@Farid I've been meaning to write a review about all three dispensaries but haven't gotten around to it yet but I'll share some thoughts now. I have not used a caregiver because their minimum purchase requirements are more than I can generally shell out at one time so I can't compare that. If your caregiver is working for you I'm not sure you'd have any reason to go to a dispensary other than for the simple joy of walking into a store and being able to choose from a wide variety of product. Coming from prohibition this is a wonderful experience.
TL;DR: Three open dispensaries in Mass. NETA and IGH are nice with great products and staff, ATG sucks as dispensaries go but has good quality flowers.
Salem:
Alternate Therapies Group (ATG)
Sucks in so many ways. First, you have to make an appointment. I missed my appointment time by 15 minutes and had to wait 45 minutes until the next hour before they let me in. At least now it seems they have regular appointment times available on their website so you don't have to jump on them the second they are posted. But they are only open Tues, Wed, Thurs as far as I have ever seen (~10 am - 5:30 pm). Second, so far they have rarely had more than two strains at any given time. Also, they only sell flower in minimum of 1/8, no grams. In the two times I have been I have yet to buy any flower there since they have had nothing I was willing to commit to a full 1/8 without trying first to see if it worked for me (even vaping daily I use less than a gram a month). From other reviewers and what people in line there have told me the product is excellent. They have some pretty strict limits on how much you can buy but that seems to be standard for all dispensaries for now. For some reason ATG has chosen to be as non-transparent and un-customer friendly as possible. At least now they publish what strains they have on their website for flowers and vape pens. Unfortunately, even if you check right before leaving your house, they likely will not have what was listed by the time you get there. The facility itself is pretty dark and depressing (think Sweeny Todd meets a proctologists office). You can't see the product before you buy and they do not accept credit/debit cards. Somehow the other two dispensaries are able to do so (for a fee). In fact, to make matters worse, they have a cash machine in the waiting area which now has a big sign on it saying they can't let you use that. Most of the small staff seem like nice people but I don't get the same sense of passion/knowledge for their work like you get at the other two dispensaries. The only thing I have purchased here was a vape pen for $60 (no battery which would have been an extra $15/20). It is strain specific (White Rhino) which I like better than the pens in Maine which are "Sativa" vs. "Indica". However, like Maine, they are PEG-based which I am not a big fan of. The only reason I will ever go back to ATG is if they start offering edibles in sufficient quantities and reasonable pricing to make the trip worthwhile. But to be fair, if you can be happy with their limited selection (which may be better than your other options and certainly better than nothing) and their minimum/maximum purchase limits then there is probably no reason not to use ATG. However, in my opinion, unless they step up their game ATG is going to have a hard time staying in business once other dispensaries open in their area.
Brockton:
In Good Health (IGH)
Like ATG, IGH has had a spotty opening record but I think we can expect that from all new dispensaries as they come online. Part of it is getting the waivers from the state to be able to sell and part of it is the testing requirements. Right now they seem to be closed more days than open, and their hours are not consistent yet, but they are great when they are open. IGH's official communication on the website has gotten much better but was pretty bad early on. They have
one employee who posts on
Reddit and he provides a lot of useful information there. This location looks like what you'd think a dispensary should look like. It is bright, clean, has display cases for all their products and the staff are friendly and seem truly knowledgeable about their products. Unlike ATG you can pick up and smell the product before you buy. They already offer some edibles which ATG has yet to offer. I've tried their cookies (the ones in the display case looked a lot nicer than then ones that came home but they were very good). Other than my first visit to preregister before they were open (which took very little time) I went all the way down there twice to find they were either closed or the line was too long for me to wait. On my third visit (fourth time there including pre-register) I got in and bought the cookies and a gram of flower. This actually shows an advantage to the ATG appointment system. It is probably less likely you will show up to find ATG completely closed. Everyone in line there who purchased before had nothing but good things to say about the quality of the flowers. Unlike ATG, IGH provides several nice handouts about their products although their patient handbook is kind of weak. I'm not sure what, if any, maximum limits they put on purchase beyond the 4.23 oz. every 60 days required by the state.
Northhampton:
New England Treatment Access (NETA)
This is my favorite so far. It has the most luxurious and comfortable space. If only they'd let you consume there, I'd hang out all day. They publish a daily menu available at the dispensary but nothing on their website to help patients know what is available. They said they going to have a patient portal for registered patients where you could see the menu and prices but that is not up yet. Their handouts are the most informative and useful of the three dispensaries. Seems like for now at least they have close to 20 people working in the facility, I counted 12 behind the counter helping to serve patients. Everyone is very friendly and happy to answer any and all questions. They have an express line which I didn't use but I imagine it keeps any wait to a minimum. When I went the only wait I had was while one guy kept arguing with them at the door because his documentation was not up-to-date. I would have kicked his ass to the curb a lot quicker but they very patiently explained that unless his state docs were all in order he was not getting in. Like ATG and maybe IGH, NETA has limits on what you can buy, at least for edibles. They only allow 1 edible purchase of each type (1 nugget, 1 lozenge, 1 chocolate bar, etc) which bummed me out because what I really wanted was to get a few of each. I've only tried the capsules so far but they worked very well for me. I did not get a vape pen from NETA because I still have two others at the moment, but their vape pen uses coconut oil instead of PEG and are strain specific so I look forward to getting my cartridges there in the future. $25 for a small and $40 for a large but I don't know how many milligrams or doses in each of those. $10 for the battery. As far as I know they have been open 7 days a week since launch, 10 am to 7 pm which is the best record so far. One concern I have is they list 10mg doses on their menu for the edibles but the labels list a lot less. For example, the 10mg nugget really had 5.12mg, the 10mg lozenge had 6.54mg and the 10mg capsules each had only 8.8mg.
All in all, on average, the pricing at all three of these dispensaries seem higher to me compared to the Maine dispensaries (I use
Wellness Connection in Portland). Flower at NETA is closest at $15/g but the edibles are generally higher. I get a cost of approximately $1.50-2.00 per dose from the Maine cookies. IGH is $4.00/dose for their cookies and the Nuggets/Lozenges from NETA are $5/dose. For capsules, Maine is $3.00/dose while NETA is $4.00/dose.
IGH is closest to my home so I will probably use them most often but I like NETA the best overall. If Maine and NETA were equally close however, I'd choose Maine for now. But I expect NETA and IGH will both become excellent options once they are in full swing. I can't wait for more to open.
Central Ave Compassionate Care, Inc in Ayer has had their final certificate since 5/20/2015 and must be almost ready to open. And I believe
Patriot Care in Boston has the green light from the city to move forward on Milk Street.
!)
Doomed to fail from the beginning?
