Planning board approves Worcester marijuana extraction facility

A cannabis product manufacturing business has been granted planning board approval to open a facility in a Brooks Street building in Worcester. 

Supercritical Mass Laboratories is still seeking state approval to manufacture edibles, tinctures, vaporizer oil and other cannabis products at the facility.

Company President Charles Bergman told the Worcester Planning Board on Wednesday the company would acquire the raw material – cannabis flowers – from licensed cultivators. Workers at the 251 Brooks St. location would then extract cannabis concentrate from the flowers to infuse in other products. 

Pharmaceutical-grade products will be sold to both medical and recreational retailers, Bergman said. 

Joshua Lee Smith, an attorney with Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey who is representing the company, said the business would occupy about 4,500 square feet of the 6,700-square-foot building. The landlord will continue to use a portion of the building for storage, he said. 

Security and aesthetic upgrades will be made to the building, and air filters will be installed to prevent the odor of marijuana from escaping the facility.