MILLERSVILLE — With recreational marijuana being legal in Maryland now, more dispensaries are opening across the state.
Tony Toskov recently opened a cannabis dispensary in Millersville called Greenpoint Wellness.
Toskov currently owns two other locations in Laurel and Linthicum.
He is hoping to change the stigma associated with the product.
Toskov gave WMAR a firsthand look at some of the products in his store.
He says it's important to know that everything in his store is grown locally.
"It doesn't come in from different states. And everything grown in Maryland is processed in Maryland. It's also lab tested by the independent lab, so you know exactly what you are buying, exactly what's in the product," said Toskov.
Toskov says the process of opening the store in Millersville was not easy.
In Maryland, there are certain rules and regulations you have to follow.
"Opening a cannabis store, there's a lot to learn. I would suggest whoever is going to be doing an application in the future start doing a lot of research now because when we applied, we hired an attorney to assist us because we knew nothing about it," said Toskov.
To purchase cannabis at Greenpoint Wellness, you have to be 21 and show photo ID. Toskov says he has met people who came in and said they knew a lot about the product. However, he says people are shocked when the employees educate them.
He says they have 300 different types of cannabis in the building.
"When they buy something here, they know exactly what they are getting. That's what the budtenders are for, to explain it to the public," said Toskov.
It's no secret that cannabis in the past has had a negative stigma.
Toskov is hoping to chage that going forward.
"I find that about 50 percent of more people are coming in. A lot of the people I feel didn't want their identity connected to cannabis at the time because people have expectations of what cannabis is about," said Toskov.
Kayla Bryan is a customer. She uses cannabis to help her with knee pain because she plays basketball. She is hoping the stigma associated with the product changes.
"I think in general, everyone should get used to the idea that cannabis is our friend. It doesn't have so much of a bad reputation I should say. I think the stigma is that it has always been bad, it's always going to hurt you. When in reality, one gummy, one jay, one preroll doesn't hurt you," said Bryan.
There are about 60 people who work at the Millersville location.
