Selectmen give verbal approval to marijuana dispensary in town

Oct 14, 2015

Wareham may be getting a new marijuana medical dispensary.

Three representatives of the non-profit Compassionate Care Clinics appeared before the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night, requesting a letter of support or non-opposition to share with the Massachusetts Department of Health in their quest to secure a state permit to open a dispensary in Wareham.

“We're in the infancy stages,” said Shelley Stormo, executive director of Compassionate Care. “That's why we're here tonight, just to find out if Wareham will welcome us, whether we can work in concert with you all.”

Stormo, a Cape Cod-based substance abuse counselor and licensed marriage and family therapist, read to the Board a prepared statement describing what she said was her organization's unique business model. She said the group would work collaboratively with the town to use profits to fund social programs that are chronically underfunded.

“Our operating proposal earmarks funds for community-based drug education, drug abuse prevention, and public safety concerns,” Stormo said. “We plan to include the Wareham Police Department and work closely with them to address public safety concerns.”

Chairman Patrick Tropeano told his fellow board members that, when he previously met with the Compassionate Care representatives, he was impressed by the organization's approach.

“Their goal is treatment,” Tropeano said. “This is a medical practice, and not dollars in the pocket, and that really makes it a different model.”

Selectman Stephen Holmes praised the efforts of medical marijuana caregivers as being able to “help cure” sick patients. He said marijuana dispensaries are misrepresented as “young kids with bongs.”

Holmes asked Stormo if she had a prospective location for the facility. She replied that no location had been selected but that the organization would abide by the town's medical marijuana dispensary zoning bylaw and operate out of one of Wareham's industrial zones. There has been no specific industrial zone chosen yet.

Selectman Alan Slavin questioned how profits would be appropriated for town use. Stormo deferred to David Aubrey, chief financial officer of Compassionate Care Clinics.

“We have done most of our financial modeling more than a year ago when we first started this process,” Aubrey said. “What we were showing was that we would have revenues in the multiple millions of dollars. There would be at least 10 percent to be available for not-for-profit purposes.”

Compassionate Care’s outreach to Wareham comes on the heels of a denial request for a medical marijuana dispensary permit on Pequot Road in Fairhaven. In January, the state preliminarily gave the go-ahead to Stormo for the Fairhaven dispensary, but pulled her out of the running this past June, citing the non-profit's corporate structure appeared to violate state regulations.

The state indicated that the initial proposal submitted for the Fairhaven permit had assigned a for-profit management company to handle tasks such as leasing and training employees. Compassionate Care Clinics is in legal dispute with the state regarding the Fairhaven permit denial.

The law legalizing medicinal use of marijuana was approved by Massachusetts voters back in 2012. Currently, only three dispensaries -- located in Salem, Brockton and Taunton -- are officially in operation dispensing medical marijuana.

Selectmen gave an informal nod to the plans, but, because the dispensary was on the agenda as a discussion, rather than matter to be brought up for a vote, decided to postpone a formal vote on written approval until it could be included as an agenda item for their meeting next week.