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Emergency Meeting Called Over 'A Ton Of Traffic' Around Pot Shop In Leicester, Mass.

Customers lined up outside the Cultivate Holdings building in Leicester, Massachusetts on November 21, 2018.
Melissa Hanson
/
The Republican/ Masslive.com / photos
Customers lined up outside the Cultivate Holdings building in Leicester, Massachusetts on November 21, 2018.

Leicester, Massachusetts, officials say the town has been overwhelmed with customers for its new recreational marijuana shop and have called an emergency meeting for Monday night.

Leicester is home to one of only two stores selling recreational pot in the state.

Town administrator David Generaux said he decided to call an emergency meeting of the selectmen and planning board after significant traffic, parking, and public safety issues arose around the store in its first week.

"We got hit by traffic that greatly outpaced anything we could imagine," he said. "I mean, we've seen vehicles from Maryland, from the Carolinas all coming up here for this one purpose." 

The other marijuana store is in Northampton. The city's police chief says while some customers have been parking where they're not supposed to, traffic around New England Treatment Access has been manageable.

Before joining New England Public Media, Alden was a producer for the CBS NEWS program 60 Minutes. In that role, he covered topics ranging from art, music and medicine to business, education and politics.