By Josie Grove

Somerville’s Union Square could soon be the site of a cannabis dispensary.

A 2012 ballot question opened the gates for medical marijuana, but the city imposed a temporary moratorium on dispensaries and other medical marijuana treatment facilities until the city could figure out how to address this new type of business in its zoning laws.

Back in February, the Board of Aldermen approved zoning changes that would allow dispensaries to set up shop in certain commercial and industrial areas of the city. Now, in response to those changes and the Commonwealth’s call for dispensary proposals, a nonprofit healthcare corporation, Mayflower Medicinals, has applied to open up a dispensary in Union Square.

The Union Square dispensary is one of three proposed by Mayflower Medicinals, with other branches anticipated in Gloucester and the Allston neighborhood of Boston, and a cultivation facility in Holliston.

If the phrase ‘cannabis dispensary’ brings to mind a patchouli-scented, beanbag-strewn basement, think again, says chief operating officer Jaime Lewis. “Mayflower Medicinals is a patient-first nonprofit healthcare organization that is dedicated to providing the highest quality of medical cannabis products in a safe, secure, and professionally managed environment,” she wrote in an email.

And if ‘medical marijuana’ conjures images of dirty bong water and smelly smoke, Mayflower Medicinals plans to offer many alternatives. The dispensary will “cultivate and produce a wide variety of maximally therapeutic marijuana products including flower-extracted and infused items like capsules, topicals, tinctures, edibles, and oils”, Lewis wrote, detailing the many ways patients could use cannabis.

Lewis is a veteran in the cannabis business, having run an established dispensary in Colorado. She is also a strong cannabis advocate: she is a cofounder of the Cannabis Business Alliance and chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

A meeting on May 18 at Brass Union provided an opportunity for neighbors to engage with Mayflower Medicinals staff, and Lewis claims a largely positive response, including ten letters of support from residents. Lewis hopes the dispensary will open in 2017, but first, Mayflower Medicinals must pass city and state permitting and review processes.

The city formed a Medical Marijuana Treatment Facility Advisory Committee under the umbrella of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. The committee includes representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Planning Department, and the Somerville Police.

After the Advisory Committee ranks the applications, they are given to the mayor who can choose to provide a letter of support or a letter of non-opposition to applicants.Only after applicants get a letter from the mayor can they apply for a permit to set up a dispensary—an application that comes with a $1,350 fee on top of over $80,000 in state fees and a state-level application process.

The Advisory Committee began its review process on May 20.