Brookline can now be added to the short list of Massachusetts cities and towns where you can buy recreational pot.
A new pot shop on Washington Street in Brookline, which opened on Saturday, saw what was by all accounts a successful opening weekend. The shop is inside the old Brookline bank, and is New England Treatment Access (NETA)'s newest location.
The first day of sales on Saturday brought in 2,515 customers, according to Amanda Rositano, director of operational compliance at NETA. She said on Sunday that the weekend was going smoothly despite fears of traffic and parking.
"It's been great, everything so far has gone according to plan,” said Rositano, as a long line of customers snaked around the building. “It's been busy, but things are moving quickly. We've had no issues with traffic, no issues with parking. We have happy neighbors. We're very pleased.”
The dispensary has a special area for medical marijuana patients, who are able to skip the line to pick up their prescriptions.
“When it was just medical, it was really quiet and low key. Now it's a bit more of a party scene,” said Shannon Boone, who uses medical marijuana for her multiple sclerosis. She picks up vape cartridges from the Brookline dispensary every two weeks. She said despite the crowds, she hardly had to wait.
Rositano said medical users are the priority. “There's no line for patients,” she said. “They should know their service is not going to be interrupted."
The majority of the weekend’s customers were recreational users, who waited in line for an average of 45 minutes to an hour on opening day. NETA encouraged customers to pre-order products online to speed things up. Despite some waiting time, customers seemed satisfied with the efficiency of the operation.
“It’s way more organized than you would think,” said Christine Lamas, who is visiting Boston from Miami. She and her husband bought three pre-rolled joints and some gummies for $55.
Lamas said it was her first time in a dispensary, though she’s been smoking marijuana since she was in middle school. “Years ago I never thought I would be buying [marijuana] like it was a pharmacy. It’s better than buying it in a park in a Ziploc bag.”
“I feel like an adult,” she said, laughing. “I feel responsible.”
The scene inside the dispensary was frenetic, where multiple lines separated medical from recreational users. Over 50 employees were working with customers and behind the scenes, Rositano said. The center of the large, open room contains an old vault maintained from when the building was a bank. NETA secures the marijuana products in there overnight.
The most popular products have been edibles, Rositano said, particularly the THC-imbued chocolate bars and gummies. Their online menu, which outlines dozens of products, gives customers some advice: “Start low, go slow.”
