Keene medical marijuana dispensary to open Saturday

Olivia Belanger, The Keene Sentinel, N.H.
·2 min read

Apr. 14—Keene's first medical marijuana dispensary will open its doors Saturday, more than a year after it initially hoped to launch, the company announced Wednesday.

Temescal Wellness, at 69 Island St., will offer a variety of cannabis products, including flower, concentrates and edibles, according to a news release from the company.

The store will require all customers to have a state-issued medical marijuana card.

New Hampshire's medical marijuana law — which has been in effect since 2013 — legalized the use of cannabis for a limited number of medical conditions and with strict permitting. Those conditions include moderate to severe chronic pain, moderate to severe post-traumatic stress disorder and certain symptoms brought on by cancer, muscular dystrophy, Crohn's disease, and other diagnoses.

When applying for a card, New Hampshire residents have to choose one of the state's three dispensary companies to pick up medical marijuana from. If someone has already chosen Temescal's other site in Lebanon, they will now also be able to pick up in Keene because the two locations are owned by the same company, according to the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services.

This location can be changed by submitting a form to the state health department's therapeutic cannabis program, which can be found on its website, www.dhhs.nh.gov/oos/tcp/documents/changeinfolostcard.pdf.

The Keene store, which has six employees, will open at 10 a.m. Saturday, the release says.

"The opportunity to support our patients, especially those that have been driving to Lebanon to get therapeutic cannabis for relief, here in Keene, is a relief for all of us," Sian Lienenger, Temescal's director of retail, said in the release. "We know folks have been eagerly waiting for this opening, and we are grateful for their patience."

In April 2019, Temescal founder and CEO Ted Rebholz told The Sentinel that the dispensary was due to open that autumn, but the opening was delayed due to several hiccups in the process.

Temescal received approval from the state to operate in Cheshire County after Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill authorizing additional dispensaries in May 2018.

Aside from Keene, the two closest options for Monadnock Region residents are the dispensaries in Merrimack, almost 50 miles from Keene, and in Lebanon, nearly 70 miles away.

Olivia Belanger can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or obelanger@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBelangerKS.