robert mayerson and james callahan.JPG

Patriot Care CEO Robert Mayerson and lawyer James Callahan were among those who appeared before the Greenfield Zoning Board of Appeals on March 12, 2015.

(Mary Serreze photo)

GREENFIELD -- With local approval in hand, Patriot Care Corp. CEO Robert Mayerson said he hopes to open a downtown Greenfield medical marijuana dispensary before the end of the year.

Patriot Care on Thursday night (March 12) was unanimously granted a special permit by the town's Zoning Board of Appeals to open a dispensary at 7 Legion Ave., the site of the former Lt. John Galvin Post 81 American Legion.

Patriot Care still needs is its final Certificate of Registration from the state. The company won provisional approval from the Mass. Dept. of Public Health on Nov. 7.

At Thursday's two-hour public hearing, Mayerson and his team said they would create a secure dispensary which would protect the safety of staff and patients, ensure that no marijuana is diverted from the premises, and guarantee that only certified medical marijuana patients can purchase goods at the site.

Parking would be available at the 112-vehicle municipal lot off Wells Street.

Patriot Care on Jan. 6 signed a provisional agreement to purchase the Legion building for $219,000, pending zoning board approval. According to the terms of the agreement, the sale must be executed by April 1.

The company has also won provisional approval from the state for dispensaries in Boston and Lowell, and a grow facility in Lowell. Plans to open a dispensary in South Hadley fell through in December because of unexpected problems and delays with the real estate transaction, said Mayerson.

The Greenfield zoning board was charged with determining that the proposed use "will not adversely impact adjacent properties, the neighborhood, the town, or the environment."

While several members of the public spoke in favor of the plan, not one person showed up to voice opposition.

Seventy-two percent of Greenfield voters voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana in a 2012 statewide ballot initiative, said James Callahan, an attorney working with Patriot Care.

Mayerson, who lives in Harvard, Mass., said he graduated from Hampshire College in the 1970s and later attended business school at UMass Amherst.



"I have a great affection for the Valley," he said.

This story will be updated with additional reporting.