Second retail marijuana dispensary receives Zoning Board approval

Aug 15, 2019

A second recreational marijuana retailer is one step closer to opening as the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit for Nature’s Medicines, which would be located in the old Sears Appliance store at 3119 Cranberry Highway.

Nature’s Medicines was formerly known as Xiphias Wellness and received a host community agreement under that name.

The Wareham location would only be adult-use retail, although the company also runs a medical marijuana dispensary in Fall River. 

Attorney Valerio Romano, who presented the project to the board, said that the only exterior work the company wanted to do was build an ADA-compliant ramp. The store would be using the door on the side of the building, rather than the front, as its main entrance. Adding a ramp to that side of the building would make it much easier for customers to enter, as the ramp would begin close to handicap spots.

Romano also reassured the board that the company did not anticipate that the store would see the kind of crowds that Verilife did when it first opened. Currently, there are 27 retailers with final licensing that are open or in the process of opening. He estimated that the store would not open for at least six months, as it has not yet received full state approval. By that time, Romano thinks there will be at least 50 retailers with full licensing, which will reduce the demand on any individual store.

Romano also assured the board that Nature’s Medicines will be working with Wareham Police, and is open to hiring detail officers if necessary to help manage parking. Because the store is in Jordan Plaza, customers will have access to the plaza’s 72 shared parking spaces -- but Nature’s Medicines doesn’t anticipate the demand being nearly that high. 

The company will also be using Sprout, a pre-order service, that allows customers to place orders in advance. Pre-order customers will be able to be in and out of the store more quickly, but the store has designed a waiting area in case there are too many customers inside at once.

In order to enter the store, customers would have to show an ID which would then be scanned inside for legitimacy.