QUINCY ‒ The city’s second recreational cannabis store opened for business July 2 at the site of what was a medical-only establishment. Panacea Wellness on Ricciuti Drive received its dual-purpose license July 1 and began recreational sales the next day, a company spokesperson said.
Panacea Wellness, a subsidiary of multistate cannabis corporation MariMed Inc., acquired Ermont Inc. in February 2023 with plans to pursue an adult-use license and begin recreational sales. Those plans have now been fulfilled.
Inside Panacea Wellness, Quincy’s second recreational dispensary
The store at 216 Ricciuti Drive has undergone some interior changes to make it more accessible for recreational consumers. Panacea expanded the building with a new, 3,500-square-foot sales floor that is 3½ times larger than the original, according to MariMed Vice President of Retail Tim Rasmussen.
Medical and recreational customers enter the same space, though once inside they order from different kiosks and from different menus, said MariMed Chief Communications Officer Howard Schacter.
Medical marijuana still constitutes 90% of the shop’s business, Rasmussen said. He said he hopes recreational cannabis sales eventually make up three-quarters of total sales.
Quincy’s growing cannabis sector
Panacea follows Quincy Cannabis Co., which began recreational sales at the Fore River Bridge rotary in March 2023. Three more Quincy recreational dispensaries have since received special permits from the city’s zoning board of appeals but have yet to open, including Wildflower on Brook Road, Chill and Bliss on Quincy Avenue and Pinnacle Cannabis on Independence Avenue.
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MariMed’s brands include Betty’s Eddies fruit-flavored “chews,” Bubby’s Baked soft-baked goods, Nature’s Heritage flower, Vibations hydrating drink mix and more. Over 200 dispensaries in Massachusetts carry MariMed brands, according to the company website.
Who is MariMed Inc.
MariMed Inc. has stores and cultivation and processing plants in six U.S. states plus Puerto Rico, its website says.
Panacea Wellness locations previously opened in Middleboro in 2020 and Beverly in 2023, making the Quincy dispensary its third, the maximum any company is permitted to operate under Massachusetts law, according to MariMed’s website.
Like Quincy, the Middleboro location offers medical and recreational cannabis products. As of now, the Beverly site only offers recreational, but the company is pursuing a dual license there too, which would give MariMed the maximum number of licenses allowable under state law for both medical and recreational dispensaries, Schachter said.
In addition to the dispensaries, MariMed Inc. also runs a 70,000-square-foot cultivation and processing plant in New Bedford. The company plans to expand its operating space after a tenant occupying roughly half of the 150,000-square-foot building moved out, Schachter said.
Panacea Wellness will hold a ribbon cutting Thursday, July 11, at 9:30 a.m.
Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.
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