Medical marijuana dispensary to open in Bethesda tomorrow

Rise Bethesda, the first medical marijuana dispensary in Bethesda, will open tomorrow, December 2, 2017 at 10:00 AM. It will be located in the Wildwood Medical Center, at 10401 Old Georgetown Road.

Interestingly, contrary to initial announcements, Rise Bethesda is actually opening its doors ahead of the Rise Silver Spring location. The parent company, Rise Dispensaries, says that is because Silver Spring doesn't have a sufficient supply of marijuana products yet. Each location is under separate ownership despite the shared branding, as in a franchise.

Rise Bethesda will be open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday-Saturday, and from noon to 5:00 PM on Sundays.

Late-term abortionist Carhart to bring abortions to Bethesda

Just weeks after late-term abortionist Dr. LeRoy Carhart appeared to be leaving Montgomery County, he is opening a new abortion office in Bethesda today. Carhart is one of only three operators in the nation who will abort babies in the final weeks before birth, and therefore many of his clients travel long distances.

While Carhart was quiet in obtaining a new facility in the Wildwood Medical Center, his arrival today will be anything but. Pro-life organizations are planning a press conference and rally outside the building at noon today, and a candlelight vigil at 6:30 PM tonight, again outside the building at 10401 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. These protests will be held on the public sidewalk in front of the building.

Carhart's new office in Suite 104 at 10401 Old Georgetown is not yet licensed to perform abortions, according to pro-life organization Operation Rescue. The organization says it has filed two emergency complaints with the State of Maryland, and accuses Carhart of trying to perform abortions without a license this week. He has no admitting privileges at any local hospital. At his recently-closed Germantown clinic, at least ten of his patients were rushed to nearby hospitals during procedures, and one woman died during a 33-week abortion.

Already, pressure is mounting on the owner of the Wildwood Medical Center to terminate the lease with Carhart. A website called "Pray for Bethesda" is also asking people to contact the property management company for the building, Alvin L. Aubinoe, Inc., and "tell them what you think!" Many of the other medical professionals in the building may find themselves, through no fault of their own, in the middle of the battle. Some patients are already threatening to cancel their appointments with doctors and dentists in the building as long as Carhart remains a tenant in the Wildwood Medical Center.