Medical Marijuana Group Eyeing Danvers for Dispensary

A group cultivating medical marijuana in Revere is interested in setting up a dispensary in the Electronics Avenue industrial park in Danvers.

One could say it’s an area of high priority for the group.

“There could be three to four dispensaries associated with that (Revere) cultivation site,” Town Manager Steve Bartha told Wicked Local Danvers. “This group has identified the Danvers industrial Medical Marijuana Zone up on Electronics Avenue as a very viable option for their business model.”

The Electronics Avenue industrial park is one of two areas in Danvers zoned to allow a medical marijuana dispensary. The other is the Cherry Hill industrial park off Conant Street. Bartha told Wicked Local that the site could be as large as 6,000 square feet and would be classified as a medical office space.

But while the unnamed group is interested in Danvers, and the zoning permits a dispensary, they would still need to be approved by town officials. If Danvers is selected as a dispensary site the group would need to make a presentation to the Board of Selectman and meet with public safety and health officials.

Finally, the selectmen would have to sign “a letter of support or non-opposition,” reported Wicked Local.

To further complicate the issue, Massachusetts citizens will be voting on whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the November elections. Selectmen Chair Dan Bennett said he was concerned that if recreational use is legalized a medical dispensary in Danvers could exploit a possible loophole in town regulations and begin selling to the general public.

However, Bartha believed the town’s zoning laws would limit the sale to medical marijuana, even if recreational use becomes legal.

“My understanding — it was created prior to my arrival,” Bartha told Wicked Local. “It was very carefully crafted and makes reference to the public health regulations that were put in place at the state level, so that it would not apply.”

The approval process for the Electronics Avenue dispensary would likely take 10 to 12 months, reported Wicked Local.