Blackstone’s first cannabis shop opens for business

2/10/2021

BLACKSTONE – Blackstone’s first retail cannabis shop has officially opened its doors at 1 Lloyd St., and employees say they’re anticipating a busy first few weeks as customers rush to check out the new store.

DDM Cannabis, located approximately behind the Bellingham Stop & Shop, held a soft opening last Friday, Feb. 5, with a larger grand opening planned for this week. Owner Victor Patel said customers have been knocking on the doors to find out when the store would open.

“We’re getting calls also. Lots of inquiry on when we are opening,” he told The Valley Breeze last week.

The opening follows a three-year process that started in 2018 when Patel approached town officials about opening a retail cannabis dispensary in the former Diamond Overhead Door building near the Bellingham line. Blackstone town ordinance allows retail cannabis stores provided they pay a community impact fee and secure a host community agreement with the town. DDM Cannabis’s host community agreement calls for a 3 percent community impact fee in addition to 2 percent of gross sales dedicated to infrastructure and public safety improvements in the surrounding neighborhood.

After securing the agreement in 2019, the company went through a lengthy state licensing process overseen by the Cannabis Control Commission. According to attorney Chris Ryan, the CCC has oversight of everything from security cameras to the packaging on the products sold. The business passed its final inspection by state regulators in January.

“No one under 21 is allowed in, even if they’re law enforcement,” Ryan said.

Visitors to the property have to first enter through a set of double doors where they’ll show a government-issued ID. For the moment, the check-in process also includes a temperature check before customers are allowed in to the general floor. The property is dotted with 31 security cameras directly accessible by the CCC, a security measure that can also be shared with Blackstone police by request, according to Ryan.

Once inside, customers will find materials about the available products. According to General Manager Mark Mandracchia Jr., the business isn’t targeting one specific demographic but is hoping to reach a wide range of customers. While the license allows for recreational sales, Mandracchia said he expects some customers may come seeking cannabis for back pain or lack of sleep.

“We have everything from edibles, concentrates, just regular flowers, pre-rolls. We’ll have salves and ointments or topicals,” he said. “We carry just about every product that’s legal in Massachusetts for us to carry.”

Mandracchia’s own path to the cannabis industry came about after several years working at his family’s restaurant. A Danvers, Mass., native, he was involved with cannabis consulting before Patel hired him to manage the dispensary full-time.

Patel, a resident of Wrentham, Mass., also saw opportunity in the burgeoning cannabis industry as Massachusetts towns move to jump on the new source of income. Patel said he owns several liquor stores around Massachusetts and has plans to expand further into cannabis. While this is his first retail dispensary, he hopes to open more in the area and also plans to apply for a manufacturing license at the Lloyd Street facility. The license would allow the business to package cannabis grown for retail sale, but not grow it.

While it’s not required, Mandracchia said they’re encouraging customers to order online in advance, partly due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions. Customers pay and pick up at two separate stations before exiting through a different door from where they came in. They’re also offering curbside pickup, a process Ryan said has already been cleared with local police.

About 800 feet from the business’s front door is Rhode Island, where lawmakers are still debating whether to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021. Ryan said the business can’t comment on what happens to the product after it leaves their premises. Employees, he said, aren’t allowed to inquire where a customer is going with their purchase.

“We can sell to residents of any state who have proper ID. We don’t know what they do with that after they leave here,” he said.

Ryan said the business has to follow strict security measures, all of them approved by the state. Deliveries are made via a rear door leading to a 450-square-foot vault. The vault also serves as a storage area where excess product is stored at the end of the night.

Employees, currently 12 of them, have to go through a licensing process with the CCC. Patel said about half the employees are Blackstone residents. He plans to hire up to 25 employees in the future.

DDM Cannabis is the first retail cannabis business to open in Blackstone since Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016. Two other businesses, a Main Street facility proposed by Family Grocer owner Gurpreet Kalra and Green Choice Dispensaries, a combined dispensary/cultivation facility behind Casa Burrito, are both currently in the approval process. Kalra told The Breeze on Monday he is nearing the end of the process and will have more information on opening soon. According to attorney Charles Reid, Green Choice Dispensaries is still negotiating their host community agreement with the town.

DDM Cannabis’s current hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Customers can pre-order or schedule an appointment to speak with a budtender online at www.ddmcannabis.com.