Cannabis Control Commission approves 4 more retail pot shops in Massachusetts

BOSTON (WHDH) - The Cannabis Control Commission approved four more recreational pot shop locations in Massachusetts on Thursday.

Shops in Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Fall River, and Hudson were granted retail licenses to begin selling adult-use marijuana in the near future.

“I think the approach the commission has taken to rolling out recreational marijuana at the retail level has been measured and well done,” Gov. Charlie Baker said.

The state’s third retail location, Alternative Therapies Group in Salem, is slated to open on Saturday.

“Over the course of the next few months, we’re going to see dispensaries open all over the Commonwealth,” Baker added.

The first two legal pot shops on the East Coast, New England Treatment Access, in Northampton, and Cultivate Holdings, of Leicester, opened for business in November.

Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steve Hoffman said he expects dispensaries to open in and around Boston within the next few months.

“It’s going to probably pick up in 2019 as some of the moratoriums that are in place expire,” he said. “I think this is a good clip but I think it might get even more voluminous.”

The recent openings marked the end of a long wait for commercial sales in Massachusetts. The state’s voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana by adults 21 and older in 2016, but it’s taken more than two years for state legislators and regulators to reach the point where the first stores can finally open.

The target date for retail sales had been July 1.

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