Two current medical marijuana dispensaries, Mission MA and The Botanist, are one step closer to opening their doors to the recreational market in Worcester after gaining local approvals this week.
Mission MA, already open for medical use on Lincoln Street, received a Worcester Planning Board special permit Wednesday to operate the store as a recreational cannabis retail shop and to convert the existing cultivation and manufacturing facility for use in the recreational industry.
Joshue Lee Smith, an attorney from Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, said the use essentially requires no change to existing operations other than point-of-sale functions and securing more parking spaces.
On Thursday, The Botanist, a medical dispensary on Pullman Street, received a license from the Worceser License Commission for adult-use cannabis sales.
Unlike Good Chemistry, Worcester’s first medical and adult-use dispensary to open, the commission required no excessive security or crowd control plans.
Good Chemistry opened for recreational sales in the Canal District in early May without incident, leading to city officials allowing the company to operate without additional police details or security guards.
The Botanist’s location in an industrial/commercial area with more than 40 parking spaces added to the commission’s comfortability with the plan.
Both companies are still waiting for state approval from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.
