Don't fear marijuana
For nearly, 100 years marijuana was an illegal substance, so easy to still associate the plant with criminal activity. Even though marijuana has been legal in Massachusetts for six years, old stigmas die hard.
But they need to. Recreational marijuana alone is projected to be a $1-billion plus industry in the state, with Central Massachusetts potentially playing an outsized role. However, the region's businesses, governments and citizens need to support the industry so it develops in a fruitful way.
Retail recreational marijuana stores are one thing. Much like bars and liquor stores, not every neighborhood is a right fit for that kind of foot traffic. They should not be sited near schools or in the middle of residential districts. But – much like bars and liquor stores – communities still must allow them, finding a proper place for them to sell their wares.
More importantly for the Central Massachusetts economy, the marijuana industry has a need for testing labs and cultivation facilities – a very different end of the spectrum than a retail store. A cultivation facility is essentially an indoor farm, not dissimilar to lettuce grower Little Leaf Farms in Devens. Testing labs are small biotech facilities without significant amounts of marijuana on site.
Yet, Central Mass. has situations like in Charlton, where citizens are trying to walk back the board of selectmen's approval of a $100-million cultivation facility, which would be the largest in the state and generate significant taxes for the town. Worcester County has 34 recreational marijuana applications before the state Cannabis Control Commission, far more than any other county, including cultivation facilities in places like Milford, Worcester and Fitchburg. Because of its affordable properties and easy access to the rest of the state, Central Massachusetts has the opportunity to be the cultivation capital of Massachusetts. But when towns go to battle against these indoor farms, that sends a signal to the industry we don't want the economic development.
More importantly, such fights drive up costs for the marijuana facilities. Aside from legal these battles, Staff Writer Zachary Comeau in his “Regulated to the brink” article on page 6 goes into great detail about how Central Massachusetts municipalities are taking advantage of marijuana businesses' lack of leverage in negotiations to get them to agree to pay far more than the legally allowed 3-percent community impact fee. Because they have already spent significant amounts of money with absolutely zero revenue to show for it before these agreements are signed, the businesses have no choice but to agree.
While the community protests and municipal requirements may be done in order to delay or even prohibit the industry from forming – or in the case of local governments, simply try to extract the most out of the situation – the end result may be what people fear the most: an increase in criminal activity. Ultimately, any costs the marijuana companies incur will be passed onto the consumer; and if only a few businesses come online, because the others are regulated out of existence, then they can set the market price. Their only competition may be illegal street dealers.
Black market pot is cheaper than anything potentially coming from a dispensary. Most people would prefer to buy from a legal company, in order to ensure quality and be within the bounds of the law. But if we keep driving up the costs of legal marijuana, users will see the black market as worth the risk.
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