The City Council meets on Oct. 6 to discuss extending the city’s operating time frames for cannabis dispensaries.
Photo credit: Holyoke Media
HOLYOKE — Retail cannabis dispensaries in Holyoke can now extend their store hours thanks to a new pilot program the City Council approved at its Oct. 6 meeting.
The Ordinance Committee favorably referred the order, which establishes operating time frames for cannabis dispensaries, to the full City Council.
City Councilor Meg Magrath-Smith, who chairs the Ordinance Committee, explained that the proposed ordinance followed a request from local dispensary Dazed Cannabis for extended hours.
The program will run from its passage on Oct. 6 until Jan. 31 unless the Council takes further action. The ordinance allows a cannabis dispensary to open two hours earlier, 6 a.m., and stay open three hours later, until 2 a.m., upon notification by the licensee to the City Clerk, Holyoke Police Department and the Holyoke Board of Health.
Magrath-Smith said the subcommittee heard from multiple cannabis companies, some of which wanted to see the extension while others did not.
“There’s different opinions from different cannabis businesses, but I think what the Ordinance Committee was looking to do was support a pilot and then see what happens,” Magrath-Smith said. “The idea would be that we would then look at the data in January, get a sense of do we want this to lapse or do we want this to continue and become a part of our regular ordinances.”
She urged the committee or council to set up a follow-up order to establish metrics on whether the city should move forward with the extension permanently. Specifically, she hopes the council can study the effects of this new framework on police calls and abutter safety over the coming weeks.
City Councilor Israel Rivera said he agreed with the pilot program and also stated it was important to track the data while the program runs so the city can make an informed decision about its efficacy.
Rivera and Magrath-Smith will follow up with an order to require data-based metrics at the beginning of next year.
Dazed co-owner Rich Rainone praised the City Council in a press release for taking a thoughtful approach that lets the city evaluate expanded hours based on real experience and data.
“Holyoke has once again demonstrated that it is willing to lead rather than follow when it comes to the cannabis industry,” Rainone stated. “This is a mature, highly regulated industry made up of experienced local operators who have invested in this city, created jobs and worked hard to be good neighbors. The Council deserves a tremendous amount of credit for recognizing that and giving businesses the opportunity to prove that expanded hours can work safely and responsibly.”
He said the change is particularly important for a city and region with thousands of residents who work nontraditional schedules. Opening at 6 a.m. and remaining open until 2 a.m. will allow Dazed to better serve first-shift workers heading to work, second- and third-shift employees finishing their workdays, hospitality and service-industry employees, and other adults whose schedules do not fit neatly within traditional retail hours, Rainone said.
“This is really about meeting customers where they are,” said Dazed co-owner Chris Vianello. “Not everyone works nine to five. Western Massachusetts has healthcare workers, public safety personnel, manufacturing employees, hospitality workers and many others working first, second and third shifts. There is no reason a responsible adult working an unconventional schedule should have fewer legal retail options simply because of when their workday begins or ends.”
Dazed’s Holyoke location has begun operating under the city’s new pilot program from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
