The Springfield City Council has approved a special permit for the city’s first medical marijuana dispensary.
Hampden Care Facility plans to operate the dispensary out of a building in an area of Springfield that is mostly warehouses and light industrial businesses.
The permit is conditional on an agreement being reached for annual payments to the city.
Mayor Domenic Sarno said his administration has approved a security plan that includes limited entry points, perimeter lighting and panic alarms.
" We set the guidelines and we set the benchmarks that have to be met," said Sarno.
The state department of public health will have to issue a license before the facility can open.
The only medical marijuana clinic in western Massachusetts opened last fall in Northampton.
