Western Mass. town is getting its 7th cannabis dispensary, so a Boston Globe reporter smokes through 'em all

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, population 7,000, is about to open its seventh marijuana dispensary. Why? Boston Globe reporter Billy Baker spent a day "smoking his way through town" to answer the question, "How did this happen?"

Theory Wellness was Baker's first stop. "The lot at Theory was packed with plates from New York and Connecticut, each just down the road from this southwest corner of Massachusetts," Baker writes. "Neither neighbor has recreational stores (yet), and that is the central plot line here — a geographic opportunity, coupled with voters who have resisted restrictions and essentially said, 'Let ‘em duke it out,' that has turned this small town into the pot capital of America."

Illustration by Greg Klee, Adobe Stock

There are other stops on the main federal highway in the Berkshires: "All of them are on a single road, Route 7, though there are calls (namely from me) to change its name to Route 420," Baker writes. After his stop at Theory where the budtender "rattled on for a few moments about the strand’s progeny like a stanky sommelier," Baker stopped into The Pass where joints were "actually called joints."

Next up, a visit to Rebelle, "the third recreational dispensary to open. I don’t really remember much from that, and soon my driver parked the car downtown as it was decided I should just walk to the next three alone. Which was cool. Totally cool. All good. Because Great Barrington is like super cute," Baker writes. Another shop, Farnsworth, "is owned by three siblings who are descendants of Philo Farnsworth, the 20th-century inventor who did pioneering work in the development of radio and television."

Great Barrington
(Wikipedia map)

Finally, after all the shopping and smoking and "trying to explain the point of my pointless excursion, which in that moment could be summarized with a single word: Why? Why did this cute little town allow this to happen?" Baker asks/ "Maybe the whole point is to suck up as much money as they can before New York and Connecticut open their dispensaries and a huge chunk of that cash disappears."

Baker goes on, "As I was now proving, too much weed can make you anxious and depressed, and I was at my saddest as I walked back across town to the most ridiculous sight: an actual castle with an oversized 'Dispensary' sign on the lawn. . . and I happily resisted an employee who invited me to sit on a throne, next to a suit of armor, and take a selfie."