A cannabis entrepreneur group’s plans to set up a dispensary on the Island fell through last year, and assets in 90 Dr. Fisher Road in West Tisbury, the former location of the Island’s only marijuana-growing facility, are being liquidated.
But representatives of Black Harbor Group, which had rented the West Tisbury location, said they’re making preparations to open a dispensary on the Vineyard anyway, despite tensions between landowners and marijuana businesses — from lawsuits to a no-trespassing order — and a necessary ingredient is zoning amendments.
“We’re actively going through the zoning process in Oak Bluffs,” Cornell Mills, a manager of Black Harbor Group, told The Times.
Mills said they found a commercial property in Oak Bluffs, which the company’s representatives declined to share the address of until more details are ironed out, that was “ideal for a cannabis operation.” Jamahrl Crawford, a partner of Black Harbor Group, said, “It’s kind of off the beaten path, no man’s land.”
But Black Harbor representatives said the property falls outside the overlay districts that allow retail cannabis shops, and they want to propose zoning amendments to expand where a dispensary can be opened. Adam Petkus, the Oak Bluffs building commissioner, said the overlay districts include parcels in the R3 district, a residential zone and the largest area that allows dispensaries, and parcels near Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Goodale Construction Co., and Holmes Hole Road.
If Black Harbor Group proposes the zoning amendments, it wouldn’t be Oak Bluffs’ first proposed expansion of locations in the town that allow retail cannabis. Geoff Rose, Patient Centric of Martha’s Vineyard CEO and owner of Island Time in Vineyard Haven, made a similar attempt through a citizens’ petition at the 2024 annual town meeting, an article that failed 99-51.
Petkus noted a zoning amendment would require two-thirds voter approval at a town meeting to advance. Additionally, Amy Del Torto, Oak Bluffs town clerk, said being a registered Oak Bluffs voter is not a requirement to “initiate or prepare a citizen’s petition,” but signatories must be registered to vote in the town. Crawford is a Roxbury native, though he grew up summering on the Island at his grandmother’s house in Tisbury, and frequently visits.
Crawford believes that fears around the “evils of marijuana” have been debunked over the years, and noted that multiple Oak Bluffs establishments sell alcohol, a contributor to substance addiction and vehicle accidents on the Vineyard, a “stone’s throw away from each other.”
Black Harbor Group shifted its gaze to Oak Bluffs after what its representatives claimed was a sabotaged lease agreement in West Tisbury, specifically for 510 State Road, and an alleged attempt to block them as a competitor to Rose’s business. Last year, Crawford told The Times that Black Harbor Group had been in negotiations with the owners of 510 State Road, but were denied a lease in January 2025. The property lease had already been signed by Rose in July 2024, who sublet the property to a Pilates studio, and denied that there was any effort to block a competitor from entering the Vineyard cannabis market.
The situation essentially gave Black Harbor Group access to 90 Dr. Fisher Road in West Tisbury, a place where marijuana could be grown, but nowhere to sell products on-Island, where most towns’ zoning restricts locations allowed for a dispensary.
“That’s the crux to this whole thing,” Crawford said.
Allegations of business damages also came from FFD Enterprises MA, which formerly operated a dispensary at 510 State Road and the growing facility as Fine Fettle. In February, the company sued Rose and the property owners, Travis and Ian Thurber, in Hampden County Superior Court seeking compensation for damages. The suit alleges Rose and the Thurbers “collaborated and colluded … to prevent plaintiff from renewing its lease or extending its option agreement and remove plaintiff (and anyone it chose to sell to) from the cannabis market in Martha’s Vineyard.” The complaint also alleges increased rent and new restrictions on renting the residential portion of the property. It also accused Rose of working with the Thurbers to compromise a license and lease transfer to Mills.
The complaint also highlights that the state Cannabis Control Commission’s approval of the commercial transportation of cannabis products over water in 2024, which Rose helped expedite in a lawsuit, essentially nullified the cultivation facility, which was an expensive part of the business. Before, shipping over water was banned in Massachusetts, which led to the necessity of an on-Island growing facility. It is still banned federally.
“Without an operational dispensary associated with the West Tisbury cultivation facility, and in light of the mainland prohibition ending, it would be next to impossible for the West Tisbury cultivation facility to be viable and continue to operate,” the complaint states.
FFD repeatedly accused Rose of interfering in its operations in West Tisbury and breaking non-compete agreements, which allegedly led to hefty financial losses.
Bruce A. Bierhans and James Paul Lucking, the Hyannis-based attorneys representing the Thurbers, were not immediately available for comment. But a counterclaim filed in April by Lucking alleges that the Thurbers didn’t pursue renewals with FFD because the company returned the building “with significant structural alterations and in a state of disrepair,” incurring “substantial costs for repairs, restoration, and cleaning to make the property suitable for a new tenant.”
Rose declined to comment on the lawsuit “on advice of counsel.” A counterclaim filed in May by Kyle Dutch, who was an attorney with Vicente LLP at the time, on behalf of Rose, denied FFD’s accusations of business wrongdoing. It also alleged that FFD had acted in bad faith by excessively charging Patient Centric, Rose’s company, and limiting supply it sold to him. The situation, the counterclaim states, forced Rose to temporarily close his Vineyard Haven dispensary Island Time, and pursue the overwater transportation route.
An FFD representative was not immediately available for comment.
Lease issues over the former West Tisbury growing facility also got Black Harbor Group, Patient Centric, and FFD Enterprises sued by Kaysky LLC, which is managed by Jim Eddy, owner of the property, who runs Big Sky Tent and Party Rentals. The complaint, filed in January, alleged that Black Harbor Group failed to pay a total of $157,814.17 in rent and taxes as of when the suit was filed.
According to the complaint, Patient Centric originally signed onto a 10-year commercial lease in 2017 and transferred its share to FFD. After deciding to shut down its West Tisbury dispensary in 2024, FFD assigned its interest to Black Harbor Group, which “assumed all obligations under the lease” in 2025. The complaint notes that Patient Centric and FFD were not released from their obligations under the lease.
Crawford maintained that the lease issue with Rose and the Thurbers prevented them from raising money through a dispensary to pay Eddy. Crawford said he expects a settlement to be reached for the Kaysky’s Dukes County case, but it’s uncertain how this would impact Black Harbor Group in seeking damages for tortious interference allegedly committed by Patient Centric and FFD, including contractual breaches, collusion to “exclude [Black Harbor Group] from the transaction and capture the opportunity themselves,” and “unfair and deceptive acts.” The crossclaim filed in April states Black Harbor Group suffered more than $3.75 million in damages from lost profits, “out-of-pocket expenses,” and rent payments.
Eddy and Marilyn Vukota, the Edgartown attorney representing Eddy, declined to comment.
The most recent issue occurred earlier this month when Black Harbor Group initiated a no-trespassing order against Rose through the West Tisbury Police Department, which was served Sept. 2. Crawford alleged Rose tried to gain access to 90 Dr. Fisher Road in August, before the liquidation began, through an employee who had a key. Crawford was irate at what he called a “sneaky, manipulative” way to access the property when Rose could’ve just asked them. Crawford said Rose hung up on him when he called about the situation, leading to the no-trespassing order.
“We have to protect ourselves from any further shenanigans,” Crawford said.
Rose declined to comment, again “on advice of counsel.”
As the legal and municipal processes roll, Crawford said Black Harbor Group is in the process of vacating the former growing facility. He said the process, including the liquidation of assets, is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.
“Nobody wants to be moving onto the Vineyard in the winter,” he said.
