Group Seeks Medical to Locate Marijuana Dispensery in Revere

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

The Wellness Connection of Massachusetts, Inc. is seeking a special permit to open a medical marijuana treatment center at 44 Railroad St. and will appear before the Revere City Council on Nov. 30.

The applicant, formerly Boston Wellness Associates Inc., received a special permit from the city council on Dec. 17, 2013 but did not open a business. Local attorney Lawrence Simeone Jr. is again representing the company.

The company has reorganized with different officers than in 2013. This time the officers of the nonprofit corporation are John P. Henry, president, and a Plympton selectman; Elizabeth P. Jones, of Middleton; Kathleen Donovan, clerk, of Arlington;

Plans call for the medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) to operate within two commercial structures on Railroad Street. The facility would include a 1,000 sq. ft. counseling space, a 1,500 sq. ft. retail center, an office/business area of roughly 2,000 sq. ft. and an approximate 39,200 sq. ft. growing area.

The land for which the dispensery would be placed on is owned by Gunnar Holdings, LCC, of 30 Railroad St., Revere.

The business would be located in Ward 1 if approved, city Councillor Joanne McKenna’s territory. She said “if cannabis is going to help with illnesses and the side effects then I’m for it.”

“I think in the future this is what we’re going to see,” McKenna said about treating illnesses.

McKenna has been told that the facility will have exceptionally tight security. It will also be located in an area of the city that is not easy to get to off Lee Burbank Highway.

The Site Plan Review Committee has reviewed the site plan. A medical marijuana treatment center may only be allowed by special permit of the City Council within the TED (Technology Enterprise District). A 2013 city ordinance requires that dispenseries be at least 400 feet from residences, parks, playgrounds, schools and churches.

Approval of the special permit would enable qualified patients to receive services in accordance with the Massachusetts Humanitarian Use of Marijuana Law enacted on Jan. 3, 2013. A ballot question calling for the legalization of medical marijuana passed statewide with a 63 percent affirmative vote. In Revere the question garnered 58 percent of the vote.

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