Medical marijuana proposal resurfaces in Sandwich
Tanner Stening @tsteningCCT
Some residents voice concerns as In Good Health again eyes Route 130 site.
SANDWICH — A Brockton-based company proposing a medical marijuana dispensary in Sandwich has presented its plans again to the Board of Selectmen, which declined to offer its support in 2017.
David Noble, president and CEO of In Good Health Inc., appeared before the selectmen Feb. 7, seeking a required letter of support or non-opposition from the five-member board. The medical marijuana company has been operating a processing facility and retail dispensary in Brockton since 2015 and wants to open a retail store at 449 Route 130 — the same location it proposed two years ago.
"We still have no issues to date," Noble told the selectmen, referring to the Brockton operation.
Since opening in Brockton, the company has donated $600,000 in earnings to the community, he said.
Noble described the proposed Sandwich site as a "discrete location" that's away from "children, playgrounds and schools." The company estimates it will see four to six patients an hour at the Sandwich store, or about 75 patients a day. Revenue generated from sales that would go back to the community as part of the 3 percent state-mandated mitigation would amount to between $75,000 and $125,000, Noble said. That 3 percent payout is required by law as part of the host community agreement.
But residents had concerns, which they voiced before Noble's presentation. There was no public hearing on the proposal.
"We here in Sandwich have enough problems with drugs," said longtime resident Carl Johansen.
Dr. Marianne Koenig, a pediatrician who works next to the proposed site, said she felt her practice would be jeopardized.
Koenig said she believes it's "highly inappropriate to have a medical marijuana dispensary in a unit with such close proximity" to a pediatric office.
"A medical marijuana facility puts my patients and families at risk," she said. "It sends the wrong message to my patients and families."
Sandwich Police Chief Peter Wack previously visited the Brockton site and reviewed the operation's security measures, and Noble said his staff plans to follow any safety recommendations suggested by Sandwich police officials.
In Good Health also would need a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals; any medical marijuana facility would have to be located within the town's Medical Marijuana Overlay District, which was established in 2017.
Noble said he has no interest in pursuing recreational marijuana in Sandwich, and told board Chairman David Sampson he would pledge so in the host community agreement. Sandwich voters approved a ban on recreational marijuana businesses by a wide margin in 2017.
After questioning Noble, the selectmen decided to move consideration of their support to a later meeting.
— Follow Tanner Stening on Twitter: @tsteningCCT.