The Marijuana Dispatch

This new law would allow certified physicians to help patients obtain medicinal marijuana through a state-approved distribution network of dispensaries.

Under the law enacted last year, responsibility for administering the medical marijuana program was given to academic medical centers, but none was willing to participate.

Under the compromise that passed Monday, the state’s existing marijuana commission would certify physicians with the ability to recommend that their patients receive the drug. Those patients would then obtain ID cards from the commission that would allow them to obtain the drug from a network of state-licensed growers and dispensaries.