Some have hoped Gov. Charlie Baker would reconsider classifying recreational marijuana shops as non-essential. Some pot shop owners say they have customers who use adult-use marijuana to treat severe anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. But Baker dampened those hopes Tuesday when said classifying recreational pot shops as "essential" would create problems for the state.
"If we make recreational marijuana available, we are going to have to deal with the fact that people are going to come here from all over the place, across the northeast and create issues for us with respect to the fundamental issue we are trying to solve for here — which is to stop the spread," Baker said at a press conference Tuesday. "And for that reason and that reason alone, I think this is just a non-starter with us."
Other states have deemed recreational marijuana businesses as essential during the coronavirus pandemic — and have seen marijuana sales boom.
Like other businesses, the forced closures have been tough for the Masschusetts' burgeoning recreational marijuana industry. Boston's first pot shop, Pure Oasis, had to close down just two weeks after opening. The long-awaited minority-owned store was also the state's first economic empowerment business to open — a major milestone for the CCC, which is required to ensure the new industry is diverse.

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