By Alice Waugh
Pot or not? That was one of the questions on the State of the Town Meeting agenda after a company inquired about opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Lincoln, and the opinions were far from unanimous.
The issue at hand is not the benefits or moral complexities of medical marijuana, but only how residents feel about the idea of having a dispensary in town and what selectmen should tell future applicants, said Selectman Noah Echkouse. One applicant has already sought a letter of non-opposition from the Board of Selectmen, “and I believe they will continue to come” by virtue of Lincoln’s proximity to major Boston-area highways, he added.
Resident Michael Coppock strongly opposed the whole idea, saying that permitting marijuana farming in Lincoln will “formalize the use and growing of marijuana” and put it on the same plane as “growing sweet corn or zucchini,” which sends the wrong message to children. Such an operation would also require greater use of water, electricity pesticides, he added.
“This is a bad idea for Lincoln,” Coppock said.
Eckhouse noted later that the applicant had sought only to distribute marijuana from a site in Lincoln, not grow it here. Cultivating and storing the plant would probably not be allowed since Lincoln does not have any industrial zoning to accommodate a warehouse and other facilities, Eckhouse added.
“My initial reaction was ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’,” said Jennifer Glass, chair of the School Committee. “I would simply hope that we think about all of the implications. There are dollar signs that light up in people’s eyes, but costs as well.”
It’s far from clear what sort of financial windfall Lincoln might realize from having a medical marijuana business in town. Eckhouse speculated that it could be in the “five to six figures but not seven figures—meaningful not not life-changing money, is my guesstimate.”
Steve Kanner, a physician and Board of Health member, noted that he had recently become certified to prescribe medical marijuana for patients who need it for chronic pain and other problems. The substance has “a reasonable likelihood of being effective for some of them, and I think that’s actually a very worthy goal,” he said.
While acknowledging that selling marijuana is a felony at the federal level even though it’s legal for medicinal purposes in Massachusetts, “this is an important medical issue… and I’m personally willing to help patients with this,” Kanner said.
Currently, only Northhampton, Salem and Brockton have approved medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts.
Resident Jenny Morris asked whether a dispensary applicant could be required to offer a full pharmacy as part of the business, noting that Lincoln has not had a drug store for many years.
“The right place place to dispense medicine is in a drug store,” resident Ruth Ann Hendrickson said. “This sounds a lot like the discussion we had for 150 years over having a wine store in Lincoln. As [medical marijuana] becomes part of our society, we should embrace it as another retail opportunity.”
Medical marijuana is grown in indoor facilities with “chemical that are very well controlled,” said resident Jean Welsh. “As an agricultural town, is there another legal agricultural commodity that we would not allow? I would heartily support helping people in the town of Lincoln get their medicine,” she said.
Because of the federal ban on banks handling marijuana assets, customers can’t write checks and have to pay cash, so marijuana businesses handle a lot of cash and therefore usually employ armed guards, noted resident Keith Gilbert. “In my opinion, it’s not what Lincoln wants to be into,” he said.
Sara Mattes, a former selectman, suggested that town town convene an ad hoc committee to look into the issue more closely and bring it back for further discussion “so we can get ahead of the issue.”
The discussion ended in a roar of laughter when resident Larry Holden remarked that if one of the front-running Republican candidates for president were to be elected, “I think I will need ready access to a source.”
I said that growing marijuana in town would “normalize” the practice, not “formalize” it.
Beer and wine are sold in Lincoln. Some people drink moderately. A smaller percentage of people become alcoholics. The sale of medical marijuana might or might not benefit some people in Lincoln. Personally, I miss having a pharmacy in town, but it is apparently not lucrative enough to be likely to happen. We have a very limited business district. If Concord, Waltham, or Lexington are considered close enough to fill that need, I would assume it would also be close enough for people to get their medical marijuana in those nearby towns as well. It is not on my list of priorities for the town.