Great Barrington — The Selectboard voted unanimously Monday (July 25) in support of the construction and operation of a medicinal marijuana dispensary at 394 Stockbridge Rd., in a vacant lot between Laramee’s Cleaners and Price Chopper Plaza.
Theory Wellness Inc. may operate the first dispensary in the Berkshires, if the state approves. Theory President Nicholas Friedman told the board the nearest dispensary right now is in Northampton.
Brandon Pollock, a Boston-based, state-legal cannabis consultant, speaks to the board about the project. On the right is Theory Wellness President Nicholas Friedman. Photo: Heather Bellow.
Theory may be up and running as early as next spring, consultant Brandon Pollock later told the Edge. A partner at MMJ Strategies in Boston, which specializes in the state-legal cannabis industry, Pollock explained that medicinal marijuana dispensaries are “set up like pharmacies,” and “heavily regulated by the Department of Health.” For this reason, he said, “there is not much local regulation needed.”
This dispensary will be built and operate in a commercially zoned lot, he added, after concerns were raised about an earlier plan to set it up down the road closer to a residential area.
Pollock, who, with Friedman and CEO/CFO Brad Kayton, a venture capitalist, presented a rendering of the building, said the three had met with Great Barrington Police Chief William Walsh last week to discuss the “security plan.” Walsh approved it by email, he said, adding that Theory has also met with Town Planner Chris Rembold, among other town officials.
Consultant Brandon Pollock, left, Wellness Theory Inc President Nicholas Friedman, and CEO/CFO Brad Kayton ask the Great Barrington Selectboard for a letter of non opposition so they can proceed with plans to build and operate a medicinal marijuana dispensary on Stockbridge Road. Photo: Heather Bellow
Wellness Theory came to the board Monday for a “letter of nonopposition” to “move forward with the state licensing process,” Pollock said. Friedman noted that the 2015 Annual Town Meeting approved a zoning amendment that added stipulations for the location of a medical marijuana dispensary. By a margin of 70 percent, Great Barrington voters had backed a statewide ballot to permit medical marijuana facilities, he said. The final step is for Wellness Theory to receive a state license for the proposed facility.
Wellness Theory has received such a nonopposition letter from the town of Bridgewater, where it is also planning a dispensary.
In 2014 another company had planned to open a dispensary in the downtown area but ran into a tangle with the state.
Selectboard Chair Sean Stanton, Vice Chair Steve Bannon, Daniel Bailly, and Bill Cooke unanimously say yes to a letter of approval. Photo: Heather Bellow.
Theory’s website says the company is “a leader in the Massachusetts medical marijuana industry” and further says it brings “a values-based approach to alternative health. State of the art sustainable cultivation technologies, the highest standards of product quality, and personalized service from a community of trained medical professionals.”
Friedman told the board he had worked as a consultant for such projects on the West Coast and was inspired to enter this field after medicinal marijuana helped his father, Sheffield-based photographer and environmentalist Benno Friedman, with nerve regeneration after an accident left him a quadriplegic.
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