Pot group says ties severed with grower
SOUTH DENNIS — The president of a nonprofit organization awarded a provisional state license for a medical marijuana dispensary in Dennis said Tuesday the group cut ties with John Czarkowski, its agricultural specialist and executive team member, a month before the Boston Globe reported the man and his wife had run a failed dispensary in another state.
John and Diane Czarkowski lost their license for their medical marijuana cultivation center and dispensary in Boulder, Colo., in 2012, for lying to obtain a construction permit and storing medical marijuana in unauthorized areas, the Globe reported Tuesday.
Jane Heatley, president of the William Noyes Webster Foundation, said her nonprofit group had signed a contract with Czarkowski during the first phase of the state's medical marijuana dispensary application process. The agreement ran from last October through Jan. 31.
Czarkowski's removal was unrelated to the blight on his past record, Heatley said.
The decision was based on the foundation's concern Czarkowski would be too busy to properly fulfill his responsibilities.
"He was listed on so many other licenses, including two in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut," Heatley said.
Heatley said she told Czarkowski of the foundation's decision to part ways in an email sent Feb. 6.
The nonprofit organization's president called the Globe story "shocking."
"He had really strong references, and we had done a background check on him."
Paul Covell, chief executive officer for the William Noyes Webster Foundation, said he had been disappointed with Czarkowski's initial performance and was glad to see him removed in early February.
"We negotiated a general contractor for the grow facility and gave him Czarkowski's contact number," Covell said. "Czarkowski never even called him back." Czarkowski could not be reached for comment.
Two weeks after the agricultural specialist was let go, the foundation was tipped off about his past by another grower the group was interviewing.
"We made the right decision getting rid of him," Covell said.
The foundation is conducting background checks on five growers and expects to have a new one hired by the end of this week, Heatley said.
She will notify the state of the change during her scheduled interview with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Monday.
"The state procedure says you notify in person," Heatley said. "He's already off the organizational chart on the paperwork."
DPH spokeswoman Anne Roach confirmed Heatley's explanation of the process for change. "As part of the verification process, DPH will be reviewing each applicant's management structure," Roach said in an email.
The DPH will meet with each of the provisional medical marijuana dispensary licensees this month to check on their progress, verify documents and approve changes to management teams, according to its website.
Meanwhile, Heatley said local contractors have already been hired to renovate a grow facility at 226 Great Western Road and dispensary at 17 American Way.
The foundation already has its required special permit from the Dennis Planning Board.
No comments:
Post a Comment