Cannabis Company Trulieve Shuttering Massachusetts Operations By The End Of The Year

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Trulieve, one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, will shutter all Massachusetts operations by the end of 2023.

Worse news for employees and frequent patrons of Trulieve's three cannabis dispensaries: the Framingham, Northampton and Worcester dispensaries will close on June 30.

A Holyoke cultivation center will close by the end of the year, company officials said in a news release this week.

Trulieve is a major player in the global cannabis industry, but officials said the moves served as "additional measures to preserve cash and improve financial performance."

"Since mid-2022, Trulieve has undertaken proactive steps to rationalize cash and margin dilutive assets and streamline operations while reallocating resources toward attractive markets with long-term growth potential," officials said.

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute lists Trulieve as the 11th most valuable cannabis company based on total assets in the world, and the 10th most valuable when looking only at North America.

Still, since 2022, the company has closed California retail assets in Palm Springs and Venice while exiting the Nevada wholesale market entirely.

In addition to the Massachusetts closures announced this week, Trulieve will also close its Grover Beach, California, dispensary.

"These difficult but necessary measures are part of ongoing efforts to bolster business resilience and our commitment to cash preservation as we continue to focus on our business strategy of going deep in our core markets and jettisoning non-contributive assets," said Chief Executive Officer, Kim Rivers.

"We remain fully confident in our strategic position and the long term prospects for the industry."

Though Trulieve brought jobs and purchasing options to the Massachusetts cannabis market, the company's time in Massachusetts wasn't without turmoil.

Lorna McMurrey, a worker at the Holyoke facility died in January 2022 after inhaling marijuana dust while making pre-rolled joints, according to a report released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to OSHA's report, the incident happened on Jan. 7 around 11 p.m. The report said an employee was grinding cannabis flowers and packaging them into pre-rolled joints. While the report did not mention additional details, it said, "The employee could not breathe and was killed due to the hazards of ground cannabis dust."

Trulieve was cited for three "serious" violations and fined more than $35,000 by OSHA, according to the report.

Read more: MA Cannabis Worker Dies After Inhaling Marijuana Dust