First recreational pottery shops at Mass. Open today

LEICESTER – Thirty or so customers were waiting in the cold rain near Cultivate, one of two stores selling marijuana to recreational users opening Tuesday in Massachusetts.

The line began to form early and had reached 30 people at 7 am one hour before the store opened.

"I waited 40 years! I can wait an hour longer, "said an older man, wearing a Red Sox jacket, who refused to give his name, when he was informed that he could not still enter the store.

"Recreational weeds! That's why we are all here! Exclaims Brittani Beeso, a 24-year-old cook from Worcester, second in line. "About time."

Wade Francis, 70, of Leominster, and his companion, Lisa Boucher, arrived at 4 o'clock in the morning. Francis said that he wanted the "strongest I can have" when it comes to cannabis.

"It's a story and it's better than alcohol," Francis said. "It just makes you eat, love loud music and laugh."

The opening of Cultivate and New England Treatment Access in Northampton marks the start of legal cannabis sales after more than a century of banning marijuana use in the state.

The stores are also the first to sell marijuana for recreation on the east coast, two years after the measure was passed by Massachusetts voters.

"This is a very historic moment for the state of Massachusetts to be the first to open east of Mississippi," said Sam Barber, president of Cultivate, at a press conference Monday.

Both stores also selected their first customers. Stephen Mandile, an Iraqi veteran and medical marijuana advocate, will be the first Cultivate, a hybrid cannabis health and recreation facility.

Air Force Veteran and Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz will be the first to join NETA.

Cold temperatures and a winter mix did little to dampen enthusiasm in Northampton, where over 100 marijuana users lined up near the block more than an hour before the store opened.

Daquaan Hamilton, student and bartender in training at UMass University Amherst, aged 22, was first in the list.

"I've been here since 12:30," he says with a smile. "The legalization of marijuana is a huge step forward for all of us and I wanted to be part of it."

Hamilton stated that he had been using marijuana for about a year and was considering buying a vaporizer pen.

"It's a good way to relax and has a very social aspect," said Hamilton. "It feels good, you know?"

Cultivate and NETA have hired a public relations agency to handle the many interested reporters and national media, as well as police and other workers' details to handle the traffic, overflowing car parks and impatient waitlists expected Tuesday. .

Leicester Police Chief James Hurley urged drivers to pay close attention to the traffic charts, which will be posted online, and to go directly to the designated Everlast Nursery parking lot, across from Cultivate.

Shuttle buses will help drivers to move between the parking lot and the facilities, and only parking for the disabled will be available at Cultivate.

What do you want to know:

■ You will need to bring an ID issued by the government to prove that you are 21 years of age or older. Passports and licenses from other states are generally acceptable, as long as the store's ID scanner recognizes it. Reminder: non-registered minors can not enter the country, even with their parents.

■ Most stores accept cash and debit cards. It is sometimes possible to use a credit card with a PIN, but as few consumers know the PIN code of their credit card, we do not recommend it.

■ For $ 50, you will be entitled to one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana flower, commonly referred to as an "eighth". That's enough for about 3½ large joints, or maybe three to four weeks of light solo drinking (a few evening outings), depending on your drinking pattern. State and local taxes add 20%, or $ 10 in the case of an eighth.

■ Legally, you can buy up to 1 ounce of flower (or "bud") or 5 grams of marijuana concentrate in one transaction. However, NETA has set an initial purchase limit of one-eighth of a flower per customer per visit, fearing that the store will not sell the product too quickly if consumers buy more.

■ You can use the products inside a house or outside of a private property for which you are allowed to do so. Smoking marijuana outdoors in public is illegal and can cost you a $ 100 fine.

■ Marijuana use in public or by car is still illegal.

Dan Adams can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ Dan_Adams86. You can contact Michael Levenson at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mlevenson. You can join Felicia Gans at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @FeliciaGans.