Framingham has it's first recreational pot shop

The first pot shop has opened last week for recreational and medical sales. The company called Cultivate was one of the first stores to open in Leicester Mass along with North Hampton in 2018. You may remember hearing about the massive traffic jams out in Leicester.  So nearly 20 years since the first ballot question about marijuana in Town which was passed by 67% of the voters in 2000 has finally paid off. And even after the 2016 victory at the ballot box, we still waited until now to realize the outcome we had expected all along, regulating marijuana like alcohol, tax and regulate. 

The new company on Rte 9 has both medical and recreational sales, with the price for flower at 3 dollars cheaper per 1/8, then it's competitor Temescal on Rte 30. Cultivates recreational flower is .78 cents an 1/8 higher than Temescal. The new Cultivate store takes appointments as well as pre-order. Medical users have to register with them as well.

Notice, no Mayor cutting a ribbon, no City Council Chair or the councilor from the district that this store is in. And notice no one from EDIC or any other elected or appointed position. Given that this company will pay Framingham, 3% of their total sales, I would have thought someone from the City would welcome the store opening.

Check out their menus and notice you don't have to check of a box that says your 21, unlike the other stores.

https://www.cultivatemass.com/locations

 From MASSLive

https://www.masslive.com/marijuana/2020/06/cultivate-the-first-business-to-sell-recreational-marijuana-in-massachusetts-opens-dispensary-in-framingham-during-pandemic.html

One less ballot question: beer and wine sales in food stores

Cumberland Farms is dropping their efforts to put a question on Novembers ballot to allow food stores to sell beer and wine. There may be a silver lining in that small convenience stores like those in the Ham who are selling beer and wine may hold on to that business until 2022. Nothing wrong with the mom and pop shops getting their share of the business. From MASSTERlist

In normal times, this would have been top news. But these aren't normal times. SHNS’s Colin Young (pay wall) and the Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter report that Cumberland Farms, citing operational and time pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, is dropping its high-profile ballot initiative that called for expanding the number of food stores that can sell beer and wine in Massachusetts. Bottom line: The issue will not be on the fall ballot. Though the issue could be resurrected later.