Two more recreational marijuana dispensaries are opening in Massachusetts this week
From parking and shuttles to payment and purchase limits, here's what you need to know.
As promised, the options for recreational marijuana customers in Massachusetts are quickly growing.
The state’s four and fifth adult-use dispensaries are planning to open later this week, after receiving commence operations notices Monday afternoon from the Cannabis Control Commission. The notices authorized the two dispensaries to begin selling marijuana for recreational purposes after a minimum of three days.
Verilife, a Wareham marijuana dispensary owned by one of the country’s largest national cannabis companies, says it plans to begin recreational sales when it opens at 10 a.m. on Friday. The South Coast pot shop will be the first to serve adult-use customers in southeastern Massachusetts, and officials are gearing up for the long lines they expect when they open.
“This is our first recreational license and certainly a milestone achievement for the company; but it’s also a win for the voters of Massachusetts, who approved this recreational measure more than two years ago,” Teddy Scott, the CEO and founder of PharmaCann, the Illinois-based company that owns Verilife, said in a statement.
The 112 Main St. store is directing those driving to park remotely about three miles away from the downtown at the Water Wizz water park at 3031 Cranberry Highway, where they’ll receive a pass to enter the dispensary. From the water park, Verilife will be running a free shuttle back and forth to the dispensary. The dispensary’s on-site parking will be reserved for medical patients and customers with handicap plates.
Verilife officials are also recommending that customers “wear warm clothing as long lines are expected.” The current weather forecast is calling for mild temperatures Friday through Saturday, but with a high chance of rain.
State law allows customers to buy up to one ounce of flower or five grams of concentrate per transaction. However, the three other dispensaries that have begun selling adult-use marijuana in the state have placed some additional limits on individual purchases to make sure they have enough product to go around during the early stages of the industry’s rollout.
Verilife will be no different in that respect. According to store officials, customers will be allowed to buy up to a quarter-ounce of flower and two additional items per purchase.
Shelley Stormo, executive director of Verilife, says the dispensary has “a diverse menu of cannabis products, including flowers, oils, vapes and edibles.” That said, don’t plan on using a card; transactions will be cash-only. Verilife’s hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Meanwhile, Insa, the Easthampton dispensary that also received authorization to open Monday, is setting its opening day on Saturday.
“Our team has been working really hard to get where we are, and we think we have some really high quality products,” Mark Zatyrka, the CEO of Insa, told Boston.com.
Zatyrka says the company has been working with local Easthampton officials to prepare for the expected influx of customers, as New England Treatment Access in nearby Northampton is reportedly still experiencing lines — nearly a month after it became one of the state’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries. City officials say that Insa has hired police details to manage the increased traffic and parking needs so that the area doesn’t experience gridlock.
The 122 Pleasant St. store is located at the rear of the Keystone Mill Building, and police will be directing from Pleasant Street to Insa’s designated parking near its entrance behind the old mill. Upon their departure, drivers will then be directed to leave via Ferry Street. Insa is asking customers not to park in any of the neighboring businesses’ designated lots. And in the event that their parking fills up, Zatyrka says customers will be directed to off-site overflow parking lots with shuttle service.
Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said in a press release Monday that her office has been preparing with the goal that Insa’s opening “a safe and secure experience for everyone, balancing the least possible amount of disruption to life in Easthampton, while welcoming new growth to the city.”
Insa accepts cash, debit, or CanPay, a specialty mobile payment app for the cannabis industry. The dispensary also allows adult-use customers to place their orders in advance online and then pick them up at the store at a separate express line at the store.
The dispensary will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week — with the exception of Christmas Eve (closing early at 5 p.m.) and Christmas Day (closed).
Zatyrka says Insa will be limiting individual adult-use purchases to one-eighth ounce of flower, plus one product from each of the other categories of the menu (concentrates, pre-rolls, edibles, cartridges), to make sure they have enough supply through their opening weekend.
“Hopefully we can lift those after the first few days,” he said.
The limits will not apply to medical sales, and Verilife and Insa will have separate lines and inventory for their medical patients, as required by state law. Zatyrka said Tuesday that he doesn’t expect patients will have to wait at their Easthampton store.
City officials, however, are bracing for the expected surge in visitors over the weekend, while hoping it will also bring some commercial benefit to Easthampton.
“The primary goal is to not gridlock any area of Easthampton,” Jeff Bagg, Easthampton’s city planner, said in a statement Monday. “After the initial opening, we [are] eager to promote the many great things the City has to offer to visitors, both in the mills and downtown.”
Officials are also reminding customers that public consumption of marijuana remains illegal and that adult-use customers will have to provide a government-issued form of ID showing that they are at least 21 years old to even be allowed inside a dispensary.
The Bay State’s first two recreational pot shops opened in Leicester and Northampton on Nov. 20, and a third store in Salem began adult-use sales by appointment-only on Saturday.
Verilife opened for medical marijuana patients this past May and received a final license from the CCC in November to begin selling the drug for adult use.
PharmaCann says it plans to open two other retail dispensaries in Massachusetts, including one in Franklin, both of which will serve customers in both the recreational and medical marijuana markets. The company also currently runs nine other medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois, Maryland, and New York, and has plans to expand in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Insa’s Easthampton dispensary opened in February and also received its final retail license in November. The company also has a dispensary in nearby Springfield, which the company says will remain a medical-only facility.
“Going forward our goal continues to be to provide the highest quality product available on the market today, while making sure the opening goes as smoothly as possible,” Zatyrka said. “With the preparations we’ve made we are confident that we will provide a quality experience to medical patients and recreational patrons alike.”
