First Dispensary Opens in Salem, MA Today

[JiggyJack]

Alternative Therapies Group opened today in Salem. We finally have one almost three years later.

Patients line up as first medical marijuana dispensary opens - The Boston Globe

I called last night and have an appointment for Friday! I'll let you know how it is.

 

[JiggyJack]

I canceled my appointment. Neither of their 2 available strains seemed appropriate for me and the 1/8 oz. minimum was more than I wanted to buy if it turned out to be no good for me. Plus half the excitement of going to a dispensary was to see a display case filled with multiple strains of leaf and edibles. This place doesn't even let you see pictures of what they sell. You get to see it after you pay for it. That's no fun.

 

[BigHeadTodd]

I would love to get more details of this place in Salem since it is the first dispensary to open in Massachusetts. But I heard weird things and I don't know if they are true or not. I heard you have to have an appointment to shop there. I heard that they let only one person in at a time. I heard that the had only one or two varieties for sale. And I heard that they ran out of product by day 2. JiggyJack didn't mention prices but he implied that they are highish. Soon other Massachusetts dispensaries will be opening up and there will actually be some competition for the MM patient's dollars. The dispensary in Northampton operated by NETA is about to open (mid-September 2015) and they are going to do it differently (I hear). I can hardly wait.

 

[JiggyJack]

Yes, you need an appointment. I'm on their email list and get a notice about every two weeks that appointments are available. They fill up fast.

They let more than one person in at a time but only at the top of the hour. I was 15 minutes late for my 2 pm time and had to wait until 3 pm to get in.

I think it was $93 per 1/4 oz. At one time I heard they had 4 strains but ran out of two of those quickly. I haven't checked lately but most of the reports have been of two strains at any given time.

I've pre-registered at In Good Health in Brockton and NETA in Northampton. Both look to be 1000 times better than ATG in Salem. IGH opened today but I couldn't get there because of work. I might go tomorrow and I really hope they have some edibles available.

 

[BigHeadTodd]

Thanks for all the good info, JiggyJack. Prices aren't quite as bad as I thought that they might be, and I bet that they come down some once the other dispensaries open and they start to get a little competitive with each other.

Did you pre-register with NETA on site in Northampton? Or did you do it online? I went there in person to fill out my paperwork and I was struck by what a clean and beautiful facility they have there. The people were so helpful and friendly, too. I had a nice chat with a NETA grower who normally works at their production facility in Franklin, MA. He was in Northampton that day to help out with the pre-registration process.

You wrote that IGH opened but I have no idea what IGH is. Then I figured out it was In Good Health, the dispensary in Brockton. If you have been in there, please tell us how many varieties they are offering and what is the price range? Thanks!

 

[JiggyJack]

I pre-registered in person at NETA/In Good Health/Alternate Therapies Group. My guess is all dispensaries will require in person so they can see you and your IDs. In Good Health (IGH as you figured out ) seems on par with NETA in terms of how nice it looks and the fact that they don't require appointments and should have a lot of variety.

Unfortunately, I'm a little annoyed with IGH as I went today and they did not open yesterday as planned. I understand that happens but what bothers me is they sent an email to their distribution list saying they would be open, then even after not opening the day they planned they still didn't send another email to let people know. They had a big sign on their fence saying check the website, which of course has no information one way or the other about opening (at least as I type this). Seems like I spend a lot of time going to dispensaries for nothing. Reddit seems to be the only place to find out where things stand with IGH. I do know they got their waiver for the tests today so maybe tomorrow will be the big day. Unfortunately for me, they will open with only flower and no edibles yet. On Reddit one of the growers said "Kimbo Kush, Green Ribbon BX, Kobain Kush, Captain Cook, The Funk, Afterlife OG is opening day. Green Ribbon and Capt Cook are both over 30% THC.". No pricing that I know of.

Seems the waivers for flower and edible come separate if ATG (Alternate Therapy Group) in Salem is any indication. ATG got their edible waiver today but without an appointment I guess I won't be able to find out what they offer (since they won't communicate via email with patients).

At least it is all getting closer and moving in the right direction.

 

[oldmidget]

I pre-registered in person at NETA/In Good Health/Alternate Therapies Group. My guess is all dispensaries will require in person so they can see you and your IDs. In Good Health (IGH as you figured out ) seems on par with NETA in terms of how nice it looks and the fact that they don't require appointments and should have a lot of variety.

Unfortunately, I'm a little annoyed with IGH as I went today and they did not open yesterday as planned. I understand that happens but what bothers me is they sent an email to their distribution list saying they would be open, then even after not opening the day they planned they still didn't send another email to let people know. They had a big sign on their fence saying check the website, which of course has no information one way or the other about opening (at least as I type this). Seems like I spend a lot of time going to dispensaries for nothing. Reddit seems to be the only place to find out where things stand with IGH. I do know they got their waiver for the tests today so maybe tomorrow will be the big day. Unfortunately for me, they will open with only flower and no edibles yet. On Reddit one of the growers said "Kimbo Kush, Green Ribbon BX, Kobain Kush, Captain Cook, The Funk, Afterlife OG is opening day. Green Ribbon and Capt Cook are both over 30% THC.". No pricing that I know of.

Seems the waivers for flower and edible come separate if ATG (Alternate Therapy Group) in Salem is any indication. ATG got their edible waiver today but without an appointment I guess I won't be able to find out what they offer (since they won't communicate via email with patients).

At least it is all getting closer and moving in the right direction.

yea i have still been going with the caregivers on leafly because of the bad stories ive heard about ATG.

i still dont know if IGH is open and selling yet, they dont return my emails so im kinda stuck.

is there a law that MA dispensary websites have to give almost no information? haha

 

[BigHeadTodd]

For those of you who live in the western part of the state, I know you are anxiously awaiting the opening of the NETA dispensary in Northampton. They have been planning on opening in the middle part of September but that may be shifting a little. The word now is that they may be celebrating their grand opening nearer the end of September instead. From what I have seen of their facilities and their staff, this is going to be a first class operation. Although we may be a little disappointed by the delay, we will forget all about it once they open their doors. I know I will be one of the people in line on opening day!

 

[CareStaker]

I took a break from growing my own, and I can only keep so much at any point, so I ran real low my own meds. I took a trip to In Good Health in Brockton.


They are super nice, efficient, and clean. I just showed up, and we went through security, and then we went into the line for the counter. I got some flowers listed at 17.5%, and they had a very nice effect. They were nice dense nugs.
It didn't feel quite as punchy as what I'm used to growing, although the effect was nice. They only had two flower choices, but lots of edibles and concentrates. Overall, a very good showing for a place that just opened.