Apotho Therapeutics, a budding cannabis company working to establish a marijuana dispensary and cannabis cultivation facility in Dartmouth, has moved a few steps closer to opening its doors.

The company, led by President Matthew Medeiros, received preliminary approval from the planning board for the dispensary at a Jan. 24 meeting and held a public outreach meeting to present plans for the cultivation facility on Jan. 20.

The grow facility would be located at the former Dartmouth Indoor Tennis Club at 757 State Rd. with the dispensary sitting just in front, sharing a driveway.

During the Jan. 24 site plan review meeting, the Planning Board voted to approve the plan pending approval from MassDOT for a curb cut — to accommodate the entry and exit ways — and a “One Way” sign to be placed in the median of the divided road to remind drivers pulling out of the lot to turn right.

The Planning Board also required that Apotho make a formal agreement between the two facilities to share the driveway, in case they might someday be acquired by separate companies.

Other small changes the board requested included a small modification to the parking lot and some stipulations about the material used to fence in the dispensary’s loading zone.

“It seems to me this is a significant improvement to that corner of Route 6,” said Board Member Stephen Taylor. “This is a fine idea and I don’t see any problems with it.”

Though no public questions were submitted at the Jan. 20 community outreach meeting, Medeiros gave a short presentation covering the company’s location and security as well as its plan to positively impact the community.

In order to be more involved with the community, Medeiros said Apotho plans to hire Dartmouth-based employees and vendors whenever possible and is committed to hiring at least 10% of its workforce from the local community.

The company also pledged annual donations to the town to benefit parks and recreation, health and human service, and public safety. Separate donations will also be given for drug education programs and to Dartmouth charities.

Medeiros said that the facility would be under 24/7 security coverage from a mix of surveillance cameras and patrols. There will also be a secure storage vault and delivery bay.

The cultivation facility will also look to mitigate the odor of the cannabis plants it grows by sealing the building with a spray-on material and mounting industrial air filtration systems throughout, Medeiros said.
Apotho Therapeutics has now been granted variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals for both facilities — required because the facilities lie outside of the town's Marijuana Overlay District — and has had both facilities approved by the Planning Board for site plan review.

The company now has only two steps left for each facility before they can begin operations in Dartmouth.

First, Apotho needs to form a Host Community Agreement with the town for the facilities, which will have to be approved by the Select Board.

When all local requirements have been satisfied, Apotho can then apply to the State Cannabis Control Commission for dispensary and cultivation licenses.