State Representative Jim MacKay was named the chair of the state’s therapeutic cannabis advisory council at its first meeting Thursday.
The Concord Democrat also chairs the House health, human services and elderly affairs committee.
Council members say there will be plenty of work in the coming months.
Among the council’s many tasks will be to gage the effectiveness of the state’s dispensaries, or alternative treatment centers.
Michael Holt, rules coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services, says that includes tracking inventory.
“They need to be able to say how much they have, where it goes, to whom it goes, and keep records of surplus, and disposal of that surplus.”
The law allows for up to four dispensaries.
The council is also charged with recommending any changes to the law.
The creation of the 15-member council was required as part of medical marijuana legislation signed into law earlier this year.
One of the most significant deadlines for the council is July of next year; that’s when rules must be in place for patient identification and registry cards.
Dispensaries are not expected to be up and running until 2015 at the earliest.
