{"id":4711,"date":"2022-03-09T21:34:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T21:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmN0aW5zaWRlci5jb20vbmV3cy9uaHJlZ2lzdGVyL2FydGljbGUvQ2FubmFiaXMtZW50cmVwcmVuZXVycy1leWUtTm9ydGgtSGF2ZW4tQnV0LWFyZS0xNjk4OTkwMy5waHA_dD00MTBkYjA0NjMw0gEA"},"modified":"2022-03-09T21:34:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T21:34:59","slug":"cannabis-entrepreneurs-eye-north-haven-but-are-residents-on-board-ct-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4711","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis entrepreneurs eye North Haven. But are residents on board? – CT Insider"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

He would love to open a retail facility in North Haven, where he lives. But he may be up against a challenge: in a public input session Monday, when entrepreneurs like Frytz shared their aspirations with the Planning & Zoning Commission, a group of residents spoke against allowing any kind of recreational cannabis establishments in town.<\/p>\n

\n

Like towns across the state, North Haven is weighing how to regulate recreational cannabis<\/a>. Frytz was invited to the meeting to answer questions about the cannabis industry, he said, and not with the goal of swaying commissioners one way or the other.<\/p>\n

But while North Haven is not currently included in the plan for his business, White Oak Apothecary, Frytz would love to open a retail location in town, he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only interested party. Dave Melillo, a North Haven-based Realtor, represents a group looking to open a cultivation operation in Connecticut, he told the New Haven Register in an email.<\/p>\n

Melillo also attended the commission meeting. While he did not have a site in mind, he told attendees, he had come to see what North Haven might allow.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Also present was Jamie Campbell, who introduced himself as the representative of a Massachusetts-based cannabis retailer. His business was looking for expansion opportunities in Connecticut, he said.<\/p>\n

Frytz also envisions a regional business, and he believes North Haven\u2019s location could help realize that dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Haven is in a unique position because 91 runs through the majority of the town, and 91 is a corridor to half of New England,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to have that visibility. I want to have that ability to hit consumers anywhere in New England.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frytz also argued the business would benefit the town economically. According to the state website<\/a>, cannabis will be subject to three sales taxes: \u201cthe state\u2019s usual 6.35 percent sales tax, a 3 percent sales tax dedicated to the city or town where the sale occurs, and a tax based on THC content that will cost approximately 10 to 15 percent of the sale price.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as enthusiastic as Frytz is about his new project, some residents are pushing back.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease vote to prohibit … cannabis establishments in the town of North Haven,\u201d Mary White said during the input session, which was held over Zoom.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She went on to list a number of concerns she had about cannabis. It is illegal federally, she said.<\/p>\n

White also worried it would put more impaired drivers on the road and argued such establishments would be bad for public health and safety.<\/p>\n