Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | June 13, 2022 | wbjournal.com B U S I N E S S O F C A N N A B I S FOCUS BY KATHERINE HAMILTON WBJ Staff Writer A s the chairman and CEO of Southbridge's first cannabis dispensary, Bob Patton has had a uniquely powerful impact on the town, but it was not easily earned. When Patton came to town propos- ing his Green Meadows dispensary, Southbridge had a ban on all adult-use cannabis, only allowing medical sale of marijuana. At that time, around 2018, Southbridge was one of 17 mu- nicipalities in Central Massachusetts with complete bans on recreational cannabis production and retail. For Patton, who saw great potential in Southbridge's old mill buildings and desire for new economic opportunity, the ban wasn't much of a deterrent. "We just went the full nine yards about introducing the possibility of cannabis to the town," Patton said. "We did forums. We went to social clubs. Everything was bilingual because there's a very large Latino community." In a 2019 vote, which was the third time Southbridge residents voted on the question of legalized marijuana, the town officially lied the ban on adult-use cannabis. Green Meadows' perseverance in Southbridge is reflective of the mar- ijuana industry's experience across the state, as the once illicit and then uniquely legal product has become more normalized, accepted, and widespread since voters first legalized it in a 2016 ballot initiative. Since the first adult-use dispensaries opened in November 2018, the industry has gen- erated more than $3 billion in revenue. Of the 46 municipalities in Central Massachusetts who had an initial ban or moratorium on the industry operating in their communities, about 67% of those towns and cities have loosened restrictions. "e initial bans were largely based on fear of the unknown," said Shaleen Title, an attorney who served as one of the first commissioners on the Mas- sachusetts regulatory body Cannabis Control Commission. Mindset shift Changing the town's bylaws was a matter of shiing residents' mindsets and dispelling that fear, said David Adams, a Southbridge town councilor and the president of the Southbridge Veterans Council. Adams himself voted no twice on the cannabis question, but was swayed by the industry's promising A then-proposed Southbridge dispensary soened the town's anti-marijuana stance, as more communities across Central Mass. do the same Liing the cannabis ban PHOTOS | EDD COTE Bob Patton, the grandson of General George Patton, was a constant presence in Southbridge, as he tried to convince the town of the benefits his company would bring.

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