The ever-growing craft and artisanal food and libation movement are spearheading a new form of tourism. Patrons will travel far and wide for craft beers of acclaim or hidden restaurants serving locally sourced and delicious food. With this, often travelers will make a day of visiting other sites in the towns of these restaurants or breweries. As laws change, another product is drawing in a new form of tourism, and that is cannabis. At the forefront of this revolution is Triple M in Plymouth and Mashpee, a dispensary that not only sells but grows and manufactures its own products.
As consumers have widely recognized the craft beer and artisanal food trend, certain brands or menu items outweigh others in terms of quality ingredients and just plain taste. Similar to this, Triple M, with its team of highly trained individuals and grow rooms on-site, presents the best product with the most variety, to the point where it has been recognized by Boston.com as the number one dispensary in Massachusetts!
I know food and I know beer, but cannabis is an area where I am a complete novice. During my visit to Triple M, I was privileged to have an extensive tour of the whole facility. My behind-the-scenes tour introduced me to the painstaking process that is included in the agriculture, production, and distribution of cannabis. Since legalization in Massachusetts, this highly regulated product is shedding its stigma as it is becoming a recognized alternative for those coping with medical maladies of all kinds.
Our Tour Begins
Shelia Fey, who is the marketing specialist at Triple M, was the perfect guide for our tour. Her positivity and enthusiasm are palpable. Starting in the dispensary, she introduced us to the team of employees at Triple M. From managers and room supervisors to clerks and grow room workers, I couldn’t believe how friendly everyone was! Clearly, employees here enjoy their job. After we put on our spacesuit-looking covering, Craig, who was the photographer for this journey, and I were ready to go behind the scenes.
With the strict regulations placed on cannabis, an interesting process to me was the labeling. The “mother room” is the location of the original plants. Each plant has a specific label. Other rooms on my tour of Triple M, including a large grow room, other production rooms, the plants, and eventual products, were all tagged with the same labels as the mother plants. Everything is painstakingly categorized and accounted for.
Other interesting stops along the tour include the dry trim room where the dried product is then trimmed. One of my favorite rooms was the laboratory led by Keith Tibbetts. Keith imparted his vast knowledge to Craig and me about the science-based benefits of cannabis. Here a team was busy at work creating the concoctions that Triple M sells to the public. This includes the Cannaspritzer, a cannabis-based seltzer, and the chocolate bars. The team here was clearly enjoying their work. Part scientist and part chef, they mastermind delightful creations that Triple M sells at the dispensary.
In the “mom room” workers take snips from the initial plants to make more of the same strain of plant. The placements of babies in cubes help them grow roots. These plants are then taken to the grow room which is staffed with a cultivation team of fifteen people tending to an amazing ten thousand plants!
Understanding the Benefits
Triple M was founded by a group of local professionals from various fields who saw the medicinal benefits of cannabis and wanted to increase access in this area. The staff employed at Triple M care deeply about their work and the finalized product. Even the labeling team, which places each label by hand on every product that Triple M sells, does so with enthusiasm. And this group has already placed over one million labels in only half a year! The passion exuded from each team member that we spoke to was incredible. Each employee championed their product wholeheartedly. One of the positive effects of the product noted by one member of the team is that cannabis promotes homeostasis which leads to better sleep and management of pain and anxiety.
My tour not only introduced me to the incredible processes needed to grow, manage, and regulate cannabis at Triple M, but it truly knocked out any preconceived notions I might have had about marijuana.
As previously stated, cannabis is an area where I am a complete novice. Seeing graffitied pot leaves or smelling smoke while passing by a city park was pretty much the extent of my knowledge. Just as some folks have had to be introduced to the brewery scene, letting go of preconceived notions about a brewery, I had to do this with dispensaries. Instead of stereotypical “stoners” at the dispensary, the customers I saw clearly were from all walks of life. Quite honestly, the average age of the customer was much older than I envisioned.
Cannabis Tourism at Triple M
Both locations of Triple M are in prime tourist areas. Plymouth is not only a hotspot for historical tourism with Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Patuxet, but it has come into its own as a foodie haven. The second location of Triple M is in Mashpee which is a town on Cape Cod. Of course, Cape Cod is the prime tourist destination in New England, especially in the summer months. You can’t go wrong combining a trip to either Triple M location with an already planned vacation or making a day in either area while visiting Triple M.
Both dispensaries are open for medical and recreational use. There are different rooms to enter based on the usage. Plymouth is much larger at a square acre in size while Mashpee is just a storefront, with no on-site production or growing areas.
Where to start?
In speaking with the knowledgeable staff at Triple M, my question was where to start. For a first-time customer, Ryan Pettiti, manager at Triple M, recommends starting with CBD products. For someone who is looking to try a product to help them, he says the first goal is to get a good night’s sleep, something that the CBD may help with. The CBD-only products come in different variations including gummies, lozenges, and chocolate bars.
The most popular products both medicinally and recreationally are flowers and pre-rolls (a pre-rolled cigarette). Other hot sellers include gems that are like candy. A common use for the wafer-like Hot Buttons is in soup or drinks. The topical Sweet Relief is award-winning, claiming “best overall product.” Another favorite is the Cannaspritzers which combines the THC effect with the ever-popular seltzer. There are even THC-infused breath strips!
Visiting Triple M in Plymouth and Mashpee
Triple M’s Plymouth location is at 9 Collins Avenue in the Plymouth Industrial Park. In Mashpee, the address is 29 Echo Road. Visit Triple M online here. Check out their extensive and ever-changing menu. Look for events such as live music and food trucks from time to time at the Plymouth location.
My visit to Triple M was truly eye-opening. Seeing firsthand the processes, science, and product design that goes into each menu item was quite incredible. Growing, and manufacturing most of their product right on-site, Plymouth’s Triple M dispensary is leading the way in terms of cannabis tourism and development. A huge thank you to Sheila and the staff at Triple M for taking their time to show us around! And a thank you to Craig Demars for taking photos and accompanying me on this Backyard Road Trip!
As this trip to Triple M demonstrates, Plymouth has so much to explore! For more Plymouth Backyard Road Trips, check out Brewster Gardens, the craft beer scene, or Roll Street Tavern!
