The line started forming early. More than a dozen were waiting for Wednesday's 1 p.m. opening of Boston's first medical marijuana dispensary.
"What is exciting about it is that it is close," said Leonard Doering. "I don't have to buy it off the street, I don't have to buy it from friends."
Doering says he suffers from glaucoma, and that marijuana helps relieve the pressure in his eyes.
"Basically, I'm going blind slowly," he said. "I have a tube in my eye ... that lets the pressure out."
Ari Kendall was also in line outside the dispensary on Milk Street.
"I'm here for the new dispensary, I've heard about it for a while and decided to come out," Kendall said. "It is opening day. I'm excited, and it is Tom Brady's birthday, so more excited."
The dispensary opened Wednesday after years of back-and-forth with the city. Company officials say they are working with Boston Police to address safety concerns.
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"Security is at the core of our mission," said Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vito. "You may not see it, we designed the security system so you would not see it, but everywhere you walk you are under surveillance inside and out."
By 4 p.m., the company said more than 100 people had walked through the door.
"I believe this is exactly where it should be. We are not in an alley, but we are in downtown crossing where people have access," said Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson.
Under an agreement with the city, the company must also provide delivery service for those unable to make it to the dispensary.
"I would be more worried about security meeting some guy in a sketchy alley at midnight," Kendall said.
