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Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees gathered in a space separated from the dispensary designed to host upcoming community events.
Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees gathered in a space separated from the dispensary designed to host upcoming community events.
NEW BRITAIN — The city’s first cannabis dispensary, Nova Farms, opened its doors Thursday at 623 Hartford Road, welcoming family, friends, customers and city officials. The business aims to serve both medical and recreational customers.
“This is a project that I’ve been working on since 2016, so we’re happy to finally see it open. Our plan is to really dive deep into the medical aspect,” Nova Farms owner Jason Teal told the Herald. “We have a pharmacist that’s here every hour of the day, and we’re going to be putting together nutritional plans for people based around plant-based medicine. We see cannabis as just one form of plant-based medicine.”
Teal said he was motivated to start this business because of the impact of the “war on drugs,” which he said separated families and disrupted lives over cannabis-related charges.
“A lot of people are scared of the unknown. There’s a lot of misinformation,” he said.
Teal believes cannabis, like its cousin hemp, has many uses and medical benefits that society is only beginning to explore.
Because of these misconceptions, he recalled one person at a business zoning meeting warning that his store would bring violence to the streets.
“When I was in my zoning meeting in New Britain, one of the people stood up and pointed at me and said, ‘If you open this guy’s business, there’s gonna be dead bodies in the streets,’” Teal remembered. “But it’s the opposite, because I have a medical cannabis company, and we’re going to be healing people now, actually.”
Teal explained the goal is to educate people on holistic healing. Monthly educational sessions with medical professionals will be available for the community to learn about self-care and alternative medicine.
“I’m talking about healing people not going through big pharma,” he said.
Community involvement is also a priority. The dispensary has a social equity plan, which will be announced soon. It includes partnerships with local organizations such as New Britain Public Schools and NB Recovers. The business also plans to support workforce development by collaborating with Adult Education programs to provide job training and entry-level positions. Additionally, efforts will be made to help students transition from elementary to middle school through funding initiatives, he said.
“I’m thrilled for Jason personally as a friend. I’m happy to see him finally get to this point and open Nova Farms in our community,” Mayor Erin Stewart told the Herald. “He’s proven that he’s going to be a great community partner wanting to work with our local nonprofits, and it’s good to have such an educated business partner to partner with in this endeavor. It’s very difficult to get a license like this.”
Teal said the approval process for his business took years. The property was rented for two years before the store could even open.
“It’s a big, big process that’s very difficult. We’ve had this rented for two years and we just opened. We’ve been paying rent on this spot for like two years.”
The business owner, an entrepreneur for the past 20 years, said that while many might give up due to the long process, quitting was never an option for him.
“I’m never like that. I always think, I always believe, I’m gonna win. So I just keep my head and keep pushing and keep moving,” he said.
New Britain Director of Economic Development Jack Benjamin said the city developed its cannabis business regulations to align with state laws. When the state first introduced its cannabis ordinance, the city created its own local rules to signal that these businesses were welcome. As the state adjusted its regulations, the city updated its policies accordingly.
Opening a cannabis business requires both state and local approval. First, businesses must go through the state licensing process, which can take years. After that, they must meet the city’s zoning requirements. In New Britain, “only some zoning districts in the city allow for cannabis retail, and then there are buffers between schools and churches and sensitive land uses,” Benjamin explained.
The city took a selective approach to licensing. About two and a half years ago, it issued a request for qualifications and approved a limited number of applicants. Now, the first cannabis store is officially open in New Britain.
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