In anticipation that there could be more such establishments approaching the town in the future, the selectboard is trying to come up with a template that will serve as a model for all host agreements that might come up.
The six candidates for Great Barrington Selectboard range from two men and one woman who have been on the scene for a long time to younger office seekers looking for generational change on the board.
In his letter Dr. Ernest Drucker writes: "Dramatic evidence of the capabilities of cannabis to reduce overdose deaths due to opioids was published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association."
Almost 20 people, including Selectman Bernie Fallon, briefly spoke in favor of a moratorium, arguing that a delay in accepting applications for dispensaries would "give the town some breathing room" and time to prepare itself.
The opening of Theory Wellness is both poignant and convenient, offering county residents with patient cards access to medical marijuana without having to make the 120-mile round trip to Northampton which, prior to this week, was the closest option.
In his letter to the editor, Richard Squailia writes: "I do not want the identity of West Stockbridge, or other small towns, to be changed by allowing pot tourism."
State farmers who are interested in growing marijuana will have to apply for a license, but lawmakers say the barrier to entry will much lower than it was for those who wanted to cultivate and sell the medical marijuana
Christine Canning-Wilson says this is Massachusetts, where Republicans aren’t as hardcore as they are elsewhere. “My social values are very left. I’m very people-oriented. People are people; a soul is a soul.”
By a 2-1 vote, Selectboard refused to issue a letter of nonopposition to build and operate a medical marijuana cultivation facility on 26 acres off Yokum Pond Road. Still, 76 percent of Becket voters endorsed medical marijuana during a statewide referendum -- the second highest percentage in the state.
Stanton said the state is already making medicinal marijuana dispensary companies jump through hoops, and that charging extra fees will ultimately punish patients by passing on those extra costs.
Consultant Brandon Pollock explained that medicinal marijuana dispensaries are “set up like pharmacies,” and “heavily regulated by the Department of Health.”
Former Department of Health commissioner, Cheryl Bartlett, resigned amid several controversies during her 16-month tenure, including dispensary application issues that, in one case, alleged favoritism
