Stamford snags OK for 2nd medical pot shop
Brings total number in Fairfield County to four dispensaries
STAMFORD — The Stamford Zoning Board kept discussions short and to the point on Monday night when it backed a second medical marijuana dispensary within city limits.
In a unanimous vote, the board approved Fine Fettle Dispensary’s request to open a new pharmacy location in an industrial enclave just north of the Glenbrook train station. The company currently runs medical dispensaries in Newington, Willimantic and StorrsManfield.
“Medical marijuana dispensaries, they’ve been around for a while now,” the dispensary’s attorney Meaghan Miles told the board. “And they’re understood to be safe and secure, quiet, and really economically successful and can serve as a catalyst for further economic development in the area.”
Fine Fettle’s new location will not change the number of dispensaries in the state. The Connecticut-based outfit recently acquired its Storrs dispensary but plans to move the license from Tolland County down to lower Fairfield. The state Department of Consumer Protection has already approved the license transfer, according to the attorney representing Fine Fettle.
Only 18 dispensaries have received a green light from governors past and present to open facilities. One — owned by the country’s largest cannabis company, Curaleaf — operates on Stamford’s East Main Street.
Still, the city — and county — has the demand to warrant another site, Fine Fettle’s Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Zachs told The Stamford Advocate.
“It is by far the most densely populated area of Connecticut with the fewest dispensaries,” Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Zachs told The Stamford Advocate. “There’s a million people who live in Fairfield County, and there’s
By opening a new Stamford location, Fine Fettle Dispensary hopes to grow the medical marijuana industry in the region.
currently three dispensaries.”
Compared to some of its northern neighbors, access to medicinal cannabis in the Stamford area is sparse. Both Hartford and New Haven Counties have lower populations than Fairfield, yet they each have six dispensaries. Locally, patients can buy medical marijuana in Stamford, Westport, and Bethel (which is seeking to relocate to Danbury).
By opening a new Stamford location, Zach hopes to grow the medical marijuana industry in the region. While Fairfield County is home to 11,905 cannabis patients, the third-highest number in the state, he says patient density fades compared to other counties. Only 1.5 percent of the Fairfield County residents have a medical marijuana prescription, which is less than even Windham County.
Opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Connecticut is no walk in the park. It’s a top-down endeavor that begins when DCP issues an open call for license applications. Since the state legalized medical marijuana in 2012, it has put out three Requests for Applications.
After the 2018 request, the Stamford Zoning Board approved Fine Fettle for a Stamford location which ultimately did not open.
Currently, zoning regulations only permit dispensaries in the city’s heavy industrial areas and emphasize that sites remain aesthetically discrete. Fine Fettle plans to replace all existing windows with opaque glass so that passersby cannot see in and to protect patient privacy.
Even though the board approved the new location without much debate, the question of what legalizing recreational cannabis would mean for operators loomed in the background. Two board members asked Zachs how the dispensary would move forward if the state legalizes weed. In the end, he assured them that the ball would ultimately be in their court. All the proposed recreational cannabis legislation in Hartford requires local zoning approval for any future dispensaries.
“For us, we would have to come back to this board if approved or asses what the updated zoning bylaws were for the city of Stamford,” he responded.