Worcester: A Guide to New England's Cannabis Capital
Everything you need to know about the city's marijuana landscape
Looking for a comprehensive guide to everything cannabis-related in the city of Worcester? Look no further. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about every current and prospective cannabis business in the city.
This post will be updated on a monthly basis to reflect any new changes or information.
LATEST UPDATE: APRIL 2023
WORCESTER: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Worcester has 13 cannabis retail stores, more than any other city or town in Massachusetts except Boston. They range in size from small, locally-owned companies to some of the largest cannabis companies in the world.
Worcester County has more cannabis businesses than any other county in the state.
Worcester benefits a lot from the cannabis industry. The city’s estimated FY2023 revenue from its local cannabis retail tax is $1,500,000 — a 114% increase over FY2022 (This figure does not include revenue obtained from Community Host Agreements). The industry also employs hundreds of local residents.
Worcester is home to the state’s only private cannabis smoking lounge (more details in the Social Consumption/Networking section).
Worcester is also home to the headquarters of the Cannabis Control Commission — the state’s regulatory agency for the industry.
Table of Contents
You can see a more detailed, interactive google maps version of this map click here:
DISPENSARIES
Bud’s Goods and Provisions
64 West Boylston Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: October 2020
Ownership: Privately-held, locally owned. Bud’s is owned by Alexander Mazin, a resident of Worcester, and Nellie Israel, a NY-based banker.
Details: Bud’s has additional retail locations in Abington and Watertown.
The company has provisional licenses for cultivation facilities in Halifax (Tier 9 Outdoor) and Lakeville (Tier 3 Indoor), but currently relies on the wholesale market to fill their shelves. They do have some in-house brands through white labeling deals.
Know before you go:
🅿 Bud’s has their own parking lot with 15-20 spaces.
🚌 Closest bus stop is West Boylston St + Huntington Ave. You can get there via the #8, #30, or #31.
💲ATM on-site.
Cannabis of Worcester
56 Millbrook Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: April 2023
Ownership: Privately-held. This location was previously owned by Harvest Health and Recreation. When that company merged with Trulieve in 2021, the company got rid of the store to comply with state licensing limits, allowing Joseph Kachuroi and Patrick Murphy to acquire the license. Kachuroi formerly worked for Harvest, while Murphy has cannabis businesses in North Dakota.
Know before you go:
🅿 They seem to have about 20 parking spots available.
🚌 There doesn’t appear to be any bus stops within a 15 minute walk.
💲?
Clear Sky Cannabis
143 South West Cutoff | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: August 2021
Ownership: Privately-held, some local ownership. According to Worcester Telegram, Evergreen Strategies (the company that operates Clear Sky) is backed by 40 private investors, most of whom are reportedly MA residents. The Company’s current CEO is Anthony Parrinello, who previously served as an executive at Temescal Wellness and Milford Medicinals (now Sira/Ayr).
Clear Sky has additional retail locations in Belchertown and North Adams. They also have a provisional license for a cultivation/product manufacturing license in West Boylston. Their menu seems to have a variety of options from different wholesalers, with a lot of products from Ayr Wellness and Nova Farms.
Know before you go:
🅿 Clear Sky is in a fairly industrial area. They have their own lot, which should be sufficient. You might want to avoid turning left out of the store, this road can be a bit nuts.
🚌 The closest bus stop is Blithewood and Grafton (3 minute walk, served by the #5 bus), but there’s no good way for pedestrians to access this store.
💲ATM on-site.
Cookies (aka New Dia)
118 Cambridge Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: March 2021 (as New Dia), August 2021 (as Cookies)
Ownership: Privately-held, locally owned. Cookies Worcester is owned by Ross Bradshaw, an Economic Empowerment Applicant. Originally opening under the name New Dia, the store re-opened in August 2021 under the Cookies Brand via a partnership. Bradshaw is currently working to open under a second location (under the New Dia brand) in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.
Details: The store carries a variety of Cookies and Lemonade strains produced under contract by CommCan, a locally owned cannabis company with a grow facility in Medway. The store also carries other local brands.
Know before you go:
🅿 Cookies shares a parking lot with a number of other stores in the plaza. Otherwise, street parking is probably your best bet, but be sure to read all signage.
🚌 You’ll want to get on the #8 bus and get off at Cambridge St + Exeter St.
💲???
Diem
74 Grafton Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: June 2020
Ownership: Privately-held, dual-state operator. Diem is operated by TDMA Holdings (more ownership information here).
Diem cannabis operates three retail locations in Oregon, where the business was originally founded. According to a Diem press release, they were “founded by executives with Silicon Valley and Wall Street experience.” They are currently led by CEO Chris Mitchem — a Washington State grad who previously worked at Stryker. Diem has previously expressed the intention of expanding into additional markets beyond MA and OR.
Details: Diem’s other Massachusetts retail location is in Lynn. Diem has also applied for a cultivation (Tier 2) and product manufacturing license in Orange. Their menu is currently all wholesale, and represents brands from across the state.
Know before you go:
🅿 Parking is very limited at this location. If you can’t find an open spot in their lot, your best bet is nearby street parking or the public lot on nearby Harding Street.
🚌 The closest stop is Grafton St + Franklin St (#1,#5,#12,#16), but it’s only about 1000 feet from Union Station’s bus hub and train station.
💲ATM on-site
Good Chemistry
9 Harrison Street | MEDICAL/ADULT USE
Opened: August 2018 (MED), May 2019 (REC)
Ownership: Privately-held, dual-state operator. Good Chemistry’s founder and CEO Matthew Huron started the business in 2010. Good Chem was started in Colorado; they’re currently operating one retail store in Aurora and three locations in Denver.
Details: Good Chemistry predominately sells their own flower products that they produce at a facility in Bellingham, and they also have an additional retail location in Lynn. You’re unlikely to see many non-GC flower options here, but they do some wholesale purchasing in other categories.
Know before you go:
🅿 Good Chemistry has a (very) small lot directly across the street. At one point this lot was limited to medical patients, but I’m not sure if this is still the case. Otherwise, your best bet is metered street parking or a nearby public lot on Water Street.
🚌 Green St + Harrison St is the closest stop, with the #4 and #11 buses making stops there. Good Chemistry is also a ½ mile walk from Union Station.
💲ATM on-site.
Major Bloom
76 Millbury Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: August 2021
Ownership: Privately-held, locally owned. Major Bloom is Worcester’s first Black-owned marijuana dispensary and is led by Ulysses Youngblood. Major Bloom also has a product manufacturing license, and a delivery courier license.
Details: Major Bloom’s menu has a bit of everything, including some of their in-house brands(check out the ‘House Products’ section of their menu). They usually have a large selection of pre-rolls and value brands.
Know before you go:
🅿 There’s street parking nearby, plus a public lot directly across the street.
🚌 The Millbury St + Lafayette St stop (served by the #4 bus) is two buildings away. It’s about ¾ of a mile to Union Station.
💲No ATM on-site, but there’s one in the liquor store next door.
Mayflower
645 Park Avenue | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: December 2020
Ownership: Privately held, basically a multi-state operator. It’s kind of hard to figure out who actually owns Mayflower (their website is no help). It seems to be iAnthus, although Gotham Green Partners also seem to have a lot of the ownership. Gotham is invested in a number of different cannabis brands around the country.
Details: Mayflower has their own brands, but they also carry items from the wholesale market.
Know before you go:
🅿 Mayflower shares a lot with a few neighboring businesses, but you should be able to find parking.
🚌 The #8 Bus will get you to Mayflower, get off at the Park Ave + Mill St stop.
💲ATM on-site.
Mission Worcester
640 Lincoln Street, Suite 200 | MEDICAL / ADULT USE
Opened: April 2019 (MED), September 2020 (REC)
Ownership: Publicly-traded, Multi-state operator. The parent company of Mission is 4Front (CSE:FFNT). Mission has six locations in three states (MA, IL, and MI), and 4Front brands are also available for consumers in WA and CA.
Details: Mission’s additional MA locations are in Georgetown and Brookline. Mission is vertically integrated, so you’ll find a lot of their own brands on their menu.
Know before you go:
🅿 There’s plenty of on-site parking.
🚌 The Lincoln St + 640 Lincoln St stop for the #16 bus stops right in front of Mission.
💲ATM on-site.
Resinate
1191 Millbury Street | MEDICAL / ADULT USE
Opened: March 2020 (MED), July 2020 (REC)
Ownership: Privately-held, locally owned? Founder and CEO Peter DeCaro is a Worcester native. 51% of Resinate is owned by Springfield Investment Group LLC, a MA-based venture capital firm.
Details: Resinate has an additional location in Northampton. They make their own branded products at their facility in Douglas.
Know before you go:
🅿 Resinate is on its own lot, with a bunch of on-site parking.
🚌 The closest stop is the Blackstone River Road stop (Bus #11), but it’s over ¾ of a mile away.
💲ATM on-site.
Sunnyside
1023 Southbridge Street | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: June 2021
Ownership: Publicly-traded, Multi-state operator. Originally opened under the name Cultivate, this location was purchased by Cresco Labs in late 2021.
In November 2021, it was announced that Cresco would be selling this retail license and other assets to Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The store will remain operating under the Sunnyside name until the deal with Diddy is finalized, at which point the store’s license, real estate, staff, and inventory will be transferred to his company.
Details: They have some wholesale options on their menu, but mostly offer a lot of their own Cresco lines.
Know before you go:
🅿 Sunnyside has their own lot with plenty of parking spots.
🚌 The Southbridge St + Hope Ave stop is a few steps away. Jump on the #29 or #42 bus to get there.
💲ATM on-site.
The Botanist
65 Pullman Street | MEDICAL / ADULT USE
Opened: January 2019 (MED), November 2020 (REC)
Ownership: Publicly-traded, Multi-state operator. The Botanist is a retail brand operated by Acreage Holdings (OTC:ACRHF), one of the largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the world. Former Speaker of the United States House John Boehner is among the company’s board members. The Botanist currently has dispensaries in five states.
Details: In addition to its Worcester location, The Botanist also has a location in nearby Shrewsbury. They are vertically integrated, so you’ll find a lot of their own brands on their menu.
Know before you go:
🅿 The Botanist has its own stand-alone parking lot, withplentyy of spaces.
🚌 The Botanist is served by the Mountain St West + Pullman St bus stop, where you can catch the #14 Bus, or the Pullman St + Pricechopper, which is served by #30 Bus.
💲 ATM on-site.
The Vault
17 Mountain Street East | ADULT USE ONLY
Opened: December 2021
Ownership: Privately-held, locally owned. The Vault is owned by Brian Munro, Dean Munro and Kevin Munro. The Munro brothers also operate Munro Distribution Company, a longtime local electrical supply company.
Details: The Vault has additional retail locations in Webster and Lakeville.
Know before you go:
🅿 The Vault has a parking lot that it shares with a neighboring business.
🚌 The Mountain St East + Burncoat St (Bus #31)is directly in front of the store.
💲 NO ATM on-site.
OTHER NEARBY RETAIL STORES
If you find yourself in the surrounding area, here’s some other retail stores you can check out.
NORTH OF THE CITY: Just over the border in West Boylston, there’s Harmony Cannabis and Campfire Cannabis. Further north in Clinton, there’s Society Cannabis and New England Harvest.
WEST OF THE CITY: In Leicester, you’ll find another Sunnyside location. This is where one of two of the first adult use transactions occurred, back when it was known as Cultivate. Other than that, that area of the state is a bit of a dispensary desert.
SOUTH OF THE CITY: Millbury hosts Plant Dispensary and Nature’s Remedy (owned by Jushi Holdings). A bit to the east, there’s Discern’d Cannabis in North Grafton.
EAST OF THE CITY: The Worcester suburb of Shrewsbury has an additional Botanist location (if you’re lucky, the Mama Roux food truck will be there), as well as a Verilife store. Further down Route 9, you can also find Commcan’s medical-only dispensary in Southborough.
CANNABIS DELIVERY IN WORCESTER
Cannabis delivery companies that currently include Worcester in their delivery area are listed below. Note that MA regulations prohibit delivery to places like hotels, college dorms, and other non-residential locations. You can find more details on delivery rules in MA here.
Major Bloom has a Delivery Courier license, which allows them to deliver products that can also be found on their storefront menu. Orders can be placed through their website:
KindRun has a Delivery Operator license, which allows them to order wholesale directly from manufacturers and then sell directly to consumers.
If you’re a medical patient, you can also get delivery from Resinate.
CULTIVATION/PRODUCT MANUFACTURING
There are currently four cultivation/product manufacturing companies active in Worcester:
Mission (owned by 4Front Ventures) runs a product manufacturing and Tier 1 cultivation facility that is adjacent to their Worcester retail store. The company owns two additional cultivation/production facilities in Georgetown and Holliston. Mission’s brands include Marmas, Left-Handed, Hi-Burst, and Legends.
Temescal Wellness operates a processing and Tier 2 cultivation facility on Route 20 near the Millbury line. The company has retail locations in Hudson, Framingham, and Pittsfield. Temsecal brands include Perch Harvest, VSPR, CORE Concentrates and IHP edibles.
Major Bloom has a product manufacturing license, which they use to make pre-rolls and edibles. Check out the “House Products” section of their online menu to see their current offering.
Supercritical Mass Laboratories, Inc. has a product manufacturing license in Worcester. They specialize in white label products and packaging; current/past clients include Sira and Cresco.
FUTURE BUSINESSES
The following is a list of prospective cannabis businesses in Worcester. More information on Worcester’s cannabis regulations can be found here.
Note that some of these companies may no longer be actively pursuing licensure.
Corner is a minority-owned retail store that plans to open in the Ivy Corset Building at 40 Jackson Street. They received local approval in January 2021 and have also applied for Delivery-Only Pre Certification with the Cannabis Control Commission. You can follow them on Instagram here.
Teddy’s Veggies (Product Manufacturing, Cultivation, Courier/Delivery)
Teddy’s Veggies is looking to use their legacy market experience to grow premium-quality cannabis out of a facility on Gold Street. They also possess a Delivery-Only Pre Certification from the Cannabis Control Commission.
Cannabakeri [d/b/a Puffin Penguin] (Product Manufacturing)
Cannabakeri is a woman-owned business seeking to make edibles and pre-rolls.
Green Army Laboratories (Independent Testing Laboratory)
GAL is a testing lab that is looking to open on West Boylston Street.
RC Cultivation (Cultivation, Product Manufacturing)
RC is a large Tier 11 cultivator (90,001 – 100,000 sq. ft.) and product manufacturer seeking a license at 30 Pullman Street.
Legacy Foundation Group (Independent Testing Laboratory)
Doing business as Legacy Labs, this testing lab is looking to open on Fremont Street.
Uproot [formerly known as Magic Dragon] (Microbusiness)
Uproot is a Microbusiness that is looking to specialize in flower and hand rolled cannabis cigars.
Cultivation Experts (Cultivation)
Cultivation Experts are applying to be a Tier 1 cultivator. The original applicants recently sold the building on Fremont Street.
Calyx Peak OF MA (Cultivation, Product Manufacturing)
Calyx Peak is a multi-state operator that owns the “Local Cannabis Company" brand of dispensaries.They intend to open a Tier 3 grow and product manufacturing site on Pullman Street. The company also has operations in California and Missouri.
Other Side Agronomy (Cultivation, Product Manufacturing)
Other side is a Tier 2 cultivation and product manufacturing company, to be located on Grafton Street.
Happy Flower (Microbusiness)
Happy Flower is looking to open up a cultivation and product manufacturing business at 41 Fremont Street, according to Worcester Business Journal.
WeeDeliver (Delivery)
WeeDeliver is a cannabis delivery company that is part of a larger plan to turn 640 Lincoln Street into a cannabis business hub.
Core Technologies (Cultivation, Product Manufacturing, Research)
Core Technologies is looking to turn 640 Lincoln Street into a cannabis business hub. They also appear to be seeking a delivery license at another location.
Irie Cannabis (Cultivation, Product Manufacturing)
Irie is a medical-focused cannabis company that is proposing a cultivation and product manufacturing facility at 24B Jolma Road. They are also planning a dispensary in Bellingham. They hosted their required community meeting in July 2021. They may be associated with Irie Bliss, a local CBD company.
Projekt Flower, LLC (Tier 4, Indoor)
Projekt Flower was recently awarded their provisional license. They are looking to open at 13 Hope Ave.
SOCIAL CONSUMPTION / NETWORKING
Summit Lounge
Located at 116 Water Street, the Summit Lounge is basically the only non-residential space in Massachusetts where you can legally consume cannabis. Summit’s origin story is fairly straightforward: they simply applied for a license to open a private smoking lounge and wisely neglected to tell the city what exactly people would be smoking. The City Manager at the time was none too pleased, but the Lounge has been an important part of Worcester’s cannabis scene ever since. Keep an eye on their instagram for details on operating hours and upcoming events.
Events
Annual cannabis events held in Worcester include:
The Harvest Cup (November)
Cultivators Cup (September)
Worcester Business Journal’s Business of Cannabis Forum
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