Recreational cannabis use, including social consumption, was legalized by ballot vote in Massachusetts in 2016, but six years later there are still no cannabis cafes in the state where people can buy and smoke marijuana legally outside of the home. But theres something close in Worcester.
The Summit Lounge, an unassuming private membership club at 116 Water St. in Worcesters Canal District, is the only cannabis lounge in Massachusetts, and is legally allowed through a series of loopholes in state and federal regulations, although they do not sell marijuana inside. The club opened in 2018 and while it has remained a quiet part of the neighborhood known only to insiders, its membership list has grown to nearly 15,000 people.