NORTHAMPTON — A second community meeting is planned for next week as a father-son team of entrepreneurs works to open a new marijuana dispensary in Florence center and address the objections of neighbors who are urging the City Council to impose a cap on the businesses citywide.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Florence Civic Center, 90 Park St., but organizers are encouraging people to attend virtually because it will be held outdoors.
Marco and Richard Aranzullo have chosen Pizza Factory’s current location to open the city’s 13th dispensary; the restaurant’s manager told the Gazette after the sale of the building that they intend to close or find a new spot.
Holding one community outreach meeting is a required step before Euphorium LLC can earn licensure from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. The Aug. 15 meeting drew more than 150 people to the parking lot behind Goodwin Block at 125 Main St.; since then, some attendees have voiced complaints that there was no sound system and said it contributed to an atmosphere of shouting and interjection.
Unlike the previous meeting, there will be no audience participation on Wednesday; interested parties can email questions in advance to askeuphoriumllc@gmail.com.
Reached for comment on Friday, cannabis consultant Ezra Parzybok, who is assisting the Aranzullos through the state licensure process, took “responsibility for not anticipating that 150 people would show up to this meeting. I’ve never had more than five people at a meeting. … This is also the first time we’ve had a large social media push against a retailer.”
This second meeting, however, is not a state requirement, he said.
“This is an olive branch … but it was also requested by the mayor. We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to ask any questions or express any concerns,” Parzybok said. “We don’t want people to feel like we’re trying to be sneaky or prevent them from having access to the information.”
To join on Sept. 7 by Google Meet, visit https://meet.google.com/iib-npck-yev or call (316) 413-5155 and use PIN 595 854 285.
During the public comment period of Thursday’s City Council meeting, a string of residents spoke out strongly against the unfettered spread of marijuana dispensaries throughout Northampton and now into Florence, many of them saying their expertise in the fields of medicine and addiction led to their opposition.
Councilors were not considering a plan for a cap, but Council President James Nash told the Gazette that following discussion of the matter, “I wouldn’t be surprised if councilors proposed something in the next few weeks.”
Dr. Michael Willers, a pediatric cardiologist, said he has “seen the level of addiction to cannabis rise” in his young patients, many of whom live in Northampton. He called for a cap on the number of dispensaries that are allowed to open.
“The cannabis lobby will tell us that, in fact, there is no such thing as addiction with marijuana, but that is clearly not true, and the science and the scientific papers will tell us that,” Willers said. “Smoking marijuana leads to the same cardiopulmonary ramifications that tobacco does. … We don’t know exactly what vapes do, but I can tell you there’s nothing good about heavy metals being inhaled into your lungs.”
A Florence resident who identified herself only as Lizzie told councilors that she is “a sober marijuana addict of 15 years” and that the businesses, which she said serve only to “get people intoxicated for money,” pose a risk to adolescents. She said the proliferation in recent years has made it “impossible” for people with histories of addiction to go about their daily errands in the city without going near a dispensary.
“Sober addicts know more about addiction than anybody else in this community. We can tell you more than any group of statistics or so-called experts,” she said. “The myth that pot is harmless is an extremely dangerous lie.”
She urged councilors to impose a cap as soon as possible.
Ananda Lennox of Leeds said she has worked in the youth substance abuse prevention field for almost nine years. She said research indicates that a high density of liquor stores leads to more underage drinking and a sense of normalization, and the dispensaries pose a similar risk.
“All I can picture is all the JFK kids coming out, kind of having their little bit of young adult freedom,” and enjoying the village center’s ice cream shop and other age-appropriate businesses unsupervised, Lennox said, “and I just don’t see how putting a pot shop in the midst of that is great, plus the close proximity to all of the recovery centers that are there.”
Parzybok, the cannabis consultant, disputed some of the claims made by residents and said he disagrees with imposing a cap for “philosophical” reasons of fairness. The city has nearly 80 on-site alcohol consumption licenses in use and more liquor stores than dispensaries.
“We subscribe to a harm reduction model of recovery — as do recovery centers in Northampton — which can be untoward to some, but data shows it reduces harm,” Parzybok said. “Legalization of cannabis nationwide shows no evidence of increased teen use, nor increased impaired driving.”
He added that the incidence of cannabis use disorder is far lower than alcohol use disorder, “and cannabis has been shown to aid in the reduction of alcohol and prescription drug usage for pain alleviation.”
Parzybok said that prohibition would benefit black market dealers who have no standards for testing, purchase limits or tracking methods that “would prevent diversion to youth,” and state marketing standards ban dispensaries from advertising cannabis products in their storefronts or on signs.
Some opponents are “not up to speed” on the city zoning ordinance or “the democratic process” that crafted it, he said, and the shop is the result of “literally decades of painstaking” work out in the open.
“I do empathize. I’m not trying to be argumentative,” he said, adding that promoting community safety around marijuana use is a better option than prohibition. “Social consumption is coming. … Just wait until we start allowing people to drive in, smoke a bunch of weed and drive home. That’s what we do with bars.”
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.