The Cannabis Control Commission on Monday will vote on whether Cultivate Holdings in Leicester will be the first company allowed to sell recreational cannabis products to anyone over the age of 21. Cultivate has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary in the town since late 2017.

But even if the provisional license is approved by the commission next week, it may still be weeks or even months before the first retail cannabis purchase is made. (Legal sales could begin as early as Sunday.)
Investigators from the Cannabis Control Commission will need to inspect the store, located in a former tool and die building off of Route 9. And the owners must arrange to have their fingerprints taken, and compared with prints on a national criminal database.
Cultivate Holding’s president, Sam Barber, seemed surprised his company is first up for a retail license.

“It’s a pretty exciting time,” he said. “We’ve been kind of lining up everything and felt good about it but I was not expecting to get that call this morning.”

Once it has a license in hand, Cultivate — and all retail marijuana businesses — still have to deal with supply chain and inventory issues. Under the existing Department of Public Health regulations that govern the medical marijuana program, Cultivate is allowed to grow cannabis for its patients in the same building as its dispensary.