Adams Officials Hears Presentation on New Cannabis Dispensary
ADAMS, Mass. — Kerry Raheb, the owner of Indica LLC presented to the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday on plans for his cannabis dispensary, which will open at 127 Columbia St.
Raheb, who previously worked as an investment banker, said this business is his first cannabis dispensary. He said he intends on holding a community outreach meeting for the dispensary, which will be at the former site of Woodstock South, a former gift and novelties shop, as soon as possible.
Raheb said he hopes his business can benefit the community beyond selling cannabis by working with and supporting local artists by selling their work in the store. He said he has several other plans in mind, including hiring workers who live in Adams and surrounding communities, helping to create a beautification program for Columbia Street and donating a percentage of the business's annual profit to the town.
"I just thought I would go in a lot more aggressive and set my goal a lot higher for the town," he said. "I feel blessed to be welcomed here."
Additionally, Raheb intends on donating $7,000 to Adams Police Department, $3,000 to the Adams Fire Department and $5,000 to the town's Community Development Office in the first year of the dispensary's operation. He intends to donate even more money to those organizations in years two and three.
Town Administrator Jay Green said the town receives several inquiries about having a cannabis dispensary in Adams on a consistent basis.
"The town of Adams receives quite a few inquiries," he said. "Particularly lately, almost on a weekly basis, about a variety of different properties that may or may not be zoned appropriately for recreational or medicinal marijuana or cultivation manufacture. A lot of these companies are at different stages of exploration. They need a variety of different information from the municipality."
Also discussed at the meeting, the board unanimously approved the renewal of the lodging license for Mount Royal Inn at 99 Howland Ave. The inn failed to return any renewal paperwork in time for the previous meeting.
Vice Chairwoman Christine Hoyt said she's happy the inn finished the renewal application but hopes they can be more timely in the future.
"I've been extremely disappointed in the lack of response from Mount Royal Inn the last two years with the renewal process," she said. "I'm hoping that with the extension that we gave them, that they take that information, learn from it and are better about the renewal process next year."
The board also unanimously approved licenses for Val's Variety at 5 Columbia St. and Adams American Legion at 160 Forest Park Ave. Hoyt said these renewals were inadvertently left off the list for the last license renewal meeting for various reasons, despite being finished.
The board unanimously voted to approve the appointment of a new member Elizabeth Mach to the board of directors of the Council on Aging, Elizabeth Mach. Mach did not attend the meeting, but a letter from Council on Aging Director Sarah Fontaine strongly recommended Mach's appointment.
Tags: cannabis, marijuana dispensary,
