medical dispensaries

A helpful guide to recreational & medical dispensaries in Massachusetts

Cannabis is your leafy road towards a place where bliss resides in abundance. Once the effects occur, you find yourself in a dream with the supreme consciousness, aware of your surroundings but transcended from it completely. It is the answer to people suffering from high blood pressure, inflammation, and anxiety. In Massachusetts, sales of adult-use cannabis crossed an impressive 2 billion USD$ in 2021, increasing by five times when the state first legalized it in 2018. Suppose you are an enthusiastic cannabis user searching for recreational and medical dispensaries in Massachusetts. In that case, you should be aware of a few details to make your buying experience pleasant and hassle-free. 

What is a recreational and medical dispensaries?

A recreational dispensary refers to a retail store specializing in various cannabis products and items. Recreational marijuana is meant for personal enjoyment, relaxation, and experimentation rather than medical use or as a product prescribed by doctors. These dispensaries consist of cannabis-related items, including buds, edibles, vapes, CBD oils, and even chocolates. 

Items sold in Massachusetts dispensaries

In most retail stores across Massachusetts, including Boston (the capital city), you will find various flower strains such as Indica and Sativa and substrains like jet fuel and lava cake in abundance because they are the most sought-after product by cannabis users. However, most individuals belonging to Generation X and boomer generations prefer edibles rather than other forms like concentrates. 

An edible in the form of a chocolate bar was the first item that a dispensary sold to Northampton’s mayor, David Narkewicz, in November 2018, after the legalization of cannabis. 

What if you have limited experience with products?

Many people are new to cannabis use, but that is not a reason to avoid visiting a recreational dispensary. Even if you are not aware of various cannabis products, you will receive expert help from staff known as budtenders. They will inform you regarding the products in-store, understand your requirements and finally, help you make a choice. Under the Cannabis Control Commission Section 500.140, Chapter 6, titled Consumer Education, marijuana retailers must provide basic information about various products. The law also requires them to have sufficient educational materials for the purpose in the commonly spoken languages, including those who are specially abled. 

Can you sample the products before using them?

Most of the dispensaries in Massachusetts prohibit customers from touching or smelling the product directly by themselves or opening the bottle’s seal to try them. However, you can ask the budtenders to let you inspect some samples or a flower, edibles, pre-rolled joints, or whatever it is that you are looking to buy. 

Difference between recreational and medicinal dispensaries 

Recreational and medicinal dispensaries are primarily the same in the infrastructure or features of the store, for all dispensaries work according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Cannabis Control Commission. The difference lies in the type of cannabis sold by the dispensary for purely medicinal purposes. Medical marijuana treats like appetite loss, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, nausea, muscle spasms, wasting syndrome, seizure, eating disorders, and nausea. Even though the product is essentially the same, it has a high concentration of CBD (cannabidiol) and a low concentration of THC (the psychoactive compound that provides a high sensation in users). 

Can I use medical marijuana in Massachusetts?

You can visit a medical dispensary and buy the kind of marijuana your physician has prescribed. You should be 21 years of age to purchase any product and carry a Medical Registration Card. The law also makes it incumbent for doctors to inform their patients about the side effects, dosage amount, and necessary information. The Cannabis Control Commission in Massachusetts also prohibits marijuana retailers from selling more than an ounce of cannabis to a customer in a day. In contrast, topicals and ointments have no sales limits. 

While visiting looking for recreational and medical dispensaries in Massachusetts, you ought to know these things. Whether you buy marijuana for recreational or medical purposes and consume it as an edible or smoke, you will receive plenty of mental and physical benefits.