Mass. Cities Receive Payments From Medical Marijuana Dispensary Hopefuls


Massachusetts cities and towns are exacting increasingly hefty payments from medical marijuana dispensaries in exchange for letters the companies need to win state licenses, a Globe review of recent compacts shows.

In Worcester, a dispensary promised to pay the city $450,000 over three years — and $200,000 a year after that — if officials gave their blessing to the business.

In Springfield, the city is negotiating a deal that would ultimately take 7 percent of a dispensary’s revenue, plus a $50,000 annual donation to the Police Department — a pact that could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And in Salem, where the first dispensary opened a year ago, the medical marijuana shop contributed $82,856, a paltry amount compared with more recent deals.

“It’s quite clear if you don’t negotiate an agreement, you don’t get a letter,” said James E. Smith, a Boston attorney who represents a marijuana company that signed one of the larger agreements in March, with the City of Worcester.

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