EASTHAMPTON — It was 16 years ago that City Councilor Salem Derby was first elected, and in his first year he said he sat down with state representatives John Scibak and Stephen Kulik and asked a blunt question.
“I looked them both in the eye, and I said, ‘Are you going to help me fight for marijuana legalization?’ ” Salem recalled Saturday after making the very first recreational marijuana purchase at INSA, which officially began adult-use business at 10 a.m.
Whether state representatives or city councilors, Derby said he had to convince a lot of people over the years of his vision for legal pot in Easthampton. But his work in the council, and chairing its ordinance committee, paid off when he made his first purchase: a vaporizer with a strain high in CBD — a non-psychoactive and medically beneficial component of marijuana — and a pre-rolled “Hawaiian Spice” joint.
Lines didn’t snake around the block as they had at New England Treatment Access, or NETA, a month prior, but traffic was steady. Around 35 people were waiting at 9:30 a.m. prior to opening. A food truck was parked nearby.
Inside the store, employees made final preparations for the rush, and local politicians milled about waiting for the big moment, pop music playing over the speakers.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Police Chief Robert Alberti, who was inside with several other police officers. Alberti previously served on a task force with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which still continues to classify marijuana as an illegal “Schedule I” drug with no accepted medical use. But on Saturday, Alberti was talking business and commerce, and how his department would work together with INSA. “We’re looking forward to the collaboration,” he said.
Sales started a bit late as the business’s management and politicians made speeches inside. Mark Zatyrka began by praising employees across the business, from those working in the cultivation operation above the store’s retail space to the cooks in the back who make edibles.
“All that happens in this building here in Easthampton,” Zatyrka said.
“We are a leader and are progressive in our business-ready mentality,” Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said, emphasizing the jobs and sustainability she said INSA would bring to Easthampton.
Zatyrka and his business partners began the process of opening a dispensary in Easthampton around six years ago, when medical marijuana became legal. After finding a spot in the mill building, constructing a space and working through city and state government, INSA opened for medical sales in February.
The name INSA is a combination of two different types of marijuana, indica and sativa. And sales employees were explaining the differences amid all of INSA’s strains to customers as they came into the store, walking past the large, glass showcases.
Molly Bass, 23, of Wilbraham, was one of those employees, guiding customers through the variety of products: chocolates, “flower,” pre-rolled joints and vaporizers, to name a few. She said employees go through extensive training on the products and their effects.
“People come in and say what effect they want,” she said, and employees point them in the right direction.
One of the first customers in line was Michael Cruz, 28, of Springfield.
“It’s a new experience,” he said. “Almost like the end of prohibition.”
Thomas Peake, a city councilor, is a medical marijuana patient and has visited local dispensaries before, including NETA in Northampton. He said he thinks customers will be drawn to INSA’s atmosphere.
“It’s a very warm, inviting space,” he said. “And I’m really excited about the tax revenue.”
INSA is just the fourth recreational dispensary to open in the state, and by extension on the East Coast. But others are soon to follow; several businesses are in the process of setting up shop in Easthampton, as well as many others in nearby communities.
Several people, including city councilors Derby and Owen Zaret, said that while Saturday’s event is one worth celebrating, there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that marijuana legalization also benefits those who were most impacted by prohibition.
A 2016 report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts found that the state has deep racial disparities when it comes to marijuana arrests, with black and Latino residents having been disproportionately affected. And in states where marijuana has been legalized, racial disparities in businesses ownership are well-documented.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.