GREENFIELD — Patriot Care, the first medical marijuana dispensary to open in Franklin County, has begun serving patients on Legion Avenue after three years of preparation and delays.
The facility held its grand opening Monday, although patients with medical marijuana cards have been able to access the shop’s products since last week. For now, the store is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, but an employee of the store said that those hours are subject to change.
“We wanted to make a place where people would feel safe and comfortable. It’s not intended to be a head shop,” said Bob Mayerson, Patriot Care CEO. “A lot of people who come to use have never had marijuana in their life, so having a place where they feel comfortable coming in is really important.”
While the moratorium on the sale of recreational marijuana expires June 30, operators of the Greenfield dispensary — which now only offers medical marijuana — are unsure if the store will expand its offerings this summer.
“We’ve been told by a number of people that they would rather not register with a program because it is costly and it takes time, but they do need access to medicine,” said Nicholas Vita, CEO of Patriot Care’s parent company Columbia Care. “So this is just another opportunity for people to access a form of therapy that works very well for them, and basically eliminates any need to use the black market.”
David Catanzano, Patriot Care’s director of operations for Massachusetts, said that the store may not pursue a license to sell for recreational use when the moratorium ends in July, but may expand its offerings later.
Recreational sale “could go off gangbusters or it could just muddle along,” Catanzano said. “We have to make sure that we have enough product to take care of our existing patients before we venture down that road.”
City officials are currently working on an ordinance regulating recreational marijuana sales, which is expected to be completed before the moratorium ends July 1.
Those without medical marijuana cards were not allowed into the facility last week. This included the press. Security staff were at the front of the building greeting patients and checking both medical marijuana cards and state IDs before consumers were allowed in.
Medical marijuana patients are offered a number of pot-based products, including edibles, salves, tinctures and traditional forms of loose and pre-rolled marijuana.
The opening Monday featured a ribbon-cutting in the morning. Sales started at noon. Local and state officials, including Mayor William Martin, were present.
Martin said that Greenfield has historically provided amenities and services for nearby hill towns, and that a marijuana dispensary in Greenfield is consistent with that role as the county seat.
He also commented on Patriot Care’s repurposing of the former American Legion hall.
“This is in keeping with what happens to buildings in Greenfield,” Martin said. “They get repurposed, reused, preserved, and we have the same things that were here 125 years ago.”