From a ‘gold rush’ to red ink: Why investment in the Massachusetts cannabis industry has cratered

But that money went quickly as their aspirations ran into a hard reality. The couple lost $85,000 to a construction dispute, switched the site of the store to Holyoke from Northampton, and spent their last dollars on costly insurance. Their experience was typical for new cannabis businesses in Massachusetts: lengthy, exhausting, and expensive. When Marco and Amanda Aranzullo launched the Euphorium Dispensary, they had little more than “our savings and a vision.” Though the dispensary only opened in July, the Aranzullos already need money to keep operating and pay the...