First Fall River recreational pot store on brink of opening

FALL RIVER – The legal retail sale of recreational marijuana is right on the horizon in the city.

Northeast Alternatives, 999 William S. Canning Blvd., is scheduled for its final inspection Wednesday by the state Cannabis Control Commission.

“We have our sales ready inspection on Wednesday,” said the company founder, Chris Harkins. “If we don’t have any issues, then they will issue a certification.”

The company then must wait 72 hours before it can open for business, Harkins said.

If the certification is issued, they will be busy, he added. The company has been planning with the police and nearby businesses to handle the traffic they expect to see when the facility first opens, Harkins said.

Northeast Alternatives was the first company in the city to open for sale of cannabis products to clients with a valid medical marijuana card. They are the first company to get through the regulatory process to sell marijuana for recreational use.

The company watched other retail recreational outlets in other parts of the state get flooded with customers in their first days, leading to long lines and heavy traffic around the dispensaries.

Northeast Alternatives will have procedures in place to avoid that, Harkins said. All of the procedures will be announced on the Northeast Alternatives website, nealternatives.com.

“We will have a software solution, so we won’t have any lines,” Harkins said. “But there is nothing in this area, the closest is Wareham, so we are prepared.”

Harkins said he expects to know more about the company’s opening plans later this week, after the inspection.

“It is a tough process,” he said. “We are following the marching orders of the Cannabis Control Commission.”

Email Kevin P. O’Connor at koconnor@heraldnews.com.