Second Host Community Agreement Approved For Recreational Cannabis Permit
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]M[/dropcap]assachusetts’ Board of Selectmen has approved the second host community agreement for a company to sell adult-use recreational cannabis in Worcester, Massachusetts.
At their meeting last week, selectmen approved the agreement with Pharmacannis Massachusetts Inc., an Illinois-based company, to operate a medical and recreational cannabis facility at 939 Boston Turnpike. A third company that applied for the agreement is still in the works, even though the number of recreational cannabis facilities has been capped at two.
In July, selectmen approved a host community agreement for Prime Wellness Inc. to operate a cannabis facility. Newton-based VitaSphere Inc. met with selectmen in November to discuss negotiating a host community agreement to operate a medical and recreational store. Assistant Town Manager Kristen D. Las said a town meeting limited the number of special permits to operate retail recreational cannabis stores to two, but there is no limit on the number of host community agreements, which begin the site plan and special permit process.
Pharmacannis, whose parent company is PharmaCann, has a cannabis cultivation facility in Holliston. According to its website, the company is licensed in eight states to grow, process and/or dispense medical and adult-use recreational cannabis. The host agreement in Shrewsbury gives the company eight months to commence its operation.
Worcester will be getting another recreational cannabis dispensary this week when Acreage Holdings’ opens its first dispensary under their new brand, The Botanist. The Worcester Botanist is the first of three Botanist locations planned to open in Massachusetts, with Leominster and Shrewsbury expected to open in the coming months.
Legal recreational cannabis has been a huge success in the month since the first dispensaries were permitted to begin sales. With only two dispensaries up and running, New England Treatment Access in Northampton and Cultivate in Leicester, Massachusetts totaled $7 million in sales since Nov. 20.
