Massachusetts opens first legal marijuana shops on East Coast

'I am actually going to probably preserve it and display it … because it is historically significant'

(EPA)

A town mayor was among the first to line up to buy legal marijuana in Massachusetts which became the first state along the eastern seaboard to allow the sale of the drug for recreational use.

The state is the first of at least two where dispensaries will be open on the US east coast, joining some of their western counterparts which have already legalised it.

Calling it "historically significant", David Narkewicz, the mayor of the small town of Northampton told CBS News: "I am actually going to probably preserve it and display it."

When he finally made the purchase at the dispensary in his town, employees and onlookers began clapping and cheering at the sight.

At least 15 provisional licenses had been issued throughout the country to sell marijuana in the state, but just two received final approval and were able to open up their doors on Tuesday.

While marijuana is not legal in the US, the country has the largest worldwide market share of legal pot sales, accounting for as much as 90 per cent of the worldwide $9.5bn according to a recent study by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics entitled: The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, 6th Edition.

That did not take into account Canada, which legalised recreational marijuana earlier this year.

In addition to Massachusetts, several other states have voted to legalise marijuana or allowed for the opening of legal facilities, including: Maine, Vermont, Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Alaska, and the District of Columbia.

Just 15 states do not allow the sale or use of marijuana for medical or recreational uses.