Medical dispensary chain opening Clearwater location, 11th in Florida

Rise Dispensaries is opening a store in Clearwater this week, its second in the Tampa market in the past three weeks.

The new store is at 1724 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd. and in what once was a law office.

The store is the company’s 11th in Florida — its fourth in the Tampa Bay market — and 87th in the country. It joins a shop at 420 W. Brandon Blvd. that opened Oct. 26. Rise Dispensaries also operates growing facilities in Ocala and Homestead.

The back-to-back opening are further proof, if proof was needed, that medical cannabis dispensaries are here to stay and a boon to property owners. Across the state, dispensaries have opened in former bank and fast food locations as well as gas stations and other spaces.

Within 5 miles of each other on Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, there is a dispensary in a former Village Inn space and one in a former Sweet Tomatoes location.  

These dispensaries are nestled right in the heart of commercial districts, surrounded by fast-food restaurants and auto parts stores, as is the case of the Rise Dispensaries in Clearwater, which is near a Walgreens and Walmart Neighborhood Market and about halfway in between a high school and popular park.

Beyond filling spaces, the cannabis business is an economic powerhouse. According to industry publication MJBizDaily, “the total U.S. economic impact generated by cannabis sales is expected to top $100 billion in 2023, up more than 12% from last year.”

“Looking ahead, upward of $160 billion in additional spending will be added to the U.S economy in 2027” based on expansion of recreational and medical markets.

Rise Dispensaries is owned by Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries. The Clearwater store will open Nov. 10, and a ribbon-cutting will be held Nov. 17.