Plans for Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center Move Forward

A company that wants to establish a medical marijuana cultivation business in Medfield, at an industrial site on West Street, is among 12 applicants looking in Norfolk County that have received permission to move forward in the state review process.

The company name has not been disclosed. Its attorney, Robert Carp of Cottens and Carp in Needham, said Wednesday he plans to file letters of intent with the property owner, but has not yet applied in Medfield for the special permit that will be required.

The cultivation facility, according to Medfield Town Planner Sarah Raposa, is proposed for a location in an industrial zone at 99 West St. and is allowed by special permit following a review by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

At a staff meeting this month, town officials heard some of the details. According to Carp, the state will be meeting with applicants in early October to discuss the review application under Phase 2 of the state licensing. Phase 1 related to the financial background of the applicants.

Carp said he expects the company he represents will apply for the Medfield approval only after it has received a state license. The state does not require the cultivation facility to be a part of the dispensary. In this case, the Medfield location would only be for growing the medical marijuana, not distributing it.

The location is a good one, Carp said, because of its proximity to the highway and the height and size of the building. The indoor grow operation will be 24-7 and extensive security will be used to protect the materials.

Based on Colorado statistics, where medical marijuana was legalized several years ago, Massachusetts will need to grow enough of the drug for 120,000 people in the first year, Carp said. That means each cultivation facility would be expected to grow about 44,210 ounces of medical marijuana per year, if the state's enrolled patients use the average that is used by Colorado residents.

In Medfield, he said, the facility expects to harvest 3,700 plants a month. The marijuana plant is not a perennial. Once it is harvested, it will be replaced.

The site will use a kind of bleacher system to fit the plants in the building. It will likely employ a water recycling method, but will also likely truck in water for the purposes of growing the plants, he said.

To reduce odor, the building will be fitted with an industrial scrubber that would eliminate most of the odor naturally produced by the growing plants.

In terms of employment, Carp said the facility would probably need about 35 full-time employees.

According to the state Department of Public Health, which is regulating the industry, 12 companies have indicated they want to locate a facility somewhere in Norfolk County. The state does not require the applicants at this point to pinpoint a location. Carp would not disclose the name of the company he represents, which is interested in Medfield, but said it is on the list of 12.

The list includes: Apex Compassion & Wellness Center, Baystate Medical Enterprises,  Bio-Care Collaborative Inc., Commonwealth Biopharm, G2 New England, Growing Health Wellness Center Inc., Mass Relief Inc., Mass. Compassionate Patient Care Corp., Massmedicum Corp., New England Treatment Access Inc., The Anita W. Compassion Center, and The CAS Foundation Inc.