STORY BY JIM KINNEY PHOTO BY DON TREEGER
YEAR
IN REVIEW
and the Road Ahead
W
hen the state’s first legal, adult use marijuana dispensaries opened back in November 2018, the challenge was managing the long lines. Now, after three years of legal operation and five years after voters approved a referendum legalizing cannabis for recreational use, the challenge is more about standing out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Marijuana, the state Cannabis Control Commission said earlier in 2021, is a $1 billion-a-year business in Massachusetts. Packaging is important, said Matt Yee, CEO of Enlite Cannabis Dispensary, last month when he opened Enlite’s first location. The store, once Webster’s 26
CANNABISREVIEWQUARTERLY.COM
Fishhook restaurant, at 391 Damon Road, appealed to him because of its convenient location, another factor that didn’t enter into the calculation three years ago. But Yee, part of the restaurant-running Yee family, said location, customer service, marketing, packaging, all matter
now that marijuana business in Massachusetts has matured. Competitor 253 Farmacy in the Turners Falls section of Montague even touts kosher products, marijuana made under the supervision of a Texas rabbi who’s made a national name for himself accepting the industry.
...location, customer service, marketing, packaging, all matter now that marijuana business in Massachusetts has matured.
