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GEORGETOWN | It took a while, but Georgetown’s first ever adult-use (recreational) cannabis retail shop is now open for business.

Mission Dispensaries, which purchased the medical marijuana cultivation facility previously opened by Healthy Pharms, got the green light to open for recreational sales a couple weeks ago.

“And then, it was all hands on deck,” Mission Georgetown Vice President Derek Stewart said. “We were working through the night, every day, through the weekend, making sure we had everything in place for this day.”

And Wednesday, the company’s recreational retail business opened to the public and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting attended by Georgetown Selectmen Doug Dawes and David Twiss as well as state Rep. Lenny Mirra, R-Georgetown.

The dispensary was approved for recreational use sales more than a year ago. But with the lengthy permitting process implemented by the Cannabis Control Commission – exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown – has made for

“We’re really happy to be working with the CCC, and they helped us get through this whole process and making sure that we’re following the regulations, and that we’re able to open to the public in a safe and responsible manner,” Stewart said.

If you go

Mission offers a variety of cannabis flower, concentrates and edibles, among other things, and most of their products are made on-site.

“We have a full-scale cultivation operation, we have our extraction laboratory, and we also have a full commercial kitchen that’s responsible for creating all of the edibles that we’re selling out of here,” Stewart said.

The Georgetown facility also does its own packaging and labeling for products sent to their other site in Worchester.

In all, Mission’s new Georgetown business currently employs more around 100 people, and Stewart said they plan to hire more. Added to its Worcester location, Mission has about 200 employees in Massachusetts.

Stewart recommends placing orders online before pickup, but walk-ins are welcome. There may be a wait to get in, with new social distancing capacity regulations in place.

Mission is located at 401 East Main Street in Georgetown, right on the Rowley line near the I-95 exits, where an envelope factory once stood.

You can check out Mission Georgetown, including their menu and store hours, on their website.