Trade Winds, a new company, has applied to be a marijuana courier for Wareham and surrounding towns. The company would be owned by the same people as Trade Roots, a provisionally-licensed marijuana grower, manufacturer, and retailer located at 6 Thatcher Lane, and would only deliver products sold by Trade Roots.

A marijuana courier license allows direct delivery to consumers of marijuana products, accessories, and branded goods.

All sales would be made by Trade Roots. Trade Winds would in turn receive a small fee for delivery.

“This is an awesome opportunity for me as a Wareham native to extend the Trade Roots business that we’ve created here, and to operate and give money back to this local community that I was a part of my entire life,” said Jesse Pitts, an owner of both Trade Roots and Trade Winds. “That is very real to me, and that is very satisfying to me.”

Pitts cited two concrete ways Trade Winds would benefit the town: It would cut down on traffic at the Trade Roots retail store, and would keep revenue in Wareham.

Delivery would only be allowed to take place between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., but that window could be further restricted by the town.

Deliveries would be limited to Wareham and other towns that allow retail sales of cannabis or delivery of cannabis.

Unlike marijuana delivery operators, couriers aren’t allowed to sell products directly to consumers, and may not warehouse, wholesale, process, repackage goods.

Trade Winds’ attorney Ilya Ross said that the plan to only deliver products sold by Trade Roots would keep more tax dollars in Wareham.

The company plans to focus hiring locally and donate to the Wareham Free Library.

Trade Winds plans to deliver to locations within a roughly 20 to 30 minute drive of the facility, as trips further than that undercut the operation’s ability to make a profit.

To maintain security, all drivers would be required to complete extensive training.

Each vehicle used by the company would be unmarked and equipped with a security system with an exterior alarm and secure, locked storage compartments for marijuana products and cash. Those compartments cannot be easily removed. 

Additionally, each vehicle would be tracked by a GPS monitor, and there would be secure lines of communication between the retailer and drivers. 

Drivers would not be allowed to carry firearms. 

Drivers would be required to wear body cameras when outside their vehicles. Those cameras would be strictly regulated to protect the privacy of consumers.

All vehicles would be staffed by at least two registered employees, one of whom would stay with the vehicle whenever the vehicle is carrying marijuana. All those employees would undergo rigorous review by the Cannabis Control Commission and the company. 

Delivery operators are not allowed to transport product worth more than $10,000.

Trade Winds is working to implement processes to allow customers to pay electronically to minimize the amount of cash being transported by drivers.

Once a consumer places an order with the retailer, the retailer must verify the consumer’s government-issued identification to ensure that the consumer is at least 21 years old. 

At delivery, drivers would again review the customer’s ID and check the customer’s signature to make sure that it matches that on their ID.

Before opening, Trade Winds would need to sign a host community agreement with Wareham and secure licensing from the Cannabis Control Commission.