Salem Says It's Ready For Pot Shop Opening

SALEM, MA -- Officials in Salem, which is used to dealing with crowds when Halloween revelers flood the city each October, say they'll be ready when Alternative Therapies Group opens its retail marijuana store on Saturday. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission gave final approval to the store on Tuesday. It will be the third retail marijuana store to open in the state and -- notably -- the first in greater Boston and the first accessible by MBTA commuter rail.

In a statement from the office of Mayor Kim Driscoll Tuesday, officials said Salem Police have been working with ATG, MBTA Transit Police and Peabody Police on a plan to deal with the expected crowds.

"The City is approaching this event similar to how it approaches large scale event planning and logistics in general in Salem," the statement said.

ATG will be running a shuttle bus from the MBTA commuter rail station in Salem. ATG has also set up an online reservation system in hopes of avoiding the hours-long lines that accompanied the opening of recreational marijuana stores in Northampton and Leicester last month.

The city has also set up a temporary, residents only parking restriction on streets closest to the store. There will be increased police patrols in the area of the store "for the foreseeable future," the city said.

Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

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).