Fall River marijuana dispensary will begin recreational sales Sunday

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WJAR) — Massachusetts state regulators have given their final approval to allow the sales of recreational marijuana from a Fall River shop.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday announced its authorization for Northeast Alternatives to start the cultivation, manufacturing and retail of recreational marijuana as early as Jan. 20, 2019.

The owners told NBC 10 News they plan to open at noon. A closing time has not been finalized and may be affected by the weather, the company said.

Anyone wishing to purchase marijuana will need to use the company's app or text system to save their place in a virtual lines. They will then be notified when they can enter the store the owners said.

"Due to parking lot restrictions, we will be utilizing a digital queue management service. The queue will open on Sunday at 11:30am. At that time, and not before, you may join our queue by texting the letters NEA to (508) 687-5704. This will put customers in line and they will receive text message updates regarding anticipated wait time, etc.," the company noted in a statement. "The only way customers will be allowed into our parking lot is to show a text message from this service stating that they have reached the front of the line and have been summoned. All others will be handed an informational card outlining the process by which they may join the line and turned away."

They also noted that the only exception will be for Massachusetts medical marijuana patients.

"We will have dedicated parking spots for medical patients only. Patients should be ready to present their MA medical marijuana card to parking lot attendants in order to gain entry to our parking lot," according to the statement. "Additionally, medical marijuana patients will have a separate line and retail dispensary area dedicated to this purpose."

In an executive summary, the Cannabis Control Commission said a September inspection found the establishment to be in full compliance. Areas inspected included the facility’s security, retail setup and cultivation operation.

"We plan to open our doors with a wide variety of flower, concentrates, and vaporizer cartridges/pens. We will be rolling out a selection of marijuana-infused edible products over the coming weeks," the statement noted.

Northeast Alternatives operates on 999 William Canning Boulevard.

The full Final License Executive Summary can be read below.