Essex has one shop on the Cannabis Control Commission's Where to Buy list, BB Botanics on John Wise Avenue, marked adult-use. Manchester-by-the-Sea, next door, has none. Both towns show adult-use zoning in place on the tracker, with no cap noted. Neither has a medical shop: the nearest medical entry is Fine Fettle in Rowley, about 8 miles from Essex. Peabody is 28 minutes from Essex by car and 26 from Manchester.
The Where to Buy sheet, retrieved October 23, 2026, has one Essex row and no Manchester-by-the-Sea row. By straight line from Essex Town Hall, Gloucester's shops on Essex Avenue and Whistle Stop Way are about 5 to 6 miles away, and Beverly's Panacea Wellness about 6. From Manchester Town Hall the nearest rows are Reverie 73 in Gloucester (about 5.2 miles) and BB Botanics in Essex (about 5.8).
| Shop (as the Commission lists it) | Address | License type on the list |
|---|---|---|
| BB Botanics, LLC | 242 John Wise Avenue, Essex, MA 01929 | Adult-use |
| Reverie 73 Gloucester, LLC | 73 Essex Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930 | Adult-use |
| Ocean Breeze Cultivators | 9 Whistle Stop Way, Gloucester, MA 01930 | Adult-use |
| Panacea Wellness | 13 Enon Street, Beverly, MA 01915 | Adult-use |
| Fine Fettle | 116 Newburyport Tpke, Rowley, MA 01969 | Medical and adult-use |
Every row except Fine Fettle is marked adult-use. The Commission's open license file, updated October 22, 2026, shows one active Marijuana Retailer in Essex, which began operating on May 1, 2023, and no Medical Marijuana Treatment Center. The sheet has no date, so check with a shop before you go.
Closest to Essex Town Hall, by straight line and not by road: Mission Georgetown (Georgetown). Each is on AC's partner list as of October 31, 2026 and had an AC order within the 90 days before this page was built. Menus change, so check before you go.
| Shop | Town | Distance | License | AC listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Georgetown | Georgetown | about 10 miles | MR281754 | Flower, prerolls, concentrates |
The Municipal Zoning Tracker, read October 31, 2026, gives Essex adult-use "Zoning in place", delivery "Delivery permitted" and social consumption "No zoning in place". Manchester-by-the-Sea has the same three entries. Neither shows a cap.
Hamilton and Wenham, to the west, read "Ban in place", and Gloucester reads "Zoning in place; license cap". The tracker calls itself a general guide and gives no bylaw text, so the Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea town clerk is the source for what a street or a business may do.
The Census Bureau estimated 3,760 residents in Essex and 5,467 in Manchester-by-the-Sea on July 1, 2024 (estimates, not the 2020 count). Essex covers 14.0 square miles of land and Manchester-by-the-Sea 9.2.
Essex's town website lists the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum under community links. Manchester-by-the-Sea's town website describes Singing Beach as just shy of a half-mile wide and gives a half-mile walk to it from the Manchester train station, which the MBTA lists on the Newburyport/Rockport Line.
The medical card process is the same everywhere in Massachusetts: a certifying provider, a PIN by email, then registration with the Commission, which charges nothing.
From Essex Town Hall on Martin Street to 25 Newbury Street the router gives about 17 miles and about 28 minutes by car in light traffic. Take Route 22 (Martin Street and Western Avenue) to Route 1A, then Dodge Street to Route 128 and US 1. From Manchester Town Hall on Central Street it is about 17 miles and about 26 minutes, by Route 127 and Pine Street to Route 128 and US 1, finishing on Newbury Street in Peabody.
Route 128 and Route 127 slow in summer beach traffic. Advanced Dispensary will serve registered medical patients and caregivers only.
The Commission lists one, BB Botanics on John Wise Avenue, marked adult-use.
Not on the Commission's list.
Advanced Cultivators (AC) grows in Lowell, Massachusetts, under cultivation license MC283314. Advanced Dispensary, its medical dispensary at 25 Newbury Street on US Route 1, is being renovated for registered patients and caregivers. Cape Ann readers reach it by Route 128 and US 1. No opening date has been announced; the patient list on the Peabody page hears first.
Advanced Dispensary, 25 Newbury Street, Peabody, MA 01960. Phone: (978) 896-6640.
The shop list was copied on October 23, 2026; the zoning tracker, license counts and drive times were read on October 31, 2026; the population, area, station and park facts were read on November 1, 2026. The Commission publishes the shop list and the tracker without an updated date and says to confirm details with the town.
Shop names, addresses and tracker entries are copied from public records. This page does not rank shops, give medical or legal advice, or make any claim about health.
Are you 21 years of age or older?