A Week After Recreational Use Sales Began in Conn., Cannabis Dispensaries Remain Busy

Meriden's Zen Leaf says its recreational use sales have been triple that of medical use.

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One week ago, marked the grand opening so many people in Connecticut were anticipating. It was the first day of adult-use recreational cannabis sales. Now, one week later, the demand remains high.

Newington’s Fine Fettle is one of the seven dispensaries currently open and selling adult-use recreational cannabis, and things have been busy.

They’ve only been selling recreational adult-use cannabis a week, but already have regular customers.

Sarah Herrick was making her second visit on Tuesday. She was among the many people who pre-ordered online and the product was ready when she arrived.

“I’m just pretty shocked at how fast and efficient it is,” she said. “They are just getting everybody in and out of the door as quickly as possible.”

At Fine Fettle, pre-ordering is the only way to purchase. There are no walk-ins allowed.

They say it’s to ensure they have can manage inventory appropriately and it seems to be helping expedite the sales process.

Dennis So is the store’s general manager. He tells us they hired 50 staff members before opening to keep up with the demand.

“We wanted to make sure that when people came to our store that they were not going to wait any more than 10 minutes to get in the building and out with their products,” So said.

So was not allowed to share sales numbers but indicated that business has been excellent.

“It has been very busy,” he said. “There’s been a lot of commotion in the air as people were gearing up for us to open.”

Jessica Gill is originally from California, a state where recreational use cannabis has been legal since 2016. She considers herself an informed buyer and says she will shop around.

“I’m looking for fair prices for the products and I’m looking for the quality of the product overall,” said Gill, who now lives in Chester.

Meriden’s Zen Leaf does allow walk-in customers and so far, business is booming. They say their recreational cannabis volume is triple that of their medical use product. Zen leaf is owned by Verano, which operates in 13 states and that experience has helped them plan for Connecticut’s opening.

“We were well prepared for recreational sales, and this was in line with our estimates,” said Verano EVP of Operations Trip McDermott.

Drawing from experience in other states, Verano staffed up its Zen Leaf location, and added automation equipment to increase capacities. The biggest challenge though was preparing staff.

“Given that our staff has been focused on Connecticut, they hadn’t seen crowds quite like this,” McDermott said.

While business is strong, there is competition across state lines. Dispensaries are tackling that, using loyalty programs and trying to keep prices in line with Massachusetts. Now, just seven days in, customers are lining up in Connecticut with fewer incentive to cross state lines.

“I’m glad that my tax money is no longer going to Massachusetts when I visit there,” Herrick said.

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