A medical marijuana growing facility in Western Massachusetts faced setbacks to opening this week after vandals caused thousands of dollars of damage.
“Virtually every exterior window was smashed out, and some of the interior windows between rooms were also smashed out,” Michael Behn, president and chief operating officer of The Sandri Companies, told the Recorder. “It’s just mindless destruction, there’s no sense to it.”
The Sandri Companies leased 199 Huckle Hill Road in Bernardston, the former Bella Notte restaurant, to convert it into a medical marijuana growing facility.
He estimated the cost of replacing the large glass windows at $40,000.
Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri told the Recorder the matter, reported to police Sunday night, is “clearly an act of vandalism.”
The facility is one of two in town to be run by Happy Valley Compassion Center, which will supply dispensaries in Greenfield, Hadley and Orange.
While the Hadley facility was scheduled to be the first to open around the end of 2017, vandalism at the Huckle Hill Road facility is expected to cause delays and add to costs.
“At the end of the day, we’re a startup company trying to get this business off the ground,”  Jim Counihan, chief executive officer of Happy Valley Compassion Center, told Recorder. “This cost certainly doesn’t help.”
credit:masslive.com