Green Leaf Medical plans to open a satellite medical cannabis dispensary in Colonial Heights near Southpark Mall. (BizSense file photo)
The region’s medical marijuana provider has lined up its latest retail location.
Green Leaf Medical (stylized “gLeaf”) plans to open a satellite cannabis dispensary in a shuttered Burger King at 401 Southpark Blvd. near Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights.
Green Leaf Medical President Phil Goldberg said Monday the new store is expected to open in a few months.
The expansion into Colonial Heights extends gLeaf’s reach southward as it continues to fan out around the region to open the five dispensaries it’s allotted under state law. Its first opened last year in Short Pump and another is in the works in Carytown.
Goldberg said gLeaf landed on the Colonial Heights location to extend its reach southward toward an area that’s proven to have a concentration of patients and has easy access just off the interstate and near Petersburg as well.
“We look at where patients don’t have easy access, we look at where we’re delivering the majority of our home delivery orders, we look at accessibility to highways and all these different things and that Colonial Heights location was a great spot for us,” Goldberg said.
Next on gLeaf’s list is Chesterfield County, where Goldberg said the company is planning to sign a lease on an undisclosed Midlothian space next week. It also is eying Ashland or Scott’s Addition to round out its complement of five satellite dispensaries.
The Colonial Heights dispensary is expected to open in either August or September, Goldberg said, as is its Carytown dispensary in the former Need Supply storefront.
Like the Short Pump spot, which opened in a former KFC fast food restaurant, the Colonial Heights location will have a drive-thru.
“That’s been really popular during the pandemic and even as things wind down, a lot of customers prefer to use the drive-thru,” Goldberg said.
In addition to retail storefronts, gLeaf has more than 20 delivery vehicles operating around Virginia. Delivery is handled out of the center of gLeaf’s Virginia operations, a marijuana growing, processing and dispensing facility at 2804 Decatur St. in South Richmond.
Green Leaf is one of the four active medical marijuana providers in the state. Green Leaf has permission to operate dispensaries in Virginia’s Health Service Area 4, which includes the Greater Richmond region. The operators in the state medical cannabis program are the only authorized sellers of marijuana products.
Green Leaf is owned by New York-based company Columbia Care, which operates dispensaries in the health service area that encompasses coastal Virginia. Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs plans to acquire Columbia Care this year.
While personal cultivation and possession of marijuana is legal in Virginia, it’s still illegal to sell recreational pot. Legislation that would have allowed recreational sales to kick off this year failed to pass in the General Assembly in February.
Earlier this year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed legislation to strike the requirement that medical cannabis patients register with the state Board of Pharmacy as a condition of being able to buy medical cannabis products from approved sellers. That requirement goes away when the law takes effect July 1. Medical cannabis patients in Virginia will continue to need written certification from registered health care practitioners in order to buy medical marijuana products.
Green Leaf Medical plans to open a satellite medical cannabis dispensary in Colonial Heights near Southpark Mall. (BizSense file photo)
The region’s medical marijuana provider has lined up its latest retail location.
Green Leaf Medical (stylized “gLeaf”) plans to open a satellite cannabis dispensary in a shuttered Burger King at 401 Southpark Blvd. near Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights.
Green Leaf Medical President Phil Goldberg said Monday the new store is expected to open in a few months.
The expansion into Colonial Heights extends gLeaf’s reach southward as it continues to fan out around the region to open the five dispensaries it’s allotted under state law. Its first opened last year in Short Pump and another is in the works in Carytown.
Goldberg said gLeaf landed on the Colonial Heights location to extend its reach southward toward an area that’s proven to have a concentration of patients and has easy access just off the interstate and near Petersburg as well.
“We look at where patients don’t have easy access, we look at where we’re delivering the majority of our home delivery orders, we look at accessibility to highways and all these different things and that Colonial Heights location was a great spot for us,” Goldberg said.
Next on gLeaf’s list is Chesterfield County, where Goldberg said the company is planning to sign a lease on an undisclosed Midlothian space next week. It also is eying Ashland or Scott’s Addition to round out its complement of five satellite dispensaries.
The Colonial Heights dispensary is expected to open in either August or September, Goldberg said, as is its Carytown dispensary in the former Need Supply storefront.
Like the Short Pump spot, which opened in a former KFC fast food restaurant, the Colonial Heights location will have a drive-thru.
“That’s been really popular during the pandemic and even as things wind down, a lot of customers prefer to use the drive-thru,” Goldberg said.
In addition to retail storefronts, gLeaf has more than 20 delivery vehicles operating around Virginia. Delivery is handled out of the center of gLeaf’s Virginia operations, a marijuana growing, processing and dispensing facility at 2804 Decatur St. in South Richmond.
Green Leaf is one of the four active medical marijuana providers in the state. Green Leaf has permission to operate dispensaries in Virginia’s Health Service Area 4, which includes the Greater Richmond region. The operators in the state medical cannabis program are the only authorized sellers of marijuana products.
Green Leaf is owned by New York-based company Columbia Care, which operates dispensaries in the health service area that encompasses coastal Virginia. Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs plans to acquire Columbia Care this year.
While personal cultivation and possession of marijuana is legal in Virginia, it’s still illegal to sell recreational pot. Legislation that would have allowed recreational sales to kick off this year failed to pass in the General Assembly in February.
Earlier this year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed legislation to strike the requirement that medical cannabis patients register with the state Board of Pharmacy as a condition of being able to buy medical cannabis products from approved sellers. That requirement goes away when the law takes effect July 1. Medical cannabis patients in Virginia will continue to need written certification from registered health care practitioners in order to buy medical marijuana products.
It is hilariously ironic that one of the holders of the state enabled monopoly opens a new location, on the same day Younkin Recriminalizes marijuana possession over 4 ounces.
Its OK as long as the big pocket “donors” get to reap the rewards but for anyone else , any competition, you are put in jail.
In case anyone thought we were still in a democracy.