Island Puff and Pass, a new store for locally made glass pieces and other cannabis-related items, will open around the middle of May on Main Street in Vineyard Haven, next door to Mocha Mott’s.
Kyle Byrne, 47, in a conversation with The Times on Tuesday, described his new business venture: “What I’m trying to do is fulfill a much needed area on the Vineyard for all the things you need to properly enjoy your cannabis,” Mr. Byrne said. “Which is anything from rolling papers, glassware, vaporizers, machines that would help you make tinctures and butters, and facilitate you being able to use your cannabis in an edible form.”
In no way, he said, does he intend to have the store be a marijuana dispensary, and legally, he could not retail marijuana.
Mr. Byrne, who is from Providence, R.I., and has been a year-round resident of Martha’s Vineyard since 1996, has been in the cannabis industry for the past 20 years. He has a background in medical marijuana growing in Rhode Island, and is a recent graduate from the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis in Natick, receiving a certificate in cannabis competence. He said that as owner of Island Puff and Pass, he hopes to educate people on responsible cannabis use. Mr. Byrne is also a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann), which is the state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Mr. Byrne, a self-proclaimed “art aficionado,” is looking to support local glassblowers in the New England area, and currently is working with a few local artists from Boston and Vermont.
“I’m trying to source as much of my product as locally as possible,” he said.
To quell concerns, Mr. Byrne reiterated that he won’t be retailing cannabis, that it’s an “adult-use shop,” and that customers have to show identification and be over the age of 21.
“I am just selling the accoutrements. I am just selling the accessory,” Mr. Byrne said.
