Customers lined up to make their first legal purchases of marijuana as dispensaries across the state opened for business early Thursday morning.
Charles Pfeiffer,
of Scotch Plains, was glowing with excitement after making his legal
purchase of recreational marijuana from Zen Leaf in Elizabeth this
morning. On this historic day in New Jersey, Pfeiffer said he was
"going to go open it and smoke it in about 20 minutes" when he
got home.
Suzanne, of
Cranford, was equally if not more ecstatic. She was the first
individual to purchase marijuana when the doors opened this morning at 6 a.m. "I
felt it was my obligation," she said. "This is a major
moment in history, and I wanted to be a part of it."
Suzanne, Charles,
and others waited upward of two hours this morning for the chance at
purchasing recreational marijuana. But some, including New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Committee Vice Chair Sam Delgado, think that today was a day
worth waiting for. "I spent four days in prison, in jail, in
county lockup up in Orange County, New York, for possession of an ounce
of marijuana, and here we are 47 years later and you can see the lines
here."
The excitement,
cheers and lines today brought a lot of attention to Zen Leaf in
Elizabeth. Sonny Achrekar, the general manager of Zen Leaf
Elizabeth, and his team were ready, bringing in double the staff to handle
the demand. "It was several, several vans over
several weeks that we have been preparing for this. It even happened last
night, so it has been non-stop here."
Zen Leaf in Elizabeth is open for recreational sales going
forward - every day of the week.