Ahead of this week’s history-making blizzard, people rushed to stock up on all the essentials: groceries, flashlights, shovels — and, for some, weed.
Several dispensaries told The Boston Globe that sales skyrocketed ahead of Monday’s storm, just as they did in January. On each of the two days prior to January’s snowstorm, state data showed, pot sales across Massachusetts eclipsed those of last year’s 4/20 holiday — one of the most revenue-rich days for cannabis sellers — by more than $2 million.
Easthampton’s The Verb is Herb was packed all weekend, said Karen Croisetiere, who checks customers’ IDs at the door there. Some hopped the border from Connecticut to grab their snow day essentials as late as 8 p.m. on Sunday night, she added — hours after Governor Maura Healey issued a statewide state of emergency and restricted nonessential vehicle travel in some counties.
“Our customers are pretty rabid,” the 63-year-old Croisetiere said. “People need their weed.”
Julian Williams, a budtender at Comm Ave Canna in Brookline said Sunday was “absolutely slammed,” and the busiest he had ever seen the store in his month working there, including late January’s snowstorm, which until this week was the largest New England had seen in years.
At Pure Oasis, with stores in downtown Boston and Dorchester, sales were up between 20 to 25 percent over the weekend as forecasts predicted apocalyptic conditions, according to co-owner Kobie Evans.
Even as feet of snowfall, a blizzard, and lashing winds took hold on Monday, some cannabis consumers were willing to brave the elements in search of extra supplies.
Croisetiere, who lives just a few blocks from The Verb in Easthampton, had her son give her a lift into work, where she worked the door from around 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, aided by two electric heaters.
“We had so many new customers,” Croisetiere said, as many other dispensaries remained shuttered. According to Verb owner Bill Hartley, sales were slightly above an average weekend, notably on Saturday with a 10 to 15 percent bump.
“[Customers] do seem to want to make sure they have something for when they’re snuggled away,” Hartely said.
If last month is any indication, incoming snow might be one of the biggest off-season boons for an industry whose revenue soars highest during spring and summer months.
According to the Cannabis Control Commission, in the two days preceding the late January storm, Massachusetts shops netted $7.1 million and $6.9 million respectively. For comparison, in May 2025, one of the highest selling months of last year according to state data, an average day’s takeaway was $4.57 million, or more than 30 percent less.
Marie Fonseca, operations director at Great Barrington Dispensary, said that the day before a monster storm hit on Jan. 25, customer demand “rocked our world,” setting record store sales. Last weekend didn’t match for her store, but the dispensary also closed as blizzard conditions set in, she said.
Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.