revenue.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].