Massachusetts opens first home-grown pottery stores in eastern United States

Two marijuana stores in Massachusetts have been given the green light to start selling to leisure customers, making it the first commercial marina store in the eastern United States.

The two stores, one located in Northampton and the other in Leicester, have announced that they would open Tuesday morning after the Cannabis Control Commission (Cannabis Control Commission), the agency State's marijuana regulation, allowed them Friday to begin their operations.

The announcement put an end to a long wait for the start of commercial sales in Massachusetts. State electors legalized the recreational use of marijuana by adults aged 21 and over in 2016, but it took more than two years for lawmakers and regulators to reach the point where the first stores can finally open.

The target date for retail sales was July 1st.

The commissioning notice for regulators requires that stores wait three days before they can open their stores to coordinate with local authorities and law enforcement agencies. Openings should attract large crowds, based on the experience of other US states and Canada when they first introduced recreational sales.

The Northampton store, operated by New England Treatment Access, has announced that it would open for the leisure sale at 8 am Tuesday. Cultivate Holdings, which operates the Leicester store, has announced that its doors would open at 10 am the same day.

"This signal to open retail marijuana retail establishments marks a milestone for voters who have approved the legal use of adult cannabis in our state," said Steven Hoffman. chairman of the cannabis panel, in a statement. "To achieve this, licensees have undergone extensive background checks, inspections and products to ensure the health and safety of the public as this new industry begins. "

Legal advocates of marijuana, who complained of slow regulatory approvals in the state, applauded the news.

"We can legitimately talk about state delays and problematic local opposition, but it remains that we are the first state in the east of Mississippi to offer legal and tested cannabis to adult consumers in health care institutions. safe retail, "said Jim Borghesani, a spokesperson for the group that led the voting question to legalize the recreational pot.

Borghesani called this a "historical distinction" for Massachusetts.

Recreational marijuana is currently sold in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Nevada. Maine voters have also approved a legalization issue in 2016, but this state's stores are not expected to open until next year at the earliest.

The first Massachusetts stores are located in the central and western parts of the state; There are currently no approved stores to open in the Boston Metropolitan Area. This means that, for the moment, more than half of the population of this state will not have easy access to marijuana for recreational purposes.

Many Massachusetts towns and villages have resisted cannabis-related businesses, some imposing total bans and others making things more difficult due to zoning restrictions or other conditions.

Stores opening next week are currently medical marijuana clinics and are committed to continuing to serve their registered patients.

New England Treatment Access "looks forward to providing legal marijuana to its clients, but we want our patients to know that we will never fail in our commitment to them and their needs," Norton said. Arbelaez, a spokesman for the company.

The store has a separate area for patients treated with marijuana for medical purposes, and these will not have to wait in line with the leisure sector clients to enter the hospital. # 39; establishment.

The company has already had ongoing discussions with local authorities about traffic, parking and other public safety issues and is confident in a smooth opening, Arbelaez added.