There’s been a medical marijuana registry in Vermont since 2004, allowing patients with a prescription to grow their own marijuana or designate someone else to grow it for them.
But this proved difficult for some patients, who still struggled to acquire the cannabis and pushed for a dispensary system. Last year the legislature passed a law allowing up to four dispensaries around the state.
And now the first two dispensaries have received preliminary approval. Jeff Wallin is the director of the Vermont Criminal Information Center, the state agency that is overseeing the process. He talked with Vermont Edition about the dispensaries.