A first look inside Curaleaf’s The Hemp Company in West Palm Beach 👀

CANNABIS → HEMP
Curaleaf’s The Hemp Company in West Palm Beach

Last week, Curaleaf made news that they were transitioning their licensed medical cannabis dispensary in West Palm Beach Florida into the “company's first fully dedicated hemp retail storefront…”

So, I had to pay The Hemp Company a visit over 4/20 weekend.

Here are some takeaways from my visit:

1. Location is a 10
   The Hemp Company is located smack dab in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. And that prime real estate becomes absolutely unbeatable during GreenMarket days — which is West Palm Beach’s award-winning farmers’ market. During my visit, it was midday on a GreenMarket day. It was shoulder-to-shoulder on the street and it was busy at The Hemp Company. 

2. Are shoppers in on it?
   It was the big opening weekend for The Hemp Company. There was staff outside welcoming people in. There were balloons and signs. There were brand reps talking about their products. But, it was not clear that people shopping at The Hemp Company even knew they were doing something special. And that’s the thing. It felt like a very normal cannabis shopping experience…if you live in a state with a legal cannabis market. 

3. But, no flower
   It felt like a normal cannabis-buying experience, except if you want flower, pre-rolls, extracts, or vapes. I would bet that a fair number of people shopping in-store think they are in a “normal” dispensary. Heck, the letters THC are everywhere. (Get it? The Hemp Company.) My guess is that the staff are fielding loads of questions from shoppers about why you can’t buy a vape pen and stroll around — that’s how much like a normal dispensary it seems. 

4. “National” brands
   The Hemp Company had Curaleaf’s in-house brands, but there were well-known, national brands there too. Keef, CANN, and others. And this may be the biggest thing that’s happening right now. With hemp-derived cannabis products being sold nationally — including in tony West Palm Beach — brands are making their mark. (Note: I bought Select gummies. They are the only things that made seeing a dude wearing DOGE hat bearable.) 

What’s next?
I’m a careful follower of the cannabis industry. I think this is a new era when one of the largest MSOs takes one of their medical dispensaries and transitions it to a hemp-derived shop. It was impossible not to think about how quickly and how broadly Curaleaf — and then others — transition their real estate to a similar model. 

As I left The Hemp Company, I heard a signature-gatherer collecting signatures for Florida’s next cannabis legalization battle in 2026. There was something both poetic, and maybe ironic, that I was leaving the shop well stocked with THC products as I walked by. 

-JR

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