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Mass regulators to begin approving 1st round of pot business licenses

BOSTON — Keith Laham is in a race.

"It's almost fun, like a game,” he said in a room full of green, thriving marijuana plants.

Laham is trying to be among the first crop of licensed, recreational pot shops to spring up in Massachusetts. The Dedham entrepreneur wants to turn his social smoking club, “Beantown, Greentown” into a legitimate business.

But he needs to complete the application process first.

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"The most frustrating part for us right now is finding a town that will accept it,” Laham said.

Laham is one of hundreds grappling with the reality of what it takes to open a pot shop in Massachusetts.

763 licensing applications have been opened with the state since April, according to a spokesperson with the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). Only 35 of those applicants have submitted all of the required information, including 25 exiting, registered medical marijuana dispensaries.

641 applicants are incomplete and 41 applications have been withdrawn, according to the CCC. The first wave of licenses can be approved June 1. Pot shops will open in July.

“The toughest piece for a lot of entrepreneurs looking to get into this space is securing a host agreement with a municipality,” Ross Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw owns the company New DIA (Diversity-In-Action) and is applying to open a pot shop in Worcester. He said the hard part is finding the right space in the right city or tow.

“That is extremely difficult,” Bradshaw said, “because there’s only a limited amount of licenses and a lot of communities are having outright bans on recreational establishments.”

Not only is the application process lengthy, it’s also costly.

"It is an extremely expensive process," said Laury Lucien, a cannabis attorney who runs a consulting firm for businesses beginning the application process.

"You're looking at a hundred thousand dollars at least for this license process,” Lucien said. “Legal fees alone cane run you that much.”

Although Laham said he enjoys the “game” of building a business, he also feels the same pressures as most small-business owners.

"I've got twenty guys depending on us really doing this so that they can support their families,” Laham said.