The Green Lady Dispensary has officially made history by becoming the first and only dispensary on Nantucket to receive a shipment of cannabis products. This news follows a landmark legal victory that permitted cannabis transportation to the island.
This regulation change, finalized in June, addressed longstanding restrictions that had prevented dispensaries from legally bringing cannabis products to remote islands, impacting communities like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
“In the world of cannabis, this is history-making,” says Nicole Campbell, owner of The Green Lady. “We are proud to be the first—and, for now, the only—dispensary bringing cannabis to Nantucket. This is a huge win for our family-run business, and an even bigger win for our industry.”
The Green Lady Dispensary Phase 1
Due to the complicated nature of the cannabis industry, the transportation is still in process. “We’re doing this in phases,” notes Campbell. “For the first phase, we still have to get a lot of approvals, but we did get our first shipment onto the island.”
Phase two will be to get the product off the island and into the business’s other dispensary in Massachusetts, but Campbell is taking things one step at a time.
“We received our first shipment last week and started sales a week ago,” she says. “We still need to do some more work and get SOP’s (standard operating procedures) approved, but our goal is to be able to ship products off the island and sell them at our Newton store in about six months.”
Currently, The Green Lady Dispensary has two physical stores: one in Nantucket and one in Newton, MA. Up until recently, the Nantucket dispensary needed to grow marijuana on the island in order to sell there.
But now, the dispensary can receive shipments of products from off the island. And soon, once they can ship the product off the island, Nantucket-grown cannabis will be available in the Newton store.
Putting a Spotlight on Small Brands
The Green Lady’s first shipment includes an extensive selection of cannabis products. Among them are flower, pre-rolls, infused joints, chocolates, pills, taffy and tinctures, giving consumers a variety of choices tailored to their preferences.
In preparation for this shipment, The Green Lady team conducted extensive research to curate a menu that reflects the best of the industry. Prioritizing small craft cultivators over larger multi-state operators (MSOs), Campbell and her team selected top-quality brands that align with the unique tastes of Nantucket’s residents and visitors.
“We are a small business ourselves ─ family-and minority-owned and women-run ─ so we really wanted to try to find other small businesses that we could pair with,” she says. “For example, one of the first flower companies that we’re working with is Harbor House. They’re a small business located in Chelsea, which is right on the outskirts of Boston. They make amazing products, so we were really trying to support other small businesses and bring those kinds of craft cultivated products to the island.”
The Green Lady Dispensary Logistical Challenges
Transporting cannabis to the island presents unique logistical challenges, requiring skilled navigation on a small boat to safely maneuver through shallow waters, sandbars and unpredictable weather.
“As any boat captain knows, there are perils,” Campbell explains. “It’s a long, roundabout trip that’s difficult to make, but we have successfully brought the first shipment to the island. The journey to reach this point was not easy, but it is a meaningful accomplishment for our team and the entire community.”
On top of navigating to the island, Massachusetts also has their own set of regulations on vehicles that transport cannabis. “You need to get your vehicle approved, you need two agents in the vehicle when you’re transporting cannabis, you need insurance, you need to be registered with the state, you need cameras ─ there’s a whole list of things you need to do,” Campbell says. “In this case, the CCC just took those vehicle regulations and applied them to a boat.”
Since the arrival, sales have exceeded expectations as both locals and tourists embrace the dispensary’s offerings. Looking ahead, The Green Lady plans to introduce a range of specialized medical products, broadening access for their medical customers.
“I’m really happy to be able to offer a variety of products to customers,” says Campbell. “Consumers like to have choices, and we like to have access. Since we are also a medical facility, being able to offer a variety of different products for people to choose to suit their problems and needs is a great thing to be able to do.”
