Department of Public Health regulations require a letter of support or non-opposition as part of the application process. The selectmen’s vote was 2 to 1, with Gardner Trask and Diane Langlais in support; Chairman Daniel C. Bennett opposed; and David Mills abstaining.

The Board of Selectmen voted to grant a letter of support to the business, which will apply to the state to open a dispensary at 2 Electronics Drive in a Route 1 industrial park.

Alternative Therapies Group , which opened the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary in Salem last June, has received town support to pursue a dispensary in Danvers.


Mills, a retired judge, said he abstained from the vote in part because he’d witnessed the damage the drug had done to many lives. While acknowledging the both the law and the medical benefits of the drug, he said, “I could never endorse anything to do with marijuana.”

Trask, noting that Danvers previously changed its zoning to allow facilities in two areas of town, said “Medical marijuana is a real and important way of fighting chronic pain and other debilitating aspects of disease, and the state has a solid program from registering, licensing, and tracking facilities.

“[Alternative Therapies Group] had a good, solid business plan and answered all of my questions satisfactorily,” he added.

Langlais said one of her relatives died from breast cancer, and used medical marijuana in pill form to combat the effects of the disease and chemotherapy.

“I can’t tell someone how to deal with their pain,” she said. “Thank God most of us have never felt it, but we’ve seen it, and we should allow people to make those choices.”

Bennett said he understood both the medical needs and the law, and was impressed with the group’s presentation and apparent willingness to work with the town’s public safety and building departments. However, citing the state’s opioid crisis and statistics indicating increased marijuana use, he voted against the dispensary.


“At the end of the day, they’re still dispensing marijuana and marijuana has long-term health impacts,” Bennett said. “To condone that is to send the wrong message to youth.”

Citing a 2012 study indicating increased use among young people, Bennett suggested that the legalization of medical marijuana and decriminalization of recreational marijuana creates the perception that the drug is harmless.

“We’re trying to help kids make healthy choices,” Bennett said, noting that teenage cigarette use has decreased. “Marijuana use impacts brain development and academic achievement. Those are facts.”

As a condition of the town’s support, Alternative Therapies Group agreed to pay $25,000, and another $25,000 once it opens for business. It will also contribute a portion of its annual profits, from 1.5 percent in its first year to 3 percent after three years, which Bennett has suggested be put in a fund to address community needs. In addition, it promised donations of $30,000 to area charities.

Christopher Edwards, owner of Alternative Therapies Group, could not be reached for comment.

Patriot Care opened the state’s sixth dispensary last month in Lowell. In addition to Salem, other dispensaries have opened in Brockton, Brookline, Northampton, and Ayer.

David Rattigan can be reached at drattigan.globe@gmail.com.