ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen may look into bringing a medical marijuana dispensary to town.
Selectman Joseph Nowak told the board during its workshop meeting on goals Wednesday that he would like to work on bringing a medical marijuana dispensary to town.
"I think there are a lot of misconceptions about marijuana dispensaries, and ... I feel we could fill up the void in the Northern Berkshires," Nowak said. "Anything a person can do that can take away their suffering I believe strongly in that ... I would like to bring this to the forefront as soon as possible."
Nowak said when he first ran for selectman, he advocated for getting Adams ready for a dispensary, but it fell to the wayside. He said he wants to refocus on it.
He said with the possibility of the state legalizing recreational marijuana in the future, Adams should do all it can to be ready.
"If we are able to get a dispensary here in Adams that would give us the foot up if recreational marijuana becomes legalized in the state," Nowak said.
Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said he has worked in communities with dispensaries and he never saw a problem. He agreed with Nowak and said the more business friendly and ready the town can be, the better.
"There is a benefit to being ready and prepared ... that is what 90 percent of it is, being welcoming and being ready if it does happen," Mazzucco said. "The first place anyone starting a business looks for is what communities are ready so if Savoy is ready that is where they are going to go."
Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian said a dispensary could be a good fit for Adams and he welcomes any new business to the area.
"I think it is a great idea, and I think it is a growing business that certainly does not need to be located in Boston,” Snoonian said. "It is something we could capitalize on.”
Nowak said he plans to ask the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals their opinion, as well as the police chief and town counsel. He said he plans to bring it up at a future selectmen's meeting to see who is onboard and to get the ball rolling.
Nowak also wanted the town to continue to focus on regionalization efforts.
Snoonian said one of his goals is to capitalize on Adams being an age-friendly community.
"Adams could really be in the forefront of being an incredibly age-friendly town, and there are a lot of things that we can publicize," Snoonian said. "All of our festivals could be considered age-friendly because they are all on the bus route and they are all level."
Snoonian said this could also apply to the Greylock Glen and the town could install senior friendly trails. He also wants to square away issues at the wastewater treatment plant.
Along with starting a charter review and working with state Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Planning Organization to finish various projects, Selectman John Duval said he would be interested in supplying police cruisers with dashboard cameras.
Mazzucco said the department has a few but they are not functional in the cruisers. He added that because the state has agreed to pay for the town's dispatch service for a year because of its transfer to the sheriff’s office, there may be money in the budget to buy a few cameras.
He said if not, he plans to work it into next year’s capital budget.
From this point on, he said, whenever the town buys a cruiser, a camera will be included in the initial price.
Selectman Richard Blanchard agreed with many of his fellow selectmen's goals and said he would like to focus on capitalizing on the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Author J.K. Rowling of the popular "Harry Potter" book series announced that the fictional American wizarding school is on Mount Greylock.
Mazzucco said he plans to hold public meetings where everyone can get together and brainstorm about how to tap into Pottermania.
