Medical doctor opens new Stories Cannabis shop in Fall River, with an educational angle

FALL RIVER — The number of marijuana dispensaries is increasing in the city, and the newly opened Stories Cannabis store at 160 Hartwell St. may be the only one owned and operated by a licensed medical physician.

Stories Cannabis had its grand opening last weekend. Dr. Davis Patel said, with his background, he hopes to promote information and education regarding the use of legal marijuana.

“We sell the same products as other vendors, for the most part. But someone who is coming in for the first time, they might have heard from a friend that they are using it for back pain or for sleep,” said Patel. “We want to be able to really inform them from an educational standpoint, from a scientific standpoint, and speak to them about the proper way to start and even the drawbacks. We want to talk about everything.”

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Patel said he wants Stories Cannabis to serve everyone from first-time users to consumers using marijuana on a regular basis.

“We want to be able to hold a conversation that’s not just selling a product,” said Patel.

He said he also wants to help improve the cannabis industry to make it more inclusive, particularly with social equity in the business, and be a resource to help with inclusion.

“We’re the pages. You’re the pen. It’s your story we want to amplify, and your story we want to hear,” reads a passage on the Stories Cannabis website.

Owner of Stories Cannabis has his own story

Patel is a trained internal medical doctor who until January worked at Rhode Island Hospital, leaving to concentrate on his new endeavor.

“Personally, I come from a family of small-business owners,” said Patel, whose parents immigrated to the United States from India. “Mom and dad, literally the first thing they owned was a newsstand in New York City. And then they saved up and bought their first convenience store in Waltham, Massachusetts.”

They saved up more money and expanded the family’s opportunities.

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“I was sort of along for that ride as a child, and I saw how small business, and an entrepreneurial nature, can fit,” said Patel.

But Patel took a different path in medicine and did his residency training in the South Bronx at the Lincoln Medical Center.

“I saw firsthand there with 35 to 40 ICU beds. And at any given time, half of them were patients who were in for opioid-related overdoses with organ damage, or cirrhosis from alcohol detox that patients went into withdrawal with people needing to be ventilated,” said Patel.

His introduction in the cannabis industry occurred when he became a consultant for another marijuana business.

Patel believes his medical background and exposure to standard operating procedures and the knowledge “that systems really matter,” and his family’s business background would be a good fit.

“I thought those two things combined with an appreciation for cannabis as an alternative either for people who use it medically or recreationally. I personally believe that from a risk-reduction standpoint, I think cannabis has a much less side-affect profile,” said Patel.

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Doctor sees Stories Cannabis having a community vibe

The building at 160 Hartwell St., behind Applebee’s on Plymouth Avenue, was built in 2016, and was supposed to be the city’s first medical marijuana dispensary.

It was the early days of legal marijuana in Massachusetts. The building was supposed to house a dispensary owned by Cannatech Medicinals with a cultivation operation at Innovation Way in the North End.

But the Hartwell location never opened and Cannatech was sold. The building is now owned by developers Frank and Nick Marchione.

Walk into Stories Cannabis and you step into a large reception area. A friendly employee at the front desk buzzes you into a large, new retail area where there are plenty of well-trained staff to assist customers and answer questions about marijuana products. Display cases hold cannabis products that customers can see and smell. There is a large array of marijuana related accessories.

Patel said what he really wants from the business is for it to become “let’s call it a community center,” where it can hold events.

“Whether we bring in local vendors or those selling online. They can come set up a booth here. You sell your jewelry, product, and get your name out there. We want to potentially be an arts and crafts type of location,” said Patel. “A place where local artists can come and set up their art on the wall.”

"Stories is about breaking down barriers, increasing participation, and fostering meaningful change in the cannabis industry," reads a description on the company's website. "We’re here to provide you with the tools and resources to turn your aspirations into reality, whether that’s embarking on a journey of health and wellness, creating your own cannabis business, or uniting your community."

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Medical doctor opens Stories Cannabis shop in Fall River