Somerset about to welcome its first recreational marijuana dispensary

SOMERSET — Look out, Fall River. A different SouthCoast town is about to open a marijuana dispensary.

Solar Therapeutics was granted final licensing by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission Thursday afternoon. The vote marks the company’s last regulatory hurdle before being allowed to open to the general public. The facility will mark the company’s first operational dispensary in Massachusetts and the first dispensary overall for Somerset.

The CCC’s decision came as a unanimous vote, with some pausing to praise the company’s proposal. Commissioner Kay Doyle singled out the dispensary’s reliance on alternative energy power, particularly solar power.

“I would just like to commend them for their attention to energy efficiency. That was very nice to see,” she said prior to voting.

Solar Therapeutics in 2018 signed the five-year host community agreement – which outlines municipal tax revenues and other payments – the company will provide Somerset. Since then, construction of the 1400 Brayton Point Road dispensary has been ongoing.

The New England Real Estate Journal reported Aug. 2 that Solar Therapeutics’ dispensary would be operational by “mid-August,” offering a variety of products including pre-rolls, edibles, cannabis flowers, buds, oils and tinctures. The company announced via Twitter July 24 that “opening day is coming up quick,” adding that there was “less than a month to go.”

The 70,000-square-foot facility underwent final inspections by the CCC June 13 and was found to be in full compliance with state and local regulations. Apart from retail sales, the site will also be used to cultivate and manufacture cannabis and cannabis-based products.

Early revenue estimates provided by Solar Therapeutics last year predicted that Somerset could make as much as $500,000 a year off the dispensary. Through the agreement, the company has agreed to pay the town 3% of its gross sales, as well as local taxes on real estate and property. Solar Therapeutics has also agreed to a local 3% tax on the sale of cannabis products.

Thus far, 27 final licenses have been granted by the CCC to businesses looking to conduct recreational marijuana sales. Of those, about one-third have not yet opened. The next closest operational dispensary to Solar Therapeutics, and the only one currently open locally, is Fall River’s Northeast Alternatives, which began recreational sales in January.

There are 13 pending applications to open dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses in Fall River. Two have begun medical sales with the intent to expand into a recreational market, but none of the other Fall River businesses have made it as far into the approval process as Solar Therapeutics.

Outside Fall River, the next closest dispensaries to Somerset are Wareham’s Verilife, approximately 31 miles away, and Uxbridge’s Caroline’s Cannabis, approximately 39 miles away.