Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Springfield — As city officials argued about a negotiated agreement with a planned medical marijuana dispensary in East Springfield, a top state advocate said she hoped they were not losing sight of the most important issue — the patients.
Nichole Snow, executive director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, said after a City Council committee meeting on Wednesday that she is very concerned about the lack of adequate access to medical marijuana facilities in the state and specifically in the Springfield area. Voters approved medical marijuana in 2012, but there is only one dispensary open in Western Massachusetts, in Northampton.
What was her reaction after Springfield councilors met with lawyers for the city and for the developer, Hampden Care Facility Inc., and could not reach agreement on a proposed host community agreement for the new dispensary?
"That it's politics over patients," Snow said.
The councilors were particularly concerned that the initial "host community agreement" negotiated by officials on behalf of Mayor Domenic Sarno, called for Hampden Care Facility to have the sole dispensary license in Springfield for 10 years. Some councilors called that a monopoly.
The company countered with a new proposal that the agreement would be for five years, with a possible five-year renewal, but its annual payments to the city would also be reduced. Some of the councilors said the length of time was still too long, or the reduced payments were too low.
"I think the deal got worse overnight for the city," Councilor Orlando Ramos said. "I'm not in favor."
Snow said the passage of the medical marijuana act by voters statewide was stipulated as a "humanitarian act" designed to help patients cope with serious illness, not as a revenue generator for cities and towns. Payments are permitted to communities to offset the impacts of the new businesses, officials said.
She introduced herself to some of the councilors after the meeting and said her group is there to advocate for patients and to provide any resources needed by the communities.
By this time, there was supposed to be at least one medical marijuana facility open in every county, Snow said.
"We are seeking to fulfill that at the least," Snow said.
From the comments she has heard in Springfield, the city officials including councilors, the community itself and the patients all want a dispensary, but debate the agreement conditions. The Springfield dispensary is proposed at 506 Cottage St.
Snow said her group is not seeking to "rush" the process but to just make sure that the patients' needs are addressed and the process advances.
Councilor Adam Gomez, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee that met Wednesday, said councilors can make up their own minds on the new host community agreement proposal without a recommendation from his committee. It was clear that many councilors still have concerns, Gomez said.
A full council vote is possible at a special meeting planned Aug. 15, Gomez said.
Frank Antonucci, a lawyer representing Hampden Care Facility, said the company was losing the security of a 10-year agreement, duly negotiated, and thus it was fair to reduce payments. In taking away from the company, the city must give up something as well in the "nature of negotiations," he said.
Ramos said the company would still reap the same revenue the first five years in a five-year agreement that it would in a 10-year agreement, so was not losing revenue.
Springfield is to get 3 percent of the gross revenues of the dispensary beginning in 2018 when it was fully open, but the company is proposing to reduce that amount to 2 percent of gross revenues under the shorter period of exclusivity, Antonucci said.
Likewise, the amount for the next four years would decline one percentage point: from 4 percent to 3 percent in 2019; and reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent in years 2020, 2021 and 2022, Antonucci said. The company would continue to give $50,000 annually to the Police Department along with funds to the East Springfield and Indian Orchard neighborhood councils, he said.
City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula said the agreement does permit the mayor to reopen negotiations during the agreement period under specified conditions. The agreement can be renewed for another five years after the first five years, he and city attorney Thomas Moore said.
Gomez said he knows that Springfield needs a medical marijuana facility, but the host community agreement "needs to make sense." The city's ability to have more than one marijuana dispensary makes sense, just as it is allowed in other communities such as Worcester, he said.
Hampden Care Facility also discussed its plan for around the clock security including personnel, cameras, an exterior fence, and alarms.
Other councilors attending the meeting included Melvin Edwards, Justin Hurst, Maruc Williams, Kateri Walsh and Timothy Allen. Gomez, Williams and Edwards are on the health committee.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Advocate Urges Springfield Officials Not To Let Politics Trump Patients
Author: Peter Goonan
Contact: Massachusetts Local News
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Massachusetts Local News
Nichole Snow, executive director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, said after a City Council committee meeting on Wednesday that she is very concerned about the lack of adequate access to medical marijuana facilities in the state and specifically in the Springfield area. Voters approved medical marijuana in 2012, but there is only one dispensary open in Western Massachusetts, in Northampton.
What was her reaction after Springfield councilors met with lawyers for the city and for the developer, Hampden Care Facility Inc., and could not reach agreement on a proposed host community agreement for the new dispensary?
"That it's politics over patients," Snow said.
The councilors were particularly concerned that the initial "host community agreement" negotiated by officials on behalf of Mayor Domenic Sarno, called for Hampden Care Facility to have the sole dispensary license in Springfield for 10 years. Some councilors called that a monopoly.
The company countered with a new proposal that the agreement would be for five years, with a possible five-year renewal, but its annual payments to the city would also be reduced. Some of the councilors said the length of time was still too long, or the reduced payments were too low.
"I think the deal got worse overnight for the city," Councilor Orlando Ramos said. "I'm not in favor."
Snow said the passage of the medical marijuana act by voters statewide was stipulated as a "humanitarian act" designed to help patients cope with serious illness, not as a revenue generator for cities and towns. Payments are permitted to communities to offset the impacts of the new businesses, officials said.
She introduced herself to some of the councilors after the meeting and said her group is there to advocate for patients and to provide any resources needed by the communities.
By this time, there was supposed to be at least one medical marijuana facility open in every county, Snow said.
"We are seeking to fulfill that at the least," Snow said.
From the comments she has heard in Springfield, the city officials including councilors, the community itself and the patients all want a dispensary, but debate the agreement conditions. The Springfield dispensary is proposed at 506 Cottage St.
Snow said her group is not seeking to "rush" the process but to just make sure that the patients' needs are addressed and the process advances.
Councilor Adam Gomez, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee that met Wednesday, said councilors can make up their own minds on the new host community agreement proposal without a recommendation from his committee. It was clear that many councilors still have concerns, Gomez said.
A full council vote is possible at a special meeting planned Aug. 15, Gomez said.
Frank Antonucci, a lawyer representing Hampden Care Facility, said the company was losing the security of a 10-year agreement, duly negotiated, and thus it was fair to reduce payments. In taking away from the company, the city must give up something as well in the "nature of negotiations," he said.
Ramos said the company would still reap the same revenue the first five years in a five-year agreement that it would in a 10-year agreement, so was not losing revenue.
Springfield is to get 3 percent of the gross revenues of the dispensary beginning in 2018 when it was fully open, but the company is proposing to reduce that amount to 2 percent of gross revenues under the shorter period of exclusivity, Antonucci said.
Likewise, the amount for the next four years would decline one percentage point: from 4 percent to 3 percent in 2019; and reduced from 5 percent to 4 percent in years 2020, 2021 and 2022, Antonucci said. The company would continue to give $50,000 annually to the Police Department along with funds to the East Springfield and Indian Orchard neighborhood councils, he said.
City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula said the agreement does permit the mayor to reopen negotiations during the agreement period under specified conditions. The agreement can be renewed for another five years after the first five years, he and city attorney Thomas Moore said.
Gomez said he knows that Springfield needs a medical marijuana facility, but the host community agreement "needs to make sense." The city's ability to have more than one marijuana dispensary makes sense, just as it is allowed in other communities such as Worcester, he said.
Hampden Care Facility also discussed its plan for around the clock security including personnel, cameras, an exterior fence, and alarms.
Other councilors attending the meeting included Melvin Edwards, Justin Hurst, Maruc Williams, Kateri Walsh and Timothy Allen. Gomez, Williams and Edwards are on the health committee.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Advocate Urges Springfield Officials Not To Let Politics Trump Patients
Author: Peter Goonan
Contact: Massachusetts Local News
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Massachusetts Local News
