MA: Marijuana Dispensary To Go Before Millbury Selectmen

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
Millbury - Nature's Remedy of Massachusetts Inc., a nonprofit organization seeking to operate a registered marijuana dispensary, is scheduled to make a pitch to selectmen Tuesday for a facility located at 266 North Main St.

According to town officials, if approved under state regulations, the facility would likely be used to both cultivate and sell medical marijuana.

The proposed address is located in both the Business II and Route 146 Highway Corridor Overlay district, according to information provided to the town manager. It is not located within 500 feet of the boundary line of a preschool, primary or secondary school, licensed daycare center, church, library, park, playground or other marijuana dispensary.

The organization submitted two applications to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and was invited in March to submit the third phase of the application process, the siting profile, for both its applications.
The siting profile requires applicants to obtain a letter of support or non-opposition from the municipality in which the dispensary intends to locate.

Nature's Remedy lists a Boston address. Its leadership team includes Robert Carr Jr., owner and operator of Carr Construction, as president and chief executive officer; Chief Operating Officer John Brady, who is senior vice president of research and development for Rx Green Solutions, a marijuana-focused nutrient company; Chief Financial Officer Colleen Barbarita, a certified public accountant; Maria Langley, a nurse, as chief medical officer; Geoffrey Davis as director of security; and Rachelle Topping, who has worked with medical marijuana growers in California and Rhode Island, as director of cultivation.

According to the company's presentation material, strict security protocols would be followed. Only registered patients, caregivers and other authorized visitors would be allowed access to the facility, and a visitor log will be available for DPH review. Entrance to the building would be through a secure vestibule, with proper identification, and the area would be under photographic surveillance. Motion-detection cameras would be placed on the outside of the building, and the outside perimeter would be well-lit.

Benefits to the town would include adding five to 15 jobs, in addition to employing local contractors, and a community host agreement that would provide the town with additional benefits including regular payments beyond local taxes. The applicant wrote: "Nature's Remedy commits to paying property taxes, despite nonprofit status, and potential for charitable status in the future."

Beyond the letter of support or non-opposition from selectmen, Nature's Remedy would still have several steps to go through before being given the green light to operate. At the state Department of Public Health level, it must still pass the siting profile and obtain provisional registration; undergo an architectural and security review; and be subject to surprise and scheduled inspections once it's built.

At the local level, selectmen would be responsible for negotiating a host community agreement and the applicant would have to seek a special permit from the Planning Board.

Nature's Remedy made a similar appearance in May before the Grafton Board of Selectmen for a cultivation and retail dispensary located in CenTech Park, near Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
The Grafton hearing was continued so additional abutters could be notified, because the applicant switched its proposed intended parcel, according to Assistant Town Administrator Douglas Willardson. Mr. Willardson said Nature's Remedy would be back before the board on Aug. 2.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Dispensary To Go Before Millbury Selectmen
Author: Susan Spencer
Contact: (508) 793-9200
Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren
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