Mike Crawford, a medical marijuana patient and longtime advocate for marijuana legalization, may not buy much marijuana in recreational shops, since he has a medical card that lets him get the drug tax-free. But he is looking forward to recreational stores opening.

“If there’s enough competition, the price will go down,” Crawford predicted.

As recreational marijuana stores prepare to open, the implications for medical marijuana patients remain murky. Patients have different hopes and expectations, and other states have had varied results.

“One of the big impacts that we’ve seen is that the medical marijuana industry starts to decline in states after they legalize recreational,” said Chris Walsh, vice president and founding editor of Marijuana Business Daily, a publication focused on the marijuana industry.

Some advocates for medical marijuana patients have been vocal about their concerns. Representatives of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance say they are worried about marijuana shortages and about the potential for medical marijuana dispensaries that have not yet opened to decide to only sell the drug for recreational use.

The group has been working to ensure patients get benefits like reserved parking spaces at dispensaries that sell both medical and recreational marijuana. [Read more at MassLive]