Pubdate: Sat, 24 Aug 2013
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2013 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Author: Chris Cassidy
Page: 6

VARIED CAST LINES UP FOR POT PERMITS

Ex-Lawmakers Among Applicants

The Bay State's prospective pot peddlers include doctors, lawyers,
former Beacon Hill lawmakers and the owner of a hemp clothing boutique
- - just some of the 181 applicants feverishly competing to open the
newly legal dispensaries in what experts predict will be a $1 billion
industry.

"We've been in the cannabis field longer than anyone else here in
Massachusetts," said Jonathan Napoli, who owns The Hempest, a hemp
clothing shop on Newbury Street and in Harvard Square. "We're local
players. We're not coming in from Colorado or California or anything."

Napoli wants to open Planting Hope - the name of his proposed pot
dispensary - in Dennis, Salem and Boston, though he declined to
discuss specific locations.

Officials yesterday released the names of those vying for the 35
medical marijuana dispensary permits the state is doling out the first
year of the new law. Also released were the counties - but not the
towns - where they hope to set up shop.

"It does seem like a real lot, to be honest with you," said Lynnfield
Town Administrator Bill Gustus. "It would lead me to believe it must
be a lucrative business."

But Napoli said there are no big-money guarantees in the marijuana
industry.

"There are a lot of expenses involved," said Napoli. "But the price
will only come down as more states start regulating. It remains to be
seen how profitable it's going to be. I see a lot of optimistic
projections, but I think there will be some unknown bumps down the
road."

The biggest, he said, will be persuading cities and towns to allow the
dispensaries in their communities. Lynnfield, for example, passed a
moratorium that will bar the pot shops from setting up there until the
town can work out specific regulations - a process that could take
until next spring.

Cities and towns aren't allowed to permanently ban the dispensaries
from their communities, but they can zone where they can and can't
locate.

"In some cases ... it's a kneejerk reaction, that people are
anti-cannabis" Napoli said. "There is a lot of fear of the unknown out
there. But a lot of towns ... are rational about it."

Five of the applicants are listed as doctors and the names of two are
followed by "Esq.," a common indication that they are lawyers. At
least two former state senators - Republican Brian P. Lees and
Democrat Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. - are listed as contact names for
dispensaries. Lees could not be reached. Nuciforo is one of five
applicants in Hampshire County and hopes to open Kind Medical Inc..

"We think that a dispensary should be patient-centered, it should be
safe, secure and allow fair access to patients that need it," Nuciforo
said. "We think we can accomplish that for Western Mass."
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MAP posted-by: Matt