Salem Expects Big Crowds When First Pot Shop Opens

SALEM, MA -- Salem is likely to become the first place on the North Shore where people will be able to make retail marijuana purchases, and city officials are looking to Leicester and Northampton for clues on what to expect. Leicester, outside of Worcester, has already been forced to call an emergency meeting to address resident concerns over traffic, just one week after that town's store opened for business.

"This was another one of my concerns. I feel this is not a good look for Salem in my opinion," Ward 4 City Councilor Tim Flynn posted on Facebook Tuesday, along with a link to a Boston Globe article highlighting some of that community's problems after a week of legal marijuana sales.

Alternative Therapies Group has all the approvals in place and is expected to open in Salem within the next few weeks. And, at least initially, Salem could see Leicester-like crowds. It will not only be one of the first retail marijuana stores in greater Boston, but also one of the first accessible by MBTA commuter rail.

"This isn’t great, and I know ATG is already working with the city and police to plan for it after seeing the initial crowds elsewhere," Ward 5 Councilor Josh Turiel posted on Facebook Tuesday. "But between detail police and parking offsite there won’t be much else initially that can be done about crowds."

Turiel said the only long-term solution is more stores selling marijuana. Salem is in negotiations for a second store. But the slow pace of state approvals of sellers means getting supply to meet demand is largely out of the control of local officials.

"Once there’s a few shops open on the North Shore our crowds should lessen, and once the novelty wears off that will help," Turiel said. "Until then we’ll all try and make things work as well as we can collectively."

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Patch file photo via Shutterstock.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).