Cannabis powerhouse Organa Brands has pulled out of a $2.5 million deal with the town of Wareham to build a marijuana processing facility at the historic Tremont Nail factory.

Organa president Chris Driessen blamed the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for introducing lengthy delays and failing to communicate with the applicant.

"We are in a one-sided conversation here," Driessen told Wicked Local Wareham. "And other than a 'request for information' seven months after our initial foray into Wareham in 2018, we have not heard if we are moving forward or backward, or any communication at all."

Driessen said Organa "can't keep dumping money into a business we cannot open." He said the firm has been pouring $20,000 a month into the project with no sense of whether the state will issue a license.

Organa had proposed to manufacture cannabis products in a metal building on the site located off Rt. 28. It would not sell retail, but would sell finished products to dispensaries.

The company gained local approval, and Town Meeting voters approved a necessary zoning change in 2018. The company had planned to create 25 jobs.

"I have a responsibility to shareholders, to employees ... we have to be financially prudent and this is a huge unknown," he said. Dreissen told Wicked Local that he is sad, because Organa "wanted to be part of a renaissance for Wareham."

Organa was acquired by the Canadian-based Slang Worldwide in 2018. The new conglomerate has operations on five continents.

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