Taunton pot dispensary applicant moves forward with cultivation center plan

http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140206/NEWS/140207233/1994/NEWS



From left, John Greene, anwsers, questions for planning board members, John Reardon, Joshua Borden, and Arthur Lopes.

Taunton pot dispensary applicant moves forward with cultivation center plan

TAUNTON — Although Greeneway Wellness Center didn't secure a state license to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Taunton, it is still forging ahead with plans to build a 36,000-square-foot indoor cultivation center in the city to supply its other dispensary sites across the state.

"For all the applications we went for, Taunton cultivation and corporate offices were part of it," Greeneway principal John Greene said.

Greene went before the Taunton Planning Board on Thursday for a site plan review. He hopes to secure a special permit to build a medical marijuana cultivation and processing center, as well as his corporate offices, at a former nail factory at 30 Mozzone Blvd. During Thursday's meeting, the Planning Board voted to endorse the plan for a cultivation center but not a dispensary. The board will convey that vote in the form of a formal recommendation to the City Council, which has the authority to grant or deny a special permit.

Last Friday, the state Department of Public Health gave provisional approval to 20 medical marijuana dispensaries statewide. Greeneway's application for a dispensary in Cambridge was provisionally approved, but its applications for dispensaries in Taunton and Brockton were not. DPH didn't outright reject Greeneway's Taunton and Brockton bids, but instead put them on a list of applicants that can reapply for a dispensary license in another county.