Location Key Discussion Point in First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Forum

Photo: The site of the proposed dispensary, the current building would be demolished to make way for a new facility.

Getting the residents in Foxborough to support medical marijuana will likely not be the issue for Beacon Compassion Center, but it may be the location of their proposed dispensary that has some not so high on topic.

As part of an open forum sponsored by the medical marijuana distributors, many residents spoke favorably of using marijuana for medical purposes, listening to testimony from users and others who watched loved ones suffer from cancer and other conditions. Most of the two hours saw residents ask questions and clarify points of the plans and the process. Some, however, were worried that a store at the corner of Route 1 and North Street was too close to a neighborhood.

“I have nothing against someone using it medically. but I cannot see a facility in a neighborhood. People will drive anywhere to get it so not put it in an industrial area and in an area with no children and school buses?” Hallowell Road resident Joan Perriello said.

Representatives from Beacon Compassion Center said the decision to go the Foxborough location, which is inside an area zoned for a medical marijuana dispensary, is a philosophical one to set up an establishment which isn’t tucked away in an industrial park and makes patients feel like they are doing something wrong.

In addition to local stories were familiar faces. Former WBZ sports anchor Bob Lobel spoke favorably of medical marijuana, telling the crowd that he uses it to help deal with chronic pain.

“I never thought I would be sitting here talking about the virtues of medical marijuana,” he said. “Don’t you want to be able to provide relief? This does not cure anything, but it can sure make you get through life a little better.”

Mansfield resident Jeanne Ficcardi-Sauro, a medical marijuana user, called the dispensary a chance to take the drug out of the hand of the illegal deals and into a highly regulated system.

“Right now the market is run by drug dealers, they don’t care how old that child is,” she said.

To find the strain of marijuana that works for her, Sauro says she has to make a four hour trip to Maine to make her purchases.

Planned for the old gas station, Beacon Compassion Center would be a 2,500-square-foot building that would look like a pharmacy, according to center president Rina Cametti. The signage would not include any pot leaves or the word “marijuana.” The property will be under video surveillance at all times.

No one without a state-issued medical marijuana identification card will be allowed in the building. To obtain a card, patients must apply for one through the state and receive a recommendation from a doctor certified to take such action. The doctor-patient relationship must be genuine and doctors that see patients only to recommend prescriptions for medical marijuana risk losing their medical license.

As is required by state law, the organization is a ch. 180 non-profit and all products must meet black market pricing to lower the chance of resale.

Before construction begins, the property will have to go through a thorough cleaning. According to Cametti, her group is responsible for the demolition of the current structures on the property and construction of a new building while the landowner is obligated to pay for an EPA-grade cleanup to remove all chemicals.

The process for the proposed dispensary is still beginning. Before a license can be distributed by the state, the selectmen must issue either a letter of support or non-opposition. If a letter is issued, the applicant would then apply for a special permit from the planning board and enter talks for a host agreement with the town, which could include a mitigation agreement.

Currently, dispensaries in Salem and Brockton are the only two open in Massachusetts. Beacon Compassion Center hopes to open a second location in Framingham and recently received a letter of support from that town’s board of selectmen.

To view the slideshow from the forum, click here.