SMOKESCREEN OVER POT
Locals express growing concern over ‘Walmarts of weed’ rolling in
The “Walmarts of weed” from out west — savvy growers already skilled at cranking out plenty of pot — are now eyeing the state’s 75 coveted marijuana cultivating licenses, leaving some local farmers fearing they’ll miss out on the green rush.
“This law was passed for us. Not for Colorado, not for California, not for Washington. It was passed for Massachusetts,” said Peter Bernard, director of the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council.
Bernard told the Herald big pot companies from Colorado to Oregon are looking east to expand their businesses now that their own states are saturated with weed.
“The market’s getting choked out there. They see a clean slate here, and they’re coming,” Bernard said. “We’re going to have the Walmarts of weed coming out here and setting up huge box stores with huge commercial grows.”
The Bay State’s recreational pot law — set to be signed today by Gov. Charlie Baker — allows applicants to pay $3,000 to enter into a merit-based lottery in April for one of the 75 licenses to grow weed.
The state law caps the number of licenses at 75 until October 2019.
Green Rush Consulting manager Thomas Murphy, a Holyoke native who now lives in California, predicts applications will be judged on their business plans.
“In Massachusetts, they’re going to look at your experience level, which is tricky because not a lot of people in the state have that,” Murphy said.
He added that growers from outside Massachusetts have already reached out to his firm for professional assistance in applying for a local license.
That’s exactly what locals fear.
“These people have experience and we don’t,” said Brad Conley, 34, a hydroponics shop owner who hopes to get into the grow business. “They’ve had years of experience of being able to go in and buy a building out for maybe a million dollars, because this is the kind of money that’s getting tossed around like hotcakes.
“We don’t want these outside growers, outside companies, taking money away from all these hardworking people in the Northeast,” the West Bridgewater man added.
State Sen. Julian Cyr (DTruro) said he’s trying to offer hope “for the little guy” who’s determined to go up against big money for a license.
Cyr fathered a “craft cultivation” amendment to the pot bill allowing farmers to band together in a cooperative model to grow on one property, under one license.
“It’s safeguarding against corporate interests who are solely interested in the bottom line,” Cyr said.
He said by lowering the barrier of entry, he also hopes to bring growers “out of the shadows” and eliminate the state’s black market.
But even if they team up, startup farmers will need $15,000 to pay for a grow license — if they win one in the lottery — and anywhere from $200,000 to $400,000 to build out a grow house, according to consultants. That price doesn’t include labor, security implementation, legal fees, and rent — which could become another hot spot of competition, depending on zoning regulations.