Wednesday, September 26, 2018

It's 6 pot shops

Last night's Council meeting was as expected. Grove and her reefer madness got shot down on the moratorium extension, and going to the ballot box to ask voters how many shops there should be in Town. Giombetti ignored me the entire night, nothing new there, but Suze, Bill, Caroline, Mr. Judd and others made a convincing argument for our side.  Kathy McCarthy, Audrey Hall, and Gerry Bloomberg were pushing for a ballot vote, but they too were shot down. What was the second most shocking event came when anti pot Pam Richardson stood up for the voters. I was impressed with her resolve. The most shocking event occurred when our Mayor stood at the mic (at 24:38) and said that she felt the Task Force made up of Police, Fire, BOH, education AND a "Citizen at Large" did their work. There was no appointed citizen at large and she knew that the advocate that was appointed by Giombetti did not advocate at all. Shame on her for twisting the truth and shame on the Council for letting that crucial point die. 

So the number of shops will max out at 6, but with the overlay district, there will be no more than 2 on Rte 9, one east bound and one west. They passed an amendment to allow agriculture for land owners of 15 acres or more.


http://207.172.210.8:5002/cablecast/public-site/index.html#/show/1562?channel=1

14 Comments:

At September 26, 2018 at 2:44 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

So overall a positive outcome, right? May not like the overlay district,but that is a battle for another day. I think getting them to not oppose the number of 6 was the best part of the deal. I suspect that a store wanting to open in Framingham will challenge the restrictiveness of the overlay district and when there is money on the table Framingham will be more likely to agree to changes. Now we have to deal with the BOH. How can you grow pot in a locked box?

 
At September 26, 2018 at 2:45 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Were you honestly shocked by the Mayor's statements? If you were you have not been paying attention. She makes mistakes (being kind instead of calling her a liar)every time she opens her mouth.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 3:02 PM , Blogger jim pillsbury said...

Yeah good point Anon 1.. they did pass an amendment to review this in 2 years. By then, other surrounding communities will have let pot shops in. I think your right, someone with deep pockets will take on the restrictive zoning and make Framingham spend a bundle defending this position.
How to stop the BOH.. I don't know if that's possible. They claim legislative power over anything they deem a public health threat without any justification at all. Let's wait and see who tries to come here and is stymied by the BOH. And wait until you see the fee's they charge.

I was shocked when she said that... but as you say, she is developing a pattern of duck and weave with the truth. I'm sorry she went there. I was hoping for a different progressive point of view.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 3:32 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do BOH in other towns have the overreach that our BOH has? They just seem to think they have the right to have a say in everything going on in the city. I thought they just made sure good establishments were safe

 
At September 26, 2018 at 3:33 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

that should say food establishments not goo establishements!

 
At September 26, 2018 at 4:09 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

A win for Jim. Thanks for the years of work to make pot legal and for your continued support to make sure a nut case like Grove did not derail all that hard work you have done. Kudoos to you Jim

 
At September 26, 2018 at 4:40 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

when will the first retail pot shop open here? Has anyone even chosen Framingham as their location or is this all just fodder for the fire?

 
At September 26, 2018 at 5:06 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

how much money does the city actually make from one of these shops?

 
At September 26, 2018 at 5:32 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

each shop will pay 3% of their total sales to the city for ever.

each shop will be asked for a "community host" fee of up to 3% of their sales for as many as 5 years.

The state budget just passed assumes 60 million in marijuana tax revenue so it's safe to assume, some of that money will come back to Framingham as Chapter 70 funding perhaps or in another category.

I believe by them passing all the articles last night, the moratorium is now off. There has been interest in commercial space for a grow and manufacturing. The first come .. first served my be the case. Lawyers that represent clients are always watching to see what happens in any community that has not banned it all together.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 5:35 PM , Blogger jim pillsbury said...

thank you for the kind words. It means a lot at this point. The war is over.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 5:39 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

The war is never over, but your side is most assuredly winning. Good for you Jim. Your years of hard work have finally paid off. Did you ever think you would see a legal pot shop in your home town?

 
At September 26, 2018 at 5:45 PM , Blogger jim pillsbury said...

Arlington is the only Town I know of that has a out of control BOH. They are the ones that made smoking pot until your 25 the rule. But they are all in the same bed, mentally masturbating until they come up with more outrageous ways to demonize gods plant. Sam Wong is the head cheese at one group BOH group in this Sate. I think Hugo is something in that organization as well.

Of note: The Mayor has to pick 3 member's for the BOH sometime soon. She may not be able to ignore the credibility of the incumbent members on the Board now, if they choose to apply. Witnessing first hand how far Hugo and Wong strayed from the truth about pot, I'd say he may not be asked to come back. Retail pot shops are not and will not be associated with a public health concern, imo.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 6:00 PM , Blogger jim pillsbury said...

Truth be told.. I never thought I would see it in my life time. I did think long ago that we would be seeing hemp grown everywhere in this country and was very encouraged when I got that letter from Agriculture Secretary Tom Valsik back in 09 and the Mass Hemp Bill that I wrote and Chris Walsh introduce to the legislature back then as well.

I was naive to think thy wouldn't try to stop it after it had passed in 2016 but I was not prepared for the storm that followed.

 
At September 26, 2018 at 6:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dude, you got 6 possible pot shops thats a major win. Look at the glass half full on this one. Now you have time to work on another problem, running against Cannon so we can be rid of him.

 

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