Watch CBS News

Massachusetts Is One Step Closer To Opening Recreational Pot Shops

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts marijuana regulators have issued final licenses to operators planning to open the state's first commercial pot shops.

The Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday voted to issue the licenses to Cultivate Holdings in Leicester and New England Treatment Access in Northampton. Both companies operate medical marijuana dispensaries in those locations and had earlier been granted provisional licenses by the commission to sell recreational marijuana.

It will likely be a few more weeks before either pot shop can open, as there are several procedural steps that must still occur before regulators give permission to begin operations.

Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana for adults in November 2016, but nearly two years later there is still no place in the state to legally purchase the drug.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.