{"id":10767,"date":"2023-06-05T14:38:20","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T19:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/?p=10767"},"modified":"2023-07-07T13:58:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T18:58:58","slug":"framingham-retail-marijuana-price-war-claims-first-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/2023\/06\/05\/business\/framingham-retail-marijuana-price-war-claims-first-victim\/","title":{"rendered":"Framingham Retail Marijuana Price War Claims First Victim"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/marijuana-leaf-red-white-blue.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10781\" width=\"223\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/marijuana-leaf-red-white-blue.png 445w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/marijuana-leaf-red-white-blue-296x300.png 296w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/marijuana-leaf-red-white-blue-148x150.png 148w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/marijuana-leaf-red-white-blue-300x304.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>FRAMINGHAM, MA<\/strong> - <strong>Trulieve<\/strong>, one of the five Framingham cannabis dispensaries located on Worcester Road, <em>(Route 9)<\/em>, has announced it will be closing up shop on June 30th, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a June 1, 2023 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/investors.trulieve.com\/2023-06-01-Trulieve-Continues-Optimization-Efforts-with-Closure-of-California-Retail-Location-and-Plan-to-Wind-Down-Massachusetts-Operations\" target=\"_blank\">press release<\/a> to investors <strong>Trulieve Cannabis Corp.<\/strong> (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/TRUL.CN\/\" target=\"_blank\">CSE:TRUL<\/a> \/ <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"TCNNF\" target=\"_blank\">OTCQX:TCNNF<\/a>) a Florida based publicly traded cannabis company announced <em>\"additional measures to preserve cash and improve financial performance\"<\/em> then went on to list <strong>Trulieve<\/strong> <strong>store closings in Framingham, Northampton and Worcester, MA<\/strong> as well as some <strong>California<\/strong> and <strong>Nevada<\/strong> retail and wholesale markets they were exiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Trulieve held their Framingham grand opening on Sunday, April 3, 2022 -- fourteen short months later they are closing up shop -- possibly as the first victim of a retail marijuana price war in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Too Much of a Good Thing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Counting Trulieve, there are a total five recreational and medial marijuana dispensaries all located within a short stretch of Worcester Road, (known locally as \"Rt. 9\"). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Framingham marijuana retail shops (running east to west along Rt. 9) are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trulieve<\/strong> at 85 Worcester Rd., (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sunnyside Cannabis<\/strong> at 250 Worcester Rd., (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UpTop Dispensary<\/strong> at 315 Worcester Rd., (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Union Twist<\/strong> at 630 Worcester Rd., (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nova Farms<\/strong> at 1137 Worcester Rd., (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A sixth Framingham cannabis dispensary, <strong>Temescal Wellness<\/strong> is located at 665 Cochituate Rd, not far from Rt. 9 via Speen Street.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/search\/cannabis+dispensary+in+framingham+ma\/@42.3338376,-71.4722061,13z?entry=ttu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"535\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601_framingham-cannabis-dispensaries-rt-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601_framingham-cannabis-dispensaries-rt-9.jpg 535w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601_framingham-cannabis-dispensaries-rt-9-300x107.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601_framingham-cannabis-dispensaries-rt-9-150x53.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Framingham there are five cannabis dispensaries all located on Rt. 9 with a sixth shop nearby.<em>  (Image Copyright Google Maps, June 1, 2023)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In addition to the Framingham retailers two Natick dispensaries, <em>(\"Redi\" and another called \"Bountiful Farms\") <\/em>are located just over the Framingham\/Natick town line and a few hundred yards off Rt. 9 add to the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The majority of marijuana retailers including Trulieve are located along what is known as \"<strong><em>The Golden Mile<\/em><\/strong>\", a stretch of Route 9 running from Speen Street at Rt. 9 west to the Rt. 126 \/ Rt. 9 overpass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last marijuana retail store to open in Framingham was <strong>Union Twist<\/strong>, in May of 2022, a month after Trulive opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although also located on Rt. 9, Union Twist is a mile west of the <em>Golden Mile<\/em>, <em>(opposite Whole Foods at the Prospect Street \/ Rt. 9 intersection).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"770\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2023-union-twist-framingham-1.jpg\" alt=\"[google map streetview] Union Twist, 630 Worcester Rd, (Rt. 9) Framingham, MA\" class=\"wp-image-10773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2023-union-twist-framingham-1.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2023-union-twist-framingham-1-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2023-union-twist-framingham-1-150x105.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2023-union-twist-framingham-1-768x537.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Union Twist<\/strong> <em>\"Affordable Cannabis\"<\/em> store, 630 Worcester Road (Rt. 9) in Framingham, MA., (image Copyright Google Maps Streetview)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>From the day they opened <strong>Union Twist<\/strong> promoted itself with the slogan \"<strong><em>Affordable Cannabis<\/em><\/strong>\" and has interior signage saying \"<strong>A GOOD TIME DOESN'T HAVE TO COME AT A HIGH PRICE<\/strong>\". <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601-50-percent-off-marijuana-framingham-1.jpg\" alt=\"[website screen capture] Sunnyside Cannabis Framingham MA $12.50\/3.5g cannabis flower., June 2023\" class=\"wp-image-10776\" width=\"226\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601-50-percent-off-marijuana-framingham-1.jpg 401w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601-50-percent-off-marijuana-framingham-1-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/20230601-50-percent-off-marijuana-framingham-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sunnyside Cannabis in Framingham selling 3.5g of cannabis flower for as low as $12.50 (June 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Prior to Union Twist's opening nearly all marijuana retailers in the area were <strong>charging $60 or more for an 1\/8th of an ounce of marijuana \"flower\"<\/strong>, <em>(3.5 grams of buds)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Union Twist set off the price war<\/strong> offering dozens of strains of cannabis in the $25 to $30 range for an eighth of an ounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A recent survey of prices for Framingham marijuana retailers found most offering 3.5g packages in the same price range as Union Twist, ($25-$30\/3.5g).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some stores have gone further such as <strong>Sunnyside Cannabis<\/strong> offering <strong>50% Off<\/strong> several strains with <strong>prices as low as $12.50 for 3.5g<\/strong> (of \"<em>Southie Adams \/ Horchata Flower<\/em> -- <em>price advertised on website June 2, 2023)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most Framingham marijuana retailers' websites now show discounted pricing and \"specials\" on cannabis products compared to a survey <strong>24 month ago when no discount pricing appeared on any of the same websites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may take some time before the true market value of legal marijuana will settle out. In the mean time customers can enjoy the lower prices and choose which retailers they think offer the best products, prices and customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>###<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FRAMINGHAM, MA &#8211; Trulieve, one of the five Framingham cannabis dispensaries located on Worcester Road, (Route 9), has announced it will be closing up shop on June 30th, 2023. In a June 1, 2023 press release to investors Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE:TRUL \/ OTCQX:TCNNF) a Florida based publicly traded cannabis company announced &#8220;additional measures to preserve cash&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/2023\/06\/05\/business\/framingham-retail-marijuana-price-war-claims-first-victim\/\">[read more]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4083,5079,5080,5081,4483,3938,5084,37,36,5078,5083],"class_list":["post-10767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-framingham-business-news","tag-framingham-cannabis","tag-framingham-dispensary","tag-golden-mile","tag-golden-triangle","tag-marijuana","tag-marijuana-prices","tag-route-9","tag-rt-9","tag-trulieve","tag-union-twist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10767"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11266,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10767\/revisions\/11266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.framingham.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}