Boston's First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens Its Doors

BOSTON, MA — Boston's first medical marijuana dispensary opened Wednesday behind an inconspicuous storefront under an unassuming green awning tucked away just blocks from the state Capitol.

The 21 Milk St. location is the second in Massachusetts for Patriot Care Corp., which also has a store in Lowell. It's the seventh brick-and-mortar dispensary to open since the state's medical marijuana referendum passed in 2012, and Boston's first.

The space downtown feels antiseptically reminiscent of a doctor's office. And that, of course, is key to the professional image Patriot Care parent company Columbia Care LLC is trying to project in a still-new industry.

"Being the first dispensary permitted to open in the City of Boston is a privilege for every member of our local and national organization. Our mission of improving lives is at the core of everything we do. Expanding access to this natural medicine will have the potential to improve the lives of thousands of patients and their families," Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vita said in a press release. "We are grateful for and humbled by the support we have received from patients, our neighbors, the City of Boston, the State of Massachusetts and stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth. Our organization is proud to provide access to the patients of Massachusetts and to be a community member of one of the most dynamic and historic cities in the United States."

Its products, which currently include leaf strains, edibles and concentrates, are grown and manufactured at Patriot Care's production facility in Lowell. Its Facebook page advertises ginger and peanut butter cookies infused with marijuana, as well as different featured strains, such as "sour kush."

Patriot Care hopes to open a third Massachusetts dispensary in Greenfield later this year.

>> Photos by Alison Bauter, Patch staff