By Matt Young, WV Press News Sharing
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Trulieve, one of the largest cannabis companies in the United States, recently announced the opening of two new West Virginia locations. With the addition of Parkersburg and South Charleston – both locations celebrated their grand openings May 21 – Trulieve now operates four dispensaries throughout West Virginia, with another five locations scheduled to open before the end of 2022.
The new Parkersburg and South Charleston locations got off to a good start, as both experienced a strong turnout for their grand openings.
“It was awesome,” Trulieve West Virginia Area Manager Heather Peairs said, while speaking with members of the media. “Between the South Charleston and the Parkersburg locations, we saw just over 300-people.”
Peairs noted that, in South Charleston, patients had begun lining up some two hours before the location’s scheduled opening.
“It was definitely a very successful turnout,” Peairs added. “Saturday was a very hot day. We also had the parade downtown, and a couple other events going on – so to see that turnout was really exciting.”
Peairs went on to say that Rusty Williams, a cancer survivor and patient-advocate, was honored as the ribbon-cutter in South Charleston, as well as being the location’s first official patient. In Parkersburg, military veteran Jason Lowe was similarly recognized.
The Parkersburg and South Charleston locations now join Morgantown and Weston as Trulieve’s four operational-dispensaries within the state. Next up is a second Morgantown-area (Morgantown-Granville) location, tentatively scheduled to open in mid-June.
In addition to live music, food and partner-giveaways, Trulieve marked the occasion by introducing two new medical cannabis strains; Chocolope Newberry Live Budder and Pineapple Upsidedown Cake Flower.
“We had a lot of positive feedback from those two strains,” Peairs stated. “Going forward, they will be available in our other dispensaries, as well.”
Peairs added that the Pineapple Upsidedown Cake strain is currently available at all four West Virginia locations. However, demand for Chocolope Newberry Live Budder exceeded expectations, and sold out rather quickly.
“It will be in stock in other locations just as soon as we can produce more,” Peairs added.
All of the medical-cannabis sold by Trulieve in West Virginia is cultivated within the state. In addition to opening five more retail dispensaries, Trulieve plans to add 40,000 square feet to their cultivation facilities by year’s end.
Peairs explained that medical cannabis is typically classified into three different strains; Sativa, Indica, and Hybrid.
“The Pineapple Upsidedown Cake, for instance, is a Sativa strain,” Peairs went on to say. “Sativa is generally something that will give you a little more energy or focus. The Indica is something you might want to use to help you sleep. And then the hybrid is just that – a combination of the two.”
Trulieve was the first company to open a medical-cannabis dispensary in West Virginia. With the acquisition of Maryland-based Greenhouse Wellness’ interests in the Mountain State earlier this year, Trulieve now holds 10 dispensary permits across the more densely-populated areas of the state. Trulieve currently operates over 160 retail dispensaries in 11 states, including West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In addition to the launch of the Chocolope Newberry Live Budder and Pineapple Upsidedown Cake Flower strains, Trulieve commemorated the new-location openings by expanding their operating-schedule to seven-days per week at all of their West Virginia dispensaries. The Morgantown, Weston, Parkersburg and South Charleston locations are open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
“We really want to get the word out that we’re seven-days a week,” Peairs said. “We’re ready to serve all of our patients every day.”
