When the clock stuck midnight on Thursday Dec. 15 and cannabis became legal for adults in Massachusetts the streets of Boston werelargely empty. Minus-eight degree weather has that effect. That same bitter cold cancelled a planned noontime rally on the Massachusetts State House steps. A few hearty hippies and a handful of twentysomethings braved the icy cold. But the pro-cannabis crowd was outnumbered by journalists looking to report on the states historic milestone. Legalization advocate Ellen Brown was undaunted. Its exciting to be the fifth state to allow adult recreational cannabis use she told Leafly. Brown passed a joint among a small group of acquaintances as police stood by. We hope this sets a precedent for all of New England. The Massachusetts medical marijuana program is terrible. Now patients can bypass thatthe added expense the mandatory registryand purchase legally. Perhaps more importantly Brown added theres a vast amount of opportunity not just for corporations but for the everyday person to find their place in the industry. Although weather wrecked most of the afternoon fun there was a bigger celebration planned later Thursday night in the historic suburban town of Quincy. Everyone will be there I was told. A whos-who of pot in Massachusetts! Most importantly the evenings festivities would be indoors where things would be nice and cozy. A Boston cannabis tech firm called Ardent which makes a kitchen decarbing appliance called the Nova Precision Decarboxylatorplayed host to the End of Prohibition extravaganza at a swanky ballroom in Bostons suburbs to celebrate legalizations arrival in Massachusetts. Shanel Lindsay president of Ardent displays a legal cannabis plant during the companys end-of-prohibition party in Quincy Mass. Photo courtesy of Ardent. The crowd looked like America I was one of the sixteen drafters of the ballot initiative Ardent President Shanel Lindsaytold Leafly. I considered it an honor a pleasure and a duty to host the party. It was the first opportunity to show Massachusetts what the cannabis industry is and has the potential to be. This is an industry focusing on science technology and advancing peoples access to tools that can improve their health and well being. The crowd looked like America: all ages many colors half women half men. But this was a cool crowd. Hip trendy well-heeled. Ive been to events like this before but never for something like this! cannabis advocate and writer Mark Ward noted while packing a massive cone. Its our time man! I mean I knew Id see an event like this in my lifetime but not in this decade! A bar and dance floor took up half the room. The rest was set up convention-style. Two rows of vendors served up edibles resins and waxes for guests to sample. Growers displayed their plants. Vendors hawked indoor hydroponics ornate hand-blown glass dab rigs and other high-end paraphernalia. While perusing the displayed goods I overheard an exchange that could only happen in Massachusetts. This pahtys wicked awesome. I did something like this once in Maine but nothing this fancy! I mean that one was outside in a bahn! A bahn? Really? No hahm there!? Yeah dude but its a bahn! But theres chahm in a bahn. So whats the hahm? (This literally happened.) Welcome to the party. Sign here. After stopping to transcribe the Good Will Hunting moment I found myself drawn to an indoor grow tent. Its perfect for the home growing thats now totally legal in Massachusetts. And its a better more sustainable way to raise crops based on hydroponics and the latest LED technology. Guests at the event encountered a bizarre new feature of the states legalization law: A legal waiver. Welcome to the party please sign here here and here. In case you take a dab and bust your skull Ardents not liable a hostess explained with a shrug. Thats fucking stupid a guest said. Can you imagine a waiver at a drinking party!? Baby steps the hostess gently reminded us before resuming waiver duty with each and every one of the 400 or so guests on hand. It was a quiet reminder that were not fully there yet. The celebration had a signature drink the so-called Wild Harmony. Bacardi Rum cherry vodka Midori and sweet and sour mix. It was smartly presented in a snifter rim dusted with purple sugar. Proceed benefit low income children in Massachusetts luridly onerous medical marijuana program. So the heartburn from the five-alarm sour mix? Totally worth it! But this wasnt a drinking party. Indeed there was a living-room sized gas-heated outdoor tent for all things cannabis. It was all rather glamorous. A guest rolls one of the first legal joints in Massachusetts during the post-prohibition celebration. Photo courtesy of Ardent. One of the booths was all business. MCR Labs in Framingham tests cannabis for purity and potency. This is especially important for medical cannabis users who often must take an ad hoc approach to their medicine. Sick people dont have to mess with crappy brick weed anymore. Patients deserve no less than a rigorous scientific approach to maximize the relief cannabis brings each individual patient. For them its about more than just a buzz. Just past the lab table was a display of cherry-flavored edible taffies. I pocketed one or two for later. The start of a new culture Over the course of the evening I realized that a brand new culture was taking root. Right here right now. It sounded a lot like haughty hipster wine talk. You know what I mean. Only its not wine its cannabis. Oh my what a lovely delightful full-bodied sativa! Tastes like Blue Dream but with a hint of diesel. And Im living for those earthy afternotes! Where was this grown? Aspen!? Can you imagine discussing the terroir of the brickweed that dominated the market a generation ago? Nobody has to drink shitty wine or cheap sour coffee anymore. At a certain point we realized something better was available. And people would pay a tiny bit more for the good stuff. Its called mainstreaming. We did it with wine. And then we did it with coffee. And now in Massachusetts were doing it with cannabis. Jay Lassiter Jay has been covering New Jersey politics since 2005 when he founded a political journalism site and became the first credentialed statehouse blogger in America. He currently reports on politics for Leafly and the New York Observer. The post Massachusetts Celebrates Legalization Day One appeared first on Leafly. by Jay Lassiter at Leafly