Wareham retail marijuana store opens without hiccups

Waiting in what was sometimes a downpour, customers started showing up at 6 a.m. for the first day of recreational marijuana sales in town. Verilfe, which opened at 10 a.m., is expecting 600 customers for the day, said Verilife employees.

WAREHAM — Waiting in what was sometimes a downpour, customers started showing up at 6 a.m. for the first day of recreational marijuana sales in town. Verilife, which opened at 10 a.m., is expecting 600 customers for the day, said Verilife employees.

“It’s great to have something local,” said the first person in line, Wareham resident Judson Rice, as he waited to become one of the first recreational retail customers ever at Verilife’s Main Street dispensary, which, up until now, has only sold medical marijuana. “I think the lines and the craziness around this will probably die down as the state OKs more places (to sell retail), but until then, I am glad it’s close by to me.”

So was Buzzards Bay resident Stanley Andrews, who was waiting from 6:30 a.m. on outside Verilife. “I made the trip to Leicester,” said Andrews, referring to one of the first two towns in Massachusetts to allow retail sales, along with Northampton. “It took seven hours out of my day altogether. This is a lot better.”

Inside Verilife’s dispensary, which is decorated in calming, blues, grays and greens with lots of framed nature photographs taken by staffer Veronica White, five retail customers were allowed in at a time. Medical marijuana customers, who are still able to park on site, had a separate cash register and separate area for shopping.

“We were expecting actually more than the 600 people we are accommodating today,” said Kate Walden, who is a communications officer for Illinois-based cannabis company, PharmaCann. Verilife is a subsidiary of PharmaCann. “But the numbers are being staggered at the Water Wizz lot so that this is as easy as possible for everyone. We have coffee, we have umbrellas, and we are trying to make this as pleasant an experience as possible.”

Patient care representative Kelly Sue Jones, who was greeting and directing retail customers into the facility, said they aim “to make everything soothing and calm in here. Rain or no rain, the goal here is a comfortable, soothing atmosphere.”

Police outside the Verilife facility said they were expecting big crowds, but the morning had been manageable.

“It could be the rain,” said Detective Dean Decas as another monsoon-like torrent fell on Main Street. “There are plenty of people here, but we were expecting much more. I personally am glad for the rain.”

Patrons must park at Water Wizz, 3031 Cranberry Highway, according to police guidelines, and be taken to the 112 Main St. location by shuttle bus. At Water Wizz, they are given a ticket in order to purchase at the facility.

The store will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25.

Police ground rules are:

Anyone going to the store is required to park at the Water Wizz, located at 3031 Cranberry Highway, Wareham.

At that location, individuals going to the store will be provided a ticket and shuttle service. No individuals will be allowed in the business without a ticket and tickets can only be obtained at the Water Wizz parking area.

The parking lot will be open for vehicles at 8 a.m. and the store’s hours will be 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. The company says the dispensary hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

There will be no parking at Besse Park.

No walk-up business will be allowed at the Main Street location. You must go to Water Wizz and use the shuttle service.

Police also noted that public consumption of marijuana is illegal and the Wareham Police Dept. will have zero tolerance for any violations of this.