A medical marijuana facility has received the go-ahead Wednesday to move into Norwell after selectmen signed a letter of non-opposition, a required correspondence from a potential host community for either cultivation or retail sales of medical marijuana.
Elevated Non-Profit Corp. CEO Rob Proctor and Executive Director Rebecca Adams appeared before selectmen Wednesday to discuss their business plan for a facility at 400 Cordwainer Drive in the industrial park.
Adams said the company is fully self-funded with no outside investors or partnerships. The one-story building would be used for cultivation only and would not increase any traffic to the area other than that generated by employees, a number not expected to exceed 15.
Medicinal marijuana is allowed under the town’s zoning bylaw in an overlay zone, and the company could grow and wholesale the marijuana at the location.
Their plan is to sell the marijuana at a retail facility in Dartmouth, although the town’s by laws would allow them to sell the marijuana to another facility.
“We are being very careful with how we are approaching this and many people before us have gotten into this hastily,” said Proctor. “We have been very methodical and we are very concerned with (what) the adult use market is going to do to the medical market and we feel it is in the best interest for us and for the town to cultivate first and then wholesale that product. We are going to wait and take a look at what happens to the medical group when the adult use takes over.”
With several licenses and permits still needed, an opening date has not been determined, Town Administrator Peter Morin said.
“If they wanted to sell it on site, their business plan has to change and that would require a change in the community agreement,” said Morin. “They would have to come in front of us and, depending on what they are selling it for, it may also potentially require an amendment in zoning bylaws. However, that’s not in the cards for right now and that would require a lot of steps in between.”
Elevated is not the first medical marijuana facility looking to set up shop in Norwell.
Mass Medi Spa had an agreement with the town, but the town had issues with the company and after a dispute over whether Mass Medi Spa defaulted on a $100,000 payment in June 30, 2017, the proposal fell apart.
Next door in Hanover, the Curaleaf medical marijuana facility opened on Washington Street in October 2017.
Massachusetts voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana in 2012, and the legalization of recreational marijuana followed in 2016. The town voted to ban the sale of recreational marijuana, which is scheduled to begin statewide July 1, through both general and zoning bylaws as well as a moratorium that ran from June to October 2017.
