The first two recreational marijuana dispensaries opened in Massachusetts last week to blockbuster numbers. The two dispensaries, located in Leicester and Northampton sold over $2 million dollars of product in just five days. Black Friday was especially popular, with customers spending almost half a million dollars in one day. The state of Massachusetts gets $376,995 in tax revenue and the two dispensary locations will get $66,528 in local taxes from those five days. Not too shabby.
But the launch of legal weed hasn't been without problems. Neighbors of Cultivate, the Leicester dispensary held an emergency meeting Monday night to address the massive traffic jams created by weed seekers. Cultivate is averaging 1,000 customers a day and has pledged to add more parking spaces and additional employees.
Three new dispensaries are expected to open in Salem, Easthampton, and Wareham over the next couple of weeks. Salem's opening will be interesting to watch as it will be the closest dispensary to Boston. Some cities and towns in the state (including the city of Peabody, where I live) have banned recreational sales. But I have a feeling that sweet, sweet tax revenue will become impossible to resist.
Massachusetts’ Pot Industry Is off to a $2.2 Million Start (Spencer Buell/Boston Magazine)(Image: MarijuanaStox.com)
