Some are leaving the market entirely. Others are finding creative ways to streamline operations. Most are struggling to stay alive.
Since the first cannabis companies opened in Massachusetts in 2018, owners have been talking about the unique struggles of the state-regulated industry. But only recently have the full effects of those challenges come into focus.
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According to data from the Cannabis Control Commission, 16 licenses granted to businesses since 2018 have been surrendered, revoked or haven’t been renewed. In some cases, the businesses closed entirely, although in many cases, businesses hold multiple licenses and have opted to drop one to streamline operations.
However, that list of 16 doesn’t encompass all of the businesses that have closed. For instance, Trulieve announced this past summer it would close all of its Massachusetts operations — including three dispensaries in Framingham, Worcester and Northampton — by June 30. According to the CCC’s data, however, Trulieve’s licenses remain active as of Oct. 17.
There have also been some changes in ownership that aren’t captured by the loss-of-license data, where companies have named a new CEO, taken on a new equity owner or undergone a merger, acquisition or restructuring. In March, for example, the Massachusetts cannabis industry saw its first receivership, when Ermont Inc.'s assets were sold to MariMed, a publicly traded cannabis company based in Norwood.
In total, between January 2019 and August 2023, the CCC approved 321 changes of license ownership, according to a commission spokesperson. The data is tracked based on the people and entities that control the license rather than the business transactions themselves.
Then there are also businesses that gave up a license in order to tighten operations. Tim McNamara, the president and general counsel for Holistic Health Group, said his company previously had two cultivation license, a medical one and a recreational one. Cultivation licenses allow the company to grow up to 100,000 square feet of cannabis, manufacture products and sell them to patents. They also cost $50,000 a year, according to McNamara.
