New Marijuana Dispensary Planned In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — A second recreational marijuana retailer is getting closer to setting up shop in Brookline. Sanctuary Medicinals is finishing the application process to open in Coolidge Corner in the space that Pier 1 occupied for years.

"This is the last hurdle in a long process," Jeffery Allen of Sanctuary Medicinals said to the Select Board Tuesday for a licensee hearing.

"I don't think there's a more appropriate location in Brookline, than in the middle of our retail district of Coolidge Corner," said Allan. "The business will bring more foot traffic to and more life to Coolidge Corner. With all due respect to our financial institutions: We're not a bank."

Sanctuary Medicinals was the first cultivation facility in New Hampshire. In addition to several locations in New Hampshire, they have a cultivation facility in Littleton. They have a retail location in Gardner and are recently opened a flagship facility in Woburn in addition to a spot in Brookline. The Brookline spot will be called just "Sanctuary."

The state requires a 6.25 percent sales tax and 10.75 percent excise tax, while Brookline's Town Meeting voted to enforce local taxes up to 3 percent — the state limit, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

As the town works on renovating Brookline Schools and adding to the high school and possibly acquiring land at Newbury College, the possible tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales looks set to help.

In addition to Sanctuary and NETA, two other recreational marijuana shops have applied for licenses in town.

Related:

• Pot Dispensary Set To Open In Woburn
• Brookline's First Retail Marijuana Shop Opens