When Do Recreational Weed Dispensaries Open in Massachusetts ?

What You Need to Know:

Are recreational weed dispensaries open yet? No, but licenses have been issued to a few shops.When will recreational dispensaries be made open to the public?Soon, from our sources we are hearing September or October.How many dispensaries will there be? At the moment there are 30 applications under review and another 60 in the cue to be reviewed.Why has it taken so long?See below

The Whole Story on Recreation Weed Dispensaries

• November 2008 – Vote passed to decriminalize the possession of marijuana in the state of Massachusetts
• November 2012 – Vote passed to legalize the sale of medical marijuana in the state of Massachusetts
• November 2016 – Vote passed to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state of Massachusetts
• December 2016 – Bill was put into effect, official legalizing recreational cannabis in the state of Massachusetts
• July 2018 – The sale of recreational marijuana by a licensed dealer is now legal, and this is where we stand today!

The Major “Hold Up” in Store Fronts Not Opening

So, even though it is technically now legal for a shop to sell cannabis, the process of opening the shop has proven to be a bit of a regulation nightmare.The state of Massachusetts has made it a priority to keep a close eye on all aspects of the application and regulatory standards for any shop looking to sell recreational bud. Not only that, but if that shop wants to cultivate in-house, there is a whole other licenses required.[parallax][/parallax] 

Delays at The Local Level

Nearly 200 cities and towns in Massachusetts have outright banned the sale of recreational marijuana – even those that voted “yes” on the infamous question 4.However, the towns that gave shops the green light to set up are dragging their feet, which isn’t helping anyone’s case.Any potential recreational shop has to obtain a document called a “Host Community Agreement” and have it signed by local officials. The problem here is that there is no deadline to push one through after it is submitted. 

Testing and Accreditation

Once a shop is granted a license, it’s now time for all of their product to face an anal probe from the powers that be.All recreational cannabis products must be tested by an independent lab, however no labs have actually been licensed yet… Ahhh, we see a problem here skip!We do support all products being properly tested, but what the fack man! 

Current State of Affairs

Licenses have been handed out, applications testing facilities are in the process of being approved (these very well could have gone through) and towns are now voting on whether or not they will host a recreational shop in their boarders.There is no set date, but stay strong my friends – we are nearing in for recreational cannabis, I promise ;)Peace and Love- Steel