Marlborough Council sends Garden Remedies relocation bid to Urban Affairs

MARLBOROUGH — December 16, 2024 — Marlborough councilors sent Garden Remedies' dispensary relocation request to Urban Affairs after a packed hearing. Attorney Brian Falk, with CEO Jeff Harold and COO Zach Hall, asked to move the marijuana retail and medical shop from 416 Boston Post Road East to 423 Lakeside Avenue, citing a 48 percent revenue decline from 2020 to 2023 and a projected further one-third drop in 2024. The new 5,000-square-foot site would share 53 parking spaces and host the city's only west-side medical cannabis option. Chamber CEO Michelle Mercier and Lost Shoe Brewing co-owner J.P. Gallagher backed the move; residents Christina Holman and Laura Butlin opposed it, with Butlin calling conditions at her plaza near another dispensary "horrific." Councilor Sean A. Navin questioned whether three retailers within a mile produce real net revenue for the city's 3 percent cannabis excise. Councilors also accepted a $5,000 Cummings Foundation gift for Recreation and a $14,919 DOJ grant for police traffic cameras.