Montville ― Long lines are likely when retail sales of recreational marijuana start Tuesday morning at nine locations in the state that previously sold only medical marijuana, including one in southeastern Connecticut _ The Botanist dispensary on Norwich-New London Turnpike.

“We expect heavy traffic,” Kate Nelson, a senior vice president of The Botanist’s parent company, Acreage Holdings, said Monday. “We definitely anticipate high volume.”

The dispensary announced plans to host a grand opening celebration, beginning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, Mayor Ron McDaniel and other state and local officials are expected to attend.

Sales will be limited to medical marijuana from 8 to 10 a.m. at which time The Botanist will open up to sales of both medical and recreational marijuana from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

That’s when it figures to get busy.

Nelson said a heated tent has been erected outside the dispensary to accommodate the anticipated turnout, and shuttles will run “all day” between satellite parking areas in the center of town and Walgreen’s on Route 32. Nelson, who oversees Acreage Holdings’ operations in the Midwest and New England, has helped introduce recreational marijuana sales in other states and knows what to expect.

“We’ve seen a 150% increase in traffic when we launched in other markets,” she said. “The variable in Connecticut is that it’s (recreational marijuana) already in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, so we don’t expect to see many people from out of state.”

When Connecticut’s other neighbor, New York, introduced recreational marijuana sales on Dec. 29, a line of customers stretched around the block outside a lower Manhattan dispensary.

The other Connecticut locations opening Tuesday are in Branford, Danbury, Meriden, New Haven, Newington, Stamford, Torrington and Willimantic.

Recreational gummies

Adults 21 and older who show a valid ID will be able to purchase up to a quarter-once of recreational cannabis flower, or its equivalent, per transaction. The Botanist also will sell “pre-rolls” ― marijuana cigarettes, or joints, in singles or multipacks as well as vapes and, for the first time in Connecticut, gummies, according to Nelson.

Such medical marijuana edibles as baked goods, capsules and cookies will continue to be sold, Nelson said, and more and more recreational products will be made available over time.

She said all of the marijuana products The Botanist sells are made from marijuana cultivated in Connecticut.

Packaging rules

The state Department of Consumer Protection says the following packaging rules exist to protect those under 21 from accidentally ingesting marijuana products:

Policing drivers

Can the police charge someone with being under the influence of marijuana while driving?

The answer is yes. Under state law, a driver can be charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor or drugs if they are high on marijuana.

While a blood alcohol content level of .08% or higher is evidence of driving under the influence of alcohol, there is no such threshold for drugs, including marijuana.

“Instead, the law allows police officers to ask a person arrested for a DUI to submit to a ‘drug influence evaluation’ in addition to a breathalyzer or other chemical test,” according to a memo from the state Office of Legislative Research. The evaluation ― a 12-step standardized process ― is conducted by trained drug recognition experts.

The state Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office, in coordination with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, offers drug recognition training classes to help an officer detect a “drugged driver” driving erratically or recklessly.

While the odor of cannabis may not be used to justify a stop or search of a person or vehicle, law enforcement may test for impairment based on the odor “if the officer reasonably suspects that a driver was driving under the influence.”

Day Staff Writer Greg Smith contributed to this report.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com