Massachusetts

Service to Shop for Marijuana Electronically

An Army veteran who uses medical marijuana has helped create an e-commerce platform to alleviate some of the hassle of buying the drug.

Socrates Rosenfeld has pain all over his body, and also in places you can't see.

"'Post-traumatic stress' is a phrase that gets tossed around," said Rosenfeld, who served a tour of duty in Iraq with the Army.

When he returned home, Rosenfeld eventually got a prescription for medical marijuana from a doctor, and it brought relief. But when he needed more, finding the locations and buying the pot became a hassle.

So he started "Jane" with his brother Abraham. This e-commerce platform connects medical marijuana dispensaries with buyers in real time, like an Amazon.com for weed.

"Shoppers can be confident what they see on the Jane menu is actually in stock," co-founder Abraham Rosenfeld said.

The company just went live last month, and the brothers set up shop in California. But the MIT graduates and natives of Newton, Massachusetts, are trying to launch in the Bay State.

They want medical marijuana dispensaries like Garden Remedies in Newton to join their network. Manager Julia Wentworth says a platform like this could possibly bring in more business.

"It's keeping us in the forefront, it's keeping us in their minds," Wentworth said.

Right now, dispensaries are not legally allowed to advertise on traditional platforms like TV and newspapers.

With the recreational marijuana market about to open up in Massachusetts after voters approved Question 4 on November's ballot, pot advocates like Beth Waterfall say they need to scrutinize new entrants into the market.

"They have medical information about a patient, of course the concern is going to be, 'Are they taking appropriate measures to protect that information?'" said Waterfall.

Socrates Rosenfeld said that won't happen.

"In terms of selling individual people's data, absolutely not," he said.

The brothers also say they want to weed out businesses that could hurt the reputation of this growing industry. And believe that's exactly what Jane will do.

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