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Great Barrington pot shop giving town a large check

Jul 11, 2019 12:11 am
Heather Bellow reports in the Berkshire Eagle that Theory Wellness, the first legal marijuana shop in Berkshire County, sold $10.3 million in cannabis in April, May, and June this year. The town of Great Barrington gets about $535,000 of that money. Those funds come from a three percent community impact fee, and the municipality's three percent local tax. The impact fee money is supposed to mitigate the harmful effects of marijuana, but the town is not sure what that means. "This is all new and the guidelines are vague," Select Board Vice Chairman Ed Abrahams said. "We haven't had the discussion yet about what constitutes negative impact, and our lawyers will be involved in that discussion." The numbers may come down some as another shop recently opened in nearby Lee, and more expected to open soon in Great Barrington, Egremont, and Sheffield. Recreational marijuana began legal sales in Massachusetts earlier this year. Read more about this story in the Berkshire Eagle.