If all goes according to plan, Greenbelt will have its first cannabis dispensary, located at 7327 Hanover Parkway, by the end of this year. Representatives from Wave Cannabis Medical Dispensary met with the Greenbelt City Council on Wednesday, August 22, to discuss their intentions. CEO Timothy Cook described the dispensary as “Not so much Cheech and Chong,” but more a professional business. Unlike a pharmacy, customers will not have a prescription for a specific product or products. Instead they will need a recommendation from their doctor to be treated with cannabis, if their doctor has registered with the state. If not, they can look at the list of providers who have registered with the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC). The attendants at the dispensary will provide guidance to patients regarding what product(s) best address the patients’ medical issues. Cook said patients must have one of the medical conditions for which the state has found cannabis to be an effective treatment. These include cachexia (weakness and wasting of the body due to severe chronic illness), anorexia, wasting syndrome, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
The Greenbelt dispensary will be Wave’s first in Maryland and will only sell marijuana products and paraphernalia. While they expect to seek a license to grow marijuana in the future, that operation will probably be at another location. Cook promised council that even if Maryland legalizes recreational cannabis use in the future, the company will not permit cannabis use on site.
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