CCC issues 100th marijuana license

Alex Premoli makes the first sale to a customer on the opening day of recreational marijuana sales at Theory Wellness in Great Barrington on Jan. 11.Stephanie Zollshan/The Berkshire Eagle via Associated Press

Marijuana regulators licensed the 100th recreational cannabis business in Massachusetts on Thursday and voted to move three retail stores closer to being allowed to open their doors.

Among the nine final licenses approved Thursday by the Cannabis Control Commission were approvals for Patriot Care Corp. to sell non-medical marijuana to adults in Greenfield and Lowell, and for Sanctuary Medicinals, LLC to sell non-medical marijuana in Gardner.

The stores are planned for 7 Legion Ave. in Greenfield, 70 Industrial Ave. East in Lowell and 16 Pearson Blvd. in Gardner.

So far, eight retail marijuana stores have begun selling to adults 21 or older, and one more has received approval to begin sales. The CCC expects four to eight more stores will open each month.

The commission on Thursday also authorized Patriot Care to grow up to 50,000 square feet of marijuana and to make marijuana-infused products at 170 Lincoln St. in Lowell, OK’ed Revolutionary Clinics II, Inc. to grow up to 70,000 square feet of marijuana and manufacture infused products at 1 Oak Hill Road Unit B in Fitchburg, and approved Sanctuary Medicinals to grow up to 40,000 square feet of marijuana and to make infused products at 234 Taylor St. in Littleton.

Going into Thursday’s meeting, the CCC had issued 99 licenses allowing all manner of cannabis commerce including cultivation, infused product manufacturing, retail sales, and laboratory testing. The CCC has also cleared 1,641 people to work in marijuana establishments.

Before voting on the nine final licenses, the commission met in a closed session for about 45 minutes to discuss the security plans for the retailers, an additional measure of scrutiny the CCC does not typically apply when considering final licenses. After resuming the public meeting, the commission adopted a motion of Commissioner Britte McBride to require that the licensees approved Thursday must notify the CCC “of any updates to written operations plans” and that the companies allow the CCC to inspect those plans on-site.