Customers Line Up For Worcester's First Recreational Pot Sales
WORCESTER (CBS) -- Feliz Martinez is the first customer at Good Chemistry to purchase recreational marijuana.
"I'm super excited," Martinez said. "It's been a long time coming."
Good Chemistry first opened its doors last year as a medical marijuana shop, a service that CEO and founder Matthew Huron feels passionate about providing.
"I started in the business 20 years ago with my father and his partner," Huron said. "They both had HIV in San Francisco. A lot of their friends also had HIV and AIDS, and they were finding cannabis to be very therapeutic, so we started a small cannabis co-op at that time."
After his father died, Huron moved the business to Colorado, then expanded to Worcester. On Wednesday, Huron marked a milestone: Good Chemistry is now the first pot shop in the city to sell recreational marijuana to adults 21 and older.
To help manage crowds, customers must make an appointment online before visiting the shop, and police details will help to manage traffic flow.
"We want to be a good neighbor, but also for our patients, our customers, we want this to be a pleasant experience for everybody," Huron said.
Good Chemistry sells 20 different strains of marijuana and is cash only.
About 6% of the gross sales will go back to the city. In Massachusetts, sales of recreational marijuana have climbed over the $100 million mark since the first stores opened in November, according to the Cannabis Control Commission. Last week saw nearly $7 million in sales, with customers spending an average of $41 per transaction.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)