Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | March 24, 2025 | wbjournal.com Worcester County communities collected $6.4M in cannabis taxes last year, with border communities realizing new windfalls PHOTOS | ERIC CASEY Cashing in on CANNABIS Cannabis excise tax collections Year-over- Fiscal 2023 Fiscal 2024 year change Blackstone $0 $1,056,657 N/A Fitchburg $592,389 $684,695 15.6% Gardner $199,671 $192,413 -3.6% Hopedale $286,281 $225,413 -21.3% Shrewsbury $220,131 $197,340 -10.4% Winchendon $223,064 $338,527 51.8% Worcester $1,709,109 $1,682,608 -1.6% Worcester County $5,105,681 $6,419,999 25.7% Source: Worcester Regional Research Bureau via state tax data BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor I n November 2016, the majority of residents in 48 of the 60 munic- ipalities in Worcester County cast votes in favor of legalizing cannabis for recreational use at the state level, as a successful ballot initiative eventually led to the state's first legal adult-use cannabis sale almost exactly two years later. Some communities, from the county's largest communities like Worcester to smaller towns like Blackstone and Winchendon, decided to pass local ordinances allowing for adult-use sales to take place in their communities. Others, including Acton, Southborough, and Westborough, decided to prohibit adult- use dispensaries from setting up shop within their borders. For communities that have welcomed recreational sales, this newly created industry and the sales associated with it have been a boon for their municipal Cannabis impact, a joint WRRB-WBJ project The Worcester Business Journal collaborated with the nonprofit Worcester Regional Research Bureau to take a data-driven look at the im- pact of the legal marijuana industry in Worcester County communities. For the full data visualization with community-by-community break- downs, visit the research bureau website at www.wrrb.org. budgets, as state law allows for munici- palities to collect up to 3% in local taxes on cannabis sales. "Having a few hundred thousand dollars from cannabis is a help to us," said Bill McKinney, town manager for the Town of Winchendon. e 22 Worcester County municipal- ities that hosted recreational marijuana dispensaries in fiscal 2024 brought in a combined $6.42 million in local cannabis taxes, up 25.7% percent from fiscal 2023. is data was compiled by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau using state revenue data as part of a joint project with Worcester Business Journal exam- ining the impacts of the legal cannabis industry. "Our overall picture of ourselves as an industry is that we've had a positive impact on local communities without any of the negative impacts that were perceived when we first started getting these licenses," said Ryan Dominguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition. Large communities with lots of dispensaries like Worcester and small- er towns near the state's borders are bringing in solid chunks of cannabis tax money, but some municipalities have seen declines in the overall amount of cannabis tax revenue coming in. With increased industry consolida- tion and competition from neighboring states, there's a chance some cities and towns have already seen the high-water mark of revenue to be extracted from legal cannabis sales. Just over the border Even as the industry is struggling throughout Massachusetts, cannabis businesses near state borders have been thrown a lifeline: Out-of-state shoppers. Cannabis remains illegal for recre- ational use in New Hampshire, as the state's legislature shot down an attempt by then governor Chris Sununu to legal- ize sales through government-run stores in 2024. Legal weed in New Hampshire seems less likely under the new Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has spoken out against legalization and frequently enjoys using the more liberal Massachusetts as a pro- verbial punching bag. Connecticut and Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis in 2021 and 2022 respectively, but a mix of more stringent regulations and a less robust marketplace has led to consumers in those states to make the trek north to make their purchases. "Our regulators and our elected officials don't like to talk about [out-of- state cannabis shoppers] because it kind of gets into a messy situation around interstate commerce," said Dominguez, referencing the fact that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level and bringing any amount over a state border is, by the letter of the law, interstate drug traffick- ing. "But our border towns are highly dependent on those sales." is has been beneficial for dispen- saries in the northern and southern ends of Worcester County, as relatively small municipalities like Blackstone and Winchendon have brought in sizable amounts of local cannabis taxes. Blackstone, population 9,208, has two dispensaries in town, both within 2,000 With two cannabis dispensaries in town and another one proposed, Winchendon Town Manager Bill McKinney says taxes from the industry are boosting the small municipality's coffers.

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