EASTHAMPTON — Liberty Cannabis Dispensary is closing after six years on Northampton Street, with leaders from its national parent company, Holistic Industries, saying the location did not turn enough profit to stay open.
“There’s not much more to say other than this is a business decision based on the economic viability of this location,” Steve Harrell, senior vice president of Holistic Industries, said in a phone interview with the Gazette.
The dispensary, located at 155 Northampton St., was one of the first recreational and medical marijuana shops to open in Easthampton in 2020, selling marijuana, vapes, edibles and more. Locals may be familiar with the dispensary’s dark green building that bears a purple and blue mural of a bearded man on the outside.
The dispensary closed Wednesday and Harrell said employees were notified about the closing a month ago. Harrell thanked the Easthampton community for the support it has shown over the past six years.
There were about seven employees affected, some of whom worked part time, according to a spokesperson for Holistic. Harrell said all employees were offered positions at neighboring Holistic locations, including another dispensary in Springfield and a cultivation and manufacturing facility in Monson.
“We do have other locations, one being Springfield, which is pretty close by, and we’re growing and thriving,” Harrell said.
Harrell said only the Easthampton branch is closing, and no other Holistic locations would be affected. Holistic was founded in 2011, before making a push to expand across the East
Coast in 2017.
In Massachusetts, besides Springfield, Holistic has another Liberty dispensary in Somerville. Nationally, Holistic owns other facilities and dispensaries in California, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states.
Holistic’s grow facility in Monson, located at 96 Palmer Road, experienced a widespread mold infestation in 2021 that led to the company being fined $200,000 by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).
Easthampton regulations limit the number of adult-use retail special permits to six, leaving two opens spots for new dispensaries. There are currently four dispensaries in the city, including The Oz Club, Fyre Ants, The Verb is Herb and INSA. There was also another dispensary that used to be on Northampton Street, Pleasant Trees, that closed several years ago.
Recreational marijuana possession, use, production and sale became legal in Massachusetts through a 2016 state ballot question. A ballot question set for the Nov. 3 state election, Question 8, would eliminate legal recreational marijuana use.
Since recreational use became legal in Massachusetts, the marijuana retail landscape has changed dramatically, as total sales have grown, but prices have plummeted. The CCC recently approved guidelines for consumption of marijuana products in social settings.
Last year marked the highest total sales of adult-use marijuana at $1.65 billion. Though medical marijuana use has not been as popular in recent years — medical sales in August 2023 totaled $18.8 million which has declined to just $11.7 million in August this year, according to data from the CCC.
Prices have dropped from 2022 when the average price of a gram of marijuana flower in state was $12.64, to just $3.81 as of August this year.
The commonwealth and municipalities have benefited financially from the sale of cannabis through taxes. Massachusetts marijuana establishments generated $289 million in state tax revenue in fiscal 2025, not including the local 3% option that municipalities can adopt, such as Easthampton.
