PEABODY — With a medical marijuana district now in place along Route 1, several companies are lining up to bring dispensaries to the city.
Thursday night, the City Council created a medical marijuana subcommittee intended to determine the vetting process for dispensary proposals. Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. recently sent a letter to the council charging it with developing letters of non-opposition for the medical marijuana dispensary proposals.
“It’s important that we do something to be able to judge these facilities, so that is what this subcommittee will be working on,” said City Council President Joel Saslaw.
The letter does not replace a special permit for a facility, the council president said. But it lays the groundwork for a company that gets the letter to negotiate a community host agreement with the mayor. After that, the proposal goes to the state for approval, and then back to the council for final special permit approval, according to Saslaw.
The city has two requests for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Phytotherapy Inc., a Massachusetts-based nonprofit is seeking a letter of non-opposition to operate a registered marijuana dispensary at 25 Newbury St.
A Chara Development LLC, is seeking permission to build a dispensary at 0 Newbury St. that is under agreement for purchase. The dispensary would be operated by Wellness Connection of Massachusetts Inc.
A Chara also submitted a request for a special permit for the site. But Saslaw said the permit application was incomplete and not accepted by the Council Thursday.
The first meeting of the medical marijuana subcommittee is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 14. At the meeting, Saslaw said the group will begin the process of determining how to vet the facilities.
“This is new territory, and we’re going to have to ask the city solicitor to come in on this,” said the council president. “The purpose is to try to vet the proposals so everyone feels comfortable with it.”
Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin said while the subcommittee will examine the proposals, she feels the council will be left out of the host community negotiations.
“How are we going to act in the best interest of the city if we do not know the host agreement?” she asked. “That doesn’t work for me.”
Saslaw said that since the proposals will be coming back to the full council for special permit approval, councilors will not have to sign off on any agreement they disagree with.
“It’s not my intent to support any special permit without seeing the host agreement,” said Saslaw.
Saslaw said he asked City Councilors Tom Walsh, Tom Gould, David Gravel, and Jon Turco to serve on the medical marijuana subcommittee.
