STATE CAPITOL BRIEFS
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BAKER OKAYS MED MARIJUANA SALE, BUT LABS NOT READY
A medical marijuana dispensary in Salem will be able to begin selling its product after meeting final inspection protocols, under a one-time, three-month waiver approved Friday by Gov. Charlie Baker. The governor’s office announced Friday morning that Alternative Therapy Group of Salem requested the temporary waiver “because labs in Massachusetts are not yet able to complete the array of quality testing required by Department of Public Health protocols.” Under the waiver, medical marijuana may be distributed with a label disclosing that the product was not tested for chemicals – the Baker administration says that in the case of the first batch of marijuana submitted for testing by ATG “the lab was unable to test for 7 of the 18 mandated pesticides, which would make it unable to be sold under state regulations.” “Patients have waited to access marijuana for medical purposes for far too long,” Baker said in a statement. “This waiver will allow industry laboratories a little more time to reach full operation while providing safe amounts of medical marijuana for qualifying patients who need it.” Under the waiver, ATG is limited to dispensing a maximum of 4.23 ounces of marijuana to any qualifying patient for their 60-day supply “and must provide patients with instructions to consume no more than 2 grams per day.” – Michael Norton/SHNS
MCCA OKAYS INTERIM DIRECTOR, HIRES SEARCH FIRM
Fred Peterson, a 16-year veteran of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and most recently its director of facilities operations, will serve as the agency’s new interim executive director. The authority is losing its chief, James Rooney, to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, where Rooney is succeeding president Paul Guzzi. The convention center board on Friday voted to appoint Peterson and he starts in his new role on July 1. Peterson chairs the Seaport Transportation Management Association Board and is a member of the Professional Convention Management Association, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, the Back Bay Association and A Better City. Korn Ferry, the same firm that led the recent, abbreviated search for a new University of Massachusetts president, has been hired by a search committee that will look for Roooney’s permanent replacement. According to the authority, the search committee held its first meeting Friday and the board thinks the search will take four to six months. Peterson will not be a candidate for the permanent job, according to the authority. – Michael Norton/SHNS
