When the stars align favorably and opportunity presents itself, an entrepreneurial spirit will take the leap. In 2019, island residents Nicole and Rupert Campbell leaped—now, five years later, they are known for their awardwinning small batch craft cannabis products at The Green Lady Dispensary.
“My husband and I have been coming to the island forever (I’ve been coming here since I was 16). We purchased a house here many years ago. When the legalization of cannabis was just starting, first medical then recreational…we had a house, we had ties to the island, it seemed like a great opportunity,” Nicole explained. “We couldn’t be happier that we decided to do this on Nantucket.”
The Campbell’s Green Lady Dispensary was the first to open on Nantucket (it’s now one of two), and it was the first minority and women-owned cannabis company to open in Massachusetts. Their whole family is involved in the business: Corbet, Rupert and Nicole’s oldest daughter, runs the Nantucket dispensary and Cleantha is general manager of new location on Beacon Street in Newton, MA, opened last year.
They describe their mission as to provide high-quality and naturally cultivated cannabis products to adult residents and vacationers in a safe, welcoming environment. They and their staff work hard to introduce new consumers to the positive uses of cannabis. Their blog at thegreenladydispensary.com has a wealth of information, and they have started a YouTube series @TheGreenLadyDispensary to help educate the public. The Green Lady’s “budtenders” are well-versed in the dispensary’s wide selection of cannabis strains, mixtures, and products.
The Campbell family and their staff at both locations are dedicated to helping their customers. “We love getting to know the medical patients and being able to help them. We just came out with Night Cap Gummies to assist with sleep—THC plus CBN—extra strength for medical patients.”
The Campbell’s have addressed every aspect of their company with passion and determination. There are particular challenges to running any business on an island 30 miles at sea: employee housing, cost of materials, the seasonal cycles. Federal and state laws and regulations regarding cannabis add additional hurdles. Massachusetts residents voted to legalize marijuana in 2016. But until a few weeks ago, when the MA Cannabis Control Commission approved an Administrative Order, transportation of cannabis to the islands was prohibited so as to not run afoul of federal laws. Because of this, The Green Lady Dispensary on Nantucket was set up to be completely vertically integrated: they grow it, process it, test it, and sell it, all at their facility on Amelia Drive.
“If you ran a bakery, you would not have to grow your own wheat and mill it— other industries can purchase their components,” Nicole explained. “I have background in agriculture, that helped with the cultivation.” And when it comes to testing, “when you get brownies [or other products] from us, we guarantee how many milligrams of TCH are in them, so every time you purchase, you know what to expect.”
In addition to their Ocean Grown strains of cannabis, Green Lady offers flowers to grind for smoking, pre-rolled joints, rosin that Nicole describes as a “delicious way to consume cannabis,” tinctures, and an impressive selection of handmade edibles. “We work with chefs on the island for a fabulous edible menu: our gummies can’t be beat. We have really fun flavors of chocolates, like caramel waffle cone, and other creative flavors…and we make fresh baked goods in our kitchen, and sell them in our retail store. Soon we will introduce a new cookie called Maple Brown Butter that’s salty and sweet, with bacon on top.”
With the change in ruling on transport of cannabis to the islands, the Campbells hope to introduce new products in both of their Green Lady Dispensaries: “we are excited to be able to get our Nantucket products to Newton, we are working on getting that done…and we’d like to bring some of the mainland products out h ere to Nantucket,” said Nicole. “We hope to achieve that in 2025.”
The Green Lady Dispensary
Open daily from 10 am to 8 pm at 11 Amelia Drive
thegreenladydispensary.com • 774-333-3875