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First Retail License Awarded To Marijuana Company In Mass., Though Sales Still Weeks Away

A marijuana dispensary in central Massachusetts is a step closer to becoming the first retail cannabis store in the state, though it'll still be a few weeks — or longer — before it could, if fully approved, open for recreational sales.

The Cannabis Control Commission Monday awarded a provisional retail license to Cultivate Holdings in Leicester.

The owners of Cultivate still need their fingerprints taken and checked against a criminal database, and their store needs to be inspected by commission staff.

Cultivate's president, Sam Barber, says he's excited to be the first retail dispensary to receive a provisional license.

"We all feel it's going to be tremendous for the Commonwealth," he said. "The amount of jobs this is going to create for the local community, especially our town, and the amount of tax revenue is going to be a huge help and I think our local town has seen that."

It may still be a while before any store can open to the general public, since no independent laboratory has been licensed by the commission. By law, all cannabis sold must be tested by an independent lab. The commission says it hopes to have a lab licensed as soon as possible.

State regulators have already awarded a provisional license to Sira Naturals in Milford to grow cannabis for the recreational market.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. 

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Steve Brown Senior Reporter/Anchor
Steve Brown is a veteran broadcast journalist who serves as WBUR's senior State House reporter.

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