~Photos by Claudia Ferro

Sage Naturals, Inc., a nonprofit provider of medical cannabis, has announced the opening of the first registered medical marijuana dispensary in the city of Somerville, located in the heart of Davis Square.

The Sage Naturals dispensary at 240 Elm St. offers a diverse menu of naturally cultivated and competitively priced cannabis flowers, oils, extracts and edibles for patients with a valid Massachusetts Medical Use of Marijuana card. The dispensary features a spacious and welcoming design with eight service counters staffed by knowledgeable patient advocates.

“Our goal at Sage Naturals is to help people feel better by producing the best possible natural medical cannabis for the patients of Somerville and surrounding communities,” said Michael Dundas, CEO of Sage Naturals. “Voters of Somerville overwhelmingly supported medical marijuana in the 2012 statewide ballot initiative and we are pleased to finally fulfill this unmet need.”

Sage Naturals is conveniently located for patients who live in and around the city of Somerville, just a three-minute walk from the Davis Station on the MBTA’s Red Line and surrounded by on-street and off-street parking. The dispensary is open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The dispensary’s 5,000-square-foot retail space is located below street level (underneath the Bfresh Market) at the corner of Elm and Chester streets. The dispensary’s main entrance is on Elm (next to Dunkin’ Donuts), and the exit and wheelchair-accessible entrance are on Chester (across from the legendary Redbones Barbecue). Cash and debit payments are accepted.

Sage Naturals serves people of all walks of life who are living with medical conditions such as ALS, cancer, chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, glaucoma, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, depression, anxiety and Parkinson’s disease. The dispensary offers unique cannabis strains containing high levels and ratios of CBD, a compound that has wide-ranging medical benefits without the psychoactive properties associated with the THC cannabinoid. More information about obtaining a medical marijuana certification is available on the Become a Patient page of Sage Naturals’ website at https://sagecannabis.org.

The dispensary’s products, sold in air-tight, child-resistant packaging, are supplied by Sage Naturals’ state-of-the-art production facility, where the organization grows over 60 strains of cannabis. Sage Naturals also creates its own line of edibles, including honey sticks and caramel chews, and is the exclusive provider of Zoots, a national brand of cannabis-infused edibles, in the Massachusetts market.

The Somerville dispensary is the second location opened by Sage Naturals. The first dispensary, located at 1001 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, between Harvard and Central squares, debuted in March. A third dispensary under construction in Needham is licensed and scheduled to open around the end of the year. Each dispensary employs about 30 people.

The growth of Sage Naturals coincides with increased participation in the industry by the organization’s leadership. In July, Dundas was appointed by State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg to the 25-member Cannabis Advisory Board, a panel of experts who will advise state regulators and report to the Cannabis Control Commission. The CCC will assume oversight of the medical marijuana market from the state Department of Public Health.

As part of its grand opening celebration, Sage Naturals made $3,000 in donations to two local nonprofit organizations – $1,500 to the Somerville Homeless Coalition, which provides supportive services to homeless and near-homeless individuals and families, and another $1,500 to the Community Action Agency of Somerville, which works to reduce poverty among local families and individuals.

The mission of Sage Naturals is to provide patients with safe and legal access to high-quality medical cannabis. The state-registered, nonprofit organization produces its premium cannabis products according to the highest specifications of quality, purity and consistency at a custom-designed and constructed cultivation facility. Sage Naturals operates registered retail medical marijuana dispensaries in Cambridge and Somerville, with an additional location under development in Needham.