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Massachusetts' weed hub, Worcester, is just 1 store away from hitting its self-imposed post shop limit of 15 retailers. A review of marijuana licenses and applications shows nowhere else in the state has more people seeking to open pot shops than Worcester.
Worcester's early designation as the center for the new marijuana industry seems to be holding steady. Overall, it's the Massachusetts community with the second most cannabis-business-related license applications filed with the Cannabis Control Commission.
The only community with more cannabis applications is Holyoke where 47 marijuana businesses have sought to open, 12 of them are retailers.
Adult-use recreational marijuana has been legal and available in Massachusetts for in-store purchase since late 2018.
WORCESTER AND WEED
Worcester made itself an early beacon for the burgeoning marijuana industry when city officials put out a call for 15 marijuana business applications in 2018.
More than 30 marijuana-related businesses want to open in Worcester, including those 15 retailers.
Worcester already has 8 retail establishments where adults can purchase weed including Good Chemistry, Resinate, Diem Cannabis, Bud’s Goods and Provisions, Mayflower, Mission, The Botanist, and New Dia.*
There are 6 more pot shops on the way - Cultivate Holdings, Evergreen Strategies, Major Bloom, Munro Associates, Nature’s Remedy of Massachusetts, and Suns Massachusetts II all have provisional license approval from the CCC.
There is 1 marijuana retailer license left available in Worcester and someone has already applied for it - the Corner Emporium. This application is in its earliest phase and there may be time for competing applications.
NOT JUST STORES
Marijuana retailers aren’t the only weed business seeking to open in Worcester, there are more than a dozen other marijuana-business applications for the city filed with Massachusetts.
Other pot businesses seeking to open include 2 testing labs, 5 weed product manufacturers, 4 pot farms, and 1 microbusiness (kind of like a small-scale marijuana co-op).
Just about all of these businesses have already gained at least provisional approval to open - a final license from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is required to commence operations.
In addition to Corner Emporium, there are 3 Worcester business hopefuls that have submitted applications to the CCC, but have not yet received preliminary approval: the two testing labs - Green Armory and Legacy Foundation - and a manufacturer - MassPressed.
*Correction: An earlier version of this article misrepresented marijuana company Temescal's licenses. In Worcester, Temescal Wellness of Massachusetts has licenses for marijuana manufacturing and cultivation.
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