Politics & Government

Pot Shop Decisions Due This Week

The state is expected to winnow its list of more than 100 applicants to as many as 35 licensed medical marijuana operations.

The state is expected to approve as many as 35 medical marijuana dispensaries by the end of the week, according to the Associated Press via the Herald.

About 100 groups have applied to the Department of Public Health for the licenses to open medical pot shops around the state.

The licenses are being awarded by county, with at least one and no more than five per county.

There are no applications being considered in Peabody, but there are a handful of groups that have applied for licenses in nearby communities in Essex County. Here's the list below:

Group Name, Name of CEO/ED, City/Town

  • Alternative Therapies Group Inc., Christopher Edwards, Salem
  • BeWell Organic Medicine Inc., Charles M. Saba, Lawrence
  • CAS Foundation, Jayne Vining, Beverly
  • Good Chemistry of Massachusetts Inc., Matthew Huron, Salem
  • Healthy Pharms Inc., Nathaniel L. Averill, Haverhill
  • Ipswich Pharmaceutical Associates Inc., Samuel Sokol-Margolis, Ipswich
  • Medicinal Evolution Inc., Brandon Tarricone, Beverly

For official information on medical pot in Massachusetts, visit the state's website on the subject.

Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said he received interest from a couple entities back in 2012 when city officials were first deliberating a zoning ban on dispensaries in the city, but since then he hasn't heard anything.

The City Council did ultimately agree to Bettencourt's request to enact a citywide ban on all marijuana facilities in January 2013. Two months later, however, the Attorney General's office ruled that such bans violated the spirit of the new law approved by voters.

That decision specifically dealt with a similar ban that was enacted in Wakefield, but would certainly be applicable to Peabody should a legal challenge occur.

Bettencourt acknowledges that point and said the city would have to revisit the issue if a challenge did arise. None have to date, he said.


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