16 Applications So Far For City's Marijuana Advisory Team

FRAMINGHAM, MA- Framingham's Marijuana Advisory Team (MAT) has received 16 applications for marijuana establishments in the city. One of the applications was deemed incomplete and two applications have been recommended to the mayor for host community agreements.

At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Chief Operating Officer Thatcher Kezer gave an update on the application review process. He said of the 16 that were submitted, 14 businesses have had meetings with MAT, but a recommendation to the mayor is needed before a host community agreement can be discussed.

Kezer mentioned that so far just two applications have been recommended to the mayor for host community agreements and only one was announced publicly: Union Twist. The company is an applicant for both a retail marijuana shop and a registered marijuana dispensary, according to Kezer. On the MAT's website only the application for a retail license is shown. The proposed location would be 630 Worcester Road. In Union Twist's application the company cites a "commitment to diverse and local hiring" and plans on having 30 percent of their workforce be black, African American, Hispanic or Latino; live in Framingham or in areas disproportionately hurt by drug laws; have experience growing a business.

The second application that was recommended to the mayor was not announced as "more documentation" needed to be done, Kezer said.

Host community agreements are key components of the state licensing process. The city began accepting applications in mid-November and will allow up to six retail dispensaries to open. There is no hard deadline on when the city has to decide on the businesses, but the longer the city waits, the more revenue it could be missing out on. City's can collect up to 3 percent of a dispensaries gross sales to balance out things like police overtime and crowd congestion caused by the business.

While 12 of the completed applications were for retail and RMD establishments, three were for production, cultivation and manufacturing. Cloud Creamery applied for a production license to make cannabis infused ice cream at 115 Herbert Street. The company's application specifies that the ice cream would be sold to dispensaries and hospitals and never sold directly to customers. Cloud Creamery is branded as a locally sourced edible choice for patients and adult users of marijuana.

Commonwealth Farm 1761 was another applicant who applied for a production license but the company added a cultivation license to their application as well. The proposed location would be at 1062 Edmands Road- the company would use land owned by Eastleigh Farm. The company plans to cultivate and produce marijuana in an indoor facility on the farm. According to it's application, Commonwealth plans to create 100 full and part-time jobs and is committed to hiring locally.

Caregiver Patient Connection also applied for a cultivation license with an additional manufacturing license. The company hopes to set up at 60 and 61 Tripp Street where the company’s founders owns an industrial complex. Caregiver plans on selling products wholesale to dispensaries in the state.

There's a chance applications could keep rolling in. This month alone the MAT received three more applications for review. All of the applications were for retail establishments; two were located along Route 9 and one on Cochituate Road.

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