Curaleaf to start recreational cannabis sales Saturday
STAMFORD — Curaleaf’s newly hybrid cannabis retail on Stamford’s east side is wasting no time getting started.
The 814 E. Main St. cannabis shop, which has been open as a medical dispensary since 2019, will start making recreational sales when it opens its doors Saturday morning.
According to a company news release, they have received approval by the state Department of Consumer Protection to open for the new use.
The city’s Zoning Board on Monday night approved an amendment to the store’s special permit to allow “adult-use” sales.
It’s Stamford’s second hybrid cannabis retailer — Fine Fettle started on Jan. 10 — and the first Connecticut store offering recreational sales from Curaleaf, the world’s largest cannabis company by revenue.
The hybrid opening, which starts at 10 a.m., will include giveaways, discounts, music and complimentary food and drinks, according to the release.
The store will have a separate entrance and checkout line for medical patients, the release said.
“Curaleaf is proud to be a part of Connecticut’s rapidly expanding adultuse market,” Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf, said in the release. “As we welcome new adult-use customers, I want to assure our medical patients that they will continue to be prioritized and receive the high quality of care they are accustomed to.”
Curaleaf has three other medical dispensaries in the state: in Hartford, Milford and Groton.
“The company anticipates welcoming adultuse customers at additional locations in the near future, pending regulatory approvals,” the release said.
On Tuesday — the day after getting city approval in Stamford — Hartford’s Planning and Zoning
Commission considered an application from Curaleaf to expand its existing medical dispensary to also include a recreational cannabis store — the first in the state’s capital.
The company’s application says the medical dispensary — Arrow Alternative Care — will continue to operate in the store, with a dedicated line for those patients.
The commission is planning a public hearing on the proposal for next month.