WAREHAM – DB Delivery, doing business as Doobie, reached out to the Wareham community during a presentation at the Rosebrook Event Center Thursday.
Co-founders Ericca and Justin Kennedy, and Joseph Rubin and Jessica Powell were on hand to explain aspects of their proposed marijuana business at 3 Tow Road.
Ericca said they’re developing three business components – delivery, cultivation and product manufacturing.
She noted that selectmen had approving entering into host community agreement negotiations on each aspect. They will be seeking state approval through the Cannabis Control Commission, as well as local approval.
The community outreach meeting is one of the state’s requirements. It’s designed so the proponents can describe their plans, including benefits they can provide to the community and security measures.
On the delivery side, Doobie will warehouse and deliver finished cannabis and cannabis-related products to consumers 21 and over at a residential address.
They intend to hire 10 to 15 people for the delivery business. Salaries will start at $18 per hour and the jobs will include benefits and six weeks of vacation.
Doobie delivery vehicles will be unmarked and staffed with two people. They will wear body cameras and the vehicles can never carry more than $10,000 worth of product at one time.
The site at 3 Tow Road will never be open to the public for retail sales. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with deliveries between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
They plan to develop the business in phases with delivery first, followed by cultivation on site. The cultivation phase will call for adding a minimum of five more jobs. Preparation will include laying gravel, and installing raised flower beds and hoop houses.
They also want to add another five positions to complete the third, manufacturing phase, which will produce hand-rolled cannabis pre-rolls to start.
They noted that state-of-the-art air filtration and scrubbing systems will be installed in their facilities and delivery vehicles to protect air quality.
Doobie will pay the town up to 3% of the gross sales in a Local Community Impact Fee in each of the first five years of business. Doobie will also pay a 3% sales tax to the town.
The firm also seeks to be a positive part of the community through “committing 120 hours per year to team member participation in and/or the hosting of community outreach workshops, programs and events,” according to the proposal. “Our focus will be on social and reparative justice programs, as well as Host Community need-based programs and events; Doobie will commit to a minimum of an additional 48 hours of team member participation per year dedicated to the volunteer-cleanup efforts within the Town of Wareham, in the vicinity of the HDH; 1% of gross profits will be donated to the Doobie Fund.”
They state, “It’s no secret that the disparities within the newly profitable cannabis industry are vast. We see it as our responsibility to help level the playing field of the system that we are now a part of. The Doobie Fund helps support currently and formerly incarcerated individuals (of non-violent cannabis-related offenses) and their immediate families — on the belief that they should stand to receive support from the industry they helped pioneer.
“The Doobie Fund will aim to provide food, transportation, housing, healthcare, childcare, and job-placement assistance for those individuals, as well as their immediate families. Every Doobie purchase helps us give back to those directly impacted by non-violent cannabis offenses, that are now legal cannabis activities.”
They also plan to commission a mural for the community within two years of beginning operations.
