burnin1
Well-Known Member
From The Press Herald
Fuel up on gas and grass at Maine’s first medical marijuana convenience store
Although state lawmakers have focused on the dangers of mixing cannabis use and driving, Portland city officials don’t see any unique concerns with combining the sale of gas and cannabis at the same location, as Atlantic Farms will be doing. Staff photo by Brianna Soukup
The Atlantic Farms business on Warren Avenue in Portland opens Thursday as new regulations take effect across the state, but bring your medical card and government-issued ID.
By Penelope OvertonPress Herald
What is believed to be Maine’s first marijuana convenience store, one of only a handful in operation in the country, will open Thursday in Portland.
At 10 a.m., Atlantic Farms Gas N’ Grass will start selling cannabis-infused gummies, tinctures and smokable marijuana to those fueling up at the former Getty Mart at 460 Warren Ave. on the first day that Maine’s new, sweeping medical marijuana law takes effect. The reforms passed by lawmakers over a gubernatorial veto in July changed a host of standards for growing and selling medical marijuana.
At Gas N’ Grass, adults with a medical card and government-issued identification will be able to buy marijuana products from a renovated walk-in cooler inside the convenience store, with different strains of cannabis selling for $5 to $15 a gram and concentrates selling for $20 to $40 a gram. Anyone can buy the non-intoxicating hemp products, traditional convenience store soda and snacks, and, of course, the self-serve, pay-at-the-pump gas.
Jackson McLeod of Portland, a caregiver and the public face of the four-person partnership behind Gas N’ Grass, hopes to educate those who gas up at the Warren Avenue location about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and hemp.
The station gets about 250 gas customers a day. It was selling regular unleaded for $2.29 a gallon Wednesday, making it one of Portland’s cheapest fill-ups. McLeod believes the setting will take a lot of the stigma and hassle out of buying cannabis.
“We offer a rotating menu of the best cannabis products from the best caregivers in Maine with the convenience of, well, a convenience store,” he said.
McLeod, a former lettuce farmer, likens the business model to a farmers market for cannabis, where consumers can easily browse products from a range of local caregivers at different price ranges. He plans to make the most of the part of the new law that allows a caregiver to buy some products from other caregivers, giving customers a diversity of offerings in a one-stop shopping experience and caregivers the chance to develop a following of their own.
The idea of the Gas N’ Grass was born about six months ago as Maine lawmakers debated the merits of reforming the medical cannabis law to give caregivers like McLeod the freedom to grow their businesses. Under the new law, caregivers can do things such as hire more than one employee and open medical marijuana shops, something many already had been doing without the explicit blessing of the state.
This news article is too long to post. ~ Burnin1
Read the full story here:
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12...es-first-medical-marijuana-convenience-store/
Fuel up on gas and grass at Maine’s first medical marijuana convenience store
Although state lawmakers have focused on the dangers of mixing cannabis use and driving, Portland city officials don’t see any unique concerns with combining the sale of gas and cannabis at the same location, as Atlantic Farms will be doing. Staff photo by Brianna Soukup
The Atlantic Farms business on Warren Avenue in Portland opens Thursday as new regulations take effect across the state, but bring your medical card and government-issued ID.
By Penelope OvertonPress Herald
What is believed to be Maine’s first marijuana convenience store, one of only a handful in operation in the country, will open Thursday in Portland.
At 10 a.m., Atlantic Farms Gas N’ Grass will start selling cannabis-infused gummies, tinctures and smokable marijuana to those fueling up at the former Getty Mart at 460 Warren Ave. on the first day that Maine’s new, sweeping medical marijuana law takes effect. The reforms passed by lawmakers over a gubernatorial veto in July changed a host of standards for growing and selling medical marijuana.
At Gas N’ Grass, adults with a medical card and government-issued identification will be able to buy marijuana products from a renovated walk-in cooler inside the convenience store, with different strains of cannabis selling for $5 to $15 a gram and concentrates selling for $20 to $40 a gram. Anyone can buy the non-intoxicating hemp products, traditional convenience store soda and snacks, and, of course, the self-serve, pay-at-the-pump gas.
Jackson McLeod of Portland, a caregiver and the public face of the four-person partnership behind Gas N’ Grass, hopes to educate those who gas up at the Warren Avenue location about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and hemp.
The station gets about 250 gas customers a day. It was selling regular unleaded for $2.29 a gallon Wednesday, making it one of Portland’s cheapest fill-ups. McLeod believes the setting will take a lot of the stigma and hassle out of buying cannabis.
“We offer a rotating menu of the best cannabis products from the best caregivers in Maine with the convenience of, well, a convenience store,” he said.
McLeod, a former lettuce farmer, likens the business model to a farmers market for cannabis, where consumers can easily browse products from a range of local caregivers at different price ranges. He plans to make the most of the part of the new law that allows a caregiver to buy some products from other caregivers, giving customers a diversity of offerings in a one-stop shopping experience and caregivers the chance to develop a following of their own.
The idea of the Gas N’ Grass was born about six months ago as Maine lawmakers debated the merits of reforming the medical cannabis law to give caregivers like McLeod the freedom to grow their businesses. Under the new law, caregivers can do things such as hire more than one employee and open medical marijuana shops, something many already had been doing without the explicit blessing of the state.
This news article is too long to post. ~ Burnin1
Read the full story here:
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12...es-first-medical-marijuana-convenience-store/
