GRAND FORKS — Two years of waiting for medical marijuana to be made available in North Dakota is almost over, and dispensaries are likely just months away from opening.

The state Department of Health has named two companies to manufacture medical marijuana in North Dakota and selected four businesses to open dispensaries in Fargo, Bismarck, Williston and Grand Forks. Former University of North Dakota hockey and NHL player David Hale and business partner Jon O’Keefe will open the Grand Forks location under the name Strive Life.

“We’re working with the state to open up as soon as possible,” Hale said. “I think it is fair to say we are looking at a few months down the road.”

There are a few more steps dispensaries must go through before they can open, including approval from city or county entities for planning and zoning. They also must wait for medical marijuana manufacturers in North Dakota to start producing medication before the products can be sold.

But the effort that started as a 2016 initiated measure to legalize medical marijuana is closer than it has ever been to becoming reality. North Dakotans approved the ballot measure with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Almost two years later, the health department began on Oct. 29 to accept applications for ID cards that will allow qualified patients to purchase the drug.

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“Not only have our patients been waiting for this, but it gives them an alternative,” O’Keefe said. “It gives them a second choice if they meet the qualifications. Everybody likes options.”

About 130 residents have applied to become cardholders as of Wednesday, said Jason Wahl, director of the medical marijuana division at the health department. It’s possible those cards could be printed in December, he said. Once the process is running, it could take patients two to four weeks to receive their cards, he said.

The dispensaries and manufacturers are working on applications to obtain building permits from city and county governments, he said. Pure Dakota in Bismarck, one of two manufacturers chosen to produce medical marijuana, could start producing medicine in January, Wahl added.

“It is nice to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “We know that people have been waiting for an extended period of time … for the program to be up and running.”

It’s unclear when the second manufacturer, Grassroots Vending in Fargo, would begin producing medical marijuana. The facility’s parent company, Grassroots Cannabis, said it expects its North Dakota facility to open next year.

Some have complained the process to put legislation in place to accommodate the sale, possession and use of medical marijuana has taken too long, but the industry is relatively new across the country, and states need to take their time to put regulations in place that will make access to the drug safe for patients, said Ben Kimbro, director of business strategy for Harvest Health and Recreation, which will open dispensaries in Williston and Bismarck.

“I would commend North Dakota on the way they have handled implementing the process,” Kimbro said.

‘Clear and understandable’

North Dakota can have up to eight dispensaries, with the other four designated for within 50 miles of Minot, Dickinson, Jamestown and Devils Lake. The state can add more locations if needed.

Harvest started dispensing medical marijuana in 2011 in Arizona before growing to 50 licenses in 10 states. It hopes to open its North Dakota locations as soon as possible, though that likely will be months away, Kimbro said.

He said North Dakota took a very sensible and measured approach to developing the market to provide “great benefit to North Dakotan patients.”

“It’s the type of market where the regulatory environment is clear and understandable, and it’s a place where we know we have good testing regime in place,” he said. “That fits philosophically with us. We want to always provide a consistently high-quality and safe product to patients.”

Respect for the process

Employees will be trained and have to go through background checks, Hale said. Harvest will hire locally, Kimbro said.

Harvest also plans to have classrooms at its facilities to educate patients and host support groups for various illnesses, Kimbro said.

Hale said he believes the industry in North Dakota will grow, though he doesn’t know how large it will get. Wahl did not have an estimate on how many residents would apply for IDs.

The health department has striven to make medical marijuana available to North Dakotans as soon as possible while making sure the industry is well-regulated and the public is safe, Wahl said.

The state has shown great leadership in making sure regulations are laid out clearly so medical marijuana can be distributed safely, Hale said.

“In our opinion, they have been very efficient to work with,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for them as far as what they’ve done and look forward to a continued, successful relationship.”