Over the last few weeks, the Select Board has stood firm in opposition of any Host Community Agreements with town cannabis businesses due to changes by the state that have affected the tax revenue received by municipalities. 

That was until its Monday, Nov. 18 meeting where members voted 3-2 in favor of the agreement with Apotho Therapeutics, which held its grand opening for the store on 747 State Road just earlier that day.

Prior to the vote, Gary Carreiro, interim co-town administrator, said, “I think the ramifications of not signing this agreement could be much worse for the town’s finances.”

Apotho Therapeutics, which has another location in Plainville, sent in an application to Dartmouth back in early 2021 for its retail store and cultivation facility, located in the former Dartmouth Indoor Tennis Club. The owners are brothers Andrew and Mathew Medeiros.

“It feels pretty good to be open,” Mathew said. “It definitely takes a while to get things moving in this industry.”

The building has been ready for a while, the staff was hired almost two months ago and all the software was already integrated: “We were just waiting to the turn the lights on,” Mathew said. 

He explained while the original host agreement was approved, the renewed agreement with state and Select Board changes was rejected by the Cannabis Control Commission due to the wording used. He said the commission has a model for how they prefer their agreements and Apotho’s needed adjustments. But regardless of the issues the commission may have had with the agreement, Mathew said he and his brother have been in complete agreement with the Select Board.

Since they first proposed the shop, the industry has changed a lot, Andrew said. “Pricing across the board and industry really changed — better for the consumer. Weed is now cheaper than it used to be.”

The two said their goal has always been to be a “one stop shop” for all of their customers’ cannabis needs, highlighting how sometimes consumers have to go to a number of stores to get everything.

Having run their store in Plainville for a few years now, the brothers have been able to incorporate some changes to their Dartmouth store, such as a station for online orders to help on the busier days and they will have daily deals on their product.

“We don’t want anyone to feel rushed,” Andrew said, adding how part of the experience is speaking with the shop’s budtenders who are happy to share their knowledge on cannabis.

He added one priority for the business is education and the shop has an education table with a display of items to teach people everything they need to know in both English and Spanish. 

“For anyone that comes in, if you have questions, we have a lot of answers,” he said. “We’ve always based our company on consumer education.”

The cannabis industry is a venture all the Medeiros siblings wanted to just together on, Mathew explained.

“Cannabis, obviously, that’s something that’s been very important to us and how it benefits individuals, but also how it can bring together a bit of positivity in the community as an industry,” he said.

He added they are also trying to bring a more positive look on the cannabis industry overall.

“I think there is still a negative connotation on what cannabis is and how it’s used and it’s been used medicinally for hundreds of years, so I'm still trying to get rid of that stigma still,” Mathew said.

The Medeiros siblings grew up in Seekonk and played baseball across the South Coast, so gaining a shop so close by was a goal of Mathew and Andrew. 

For the grand opening, Apotho worked with Mirasol's Cafe, but that’s not the only business they plan to work with, Mathew said, highlighting their goal to be a part of the Dartmouth community.

“We’ve made a strong commitment to this town and they made a strong commitment to us. We want to see that through,” Matthew said.

He added, “We want to be involved in everything in the town because we’re now part of the community.”