GREENFIELD — Amid considerably less fanfare and interest compared to other locations statewide, the first recreational sales of marijuana began in Greenfield Tuesday morning as Patriot Care opened its doors to the general public.

Some two dozen people waited in the queue outside the facility on Wells Street in downtown Greenfield. This was in stark contrast to the November grand opening of NETA in Northampton, which for weeks afterward had hundreds of people waiting in line to legal marijuana purchases.

At one point prior to the opening Tuesday, the ratio of police and security to customers in line appeared to be around one to one.

The amount of people at the start was not really a concern, said Mary Alice Miller, the chief risk officer and general counsel for Columbia Care, the parent company of Patriot Care.

“We’ll see how the day progresses,” she said. “Those crazy long lines that you initially saw at these kinds of opening, they kind of expected there would be some die-down. But we got a great program here."

The facility is there the for the long-term, she said. “We might not have hundreds of people in line, but we are still expecting a great turnout for our adult-use program.”

The first customer on the day was Greenfield Mayor William Martin, who cited the precedent set by Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz as the first customer of NETA. He purchased a small bottle of Melaleuca Relax Massage and Body Oil for $72.

Unlike Narkewicz who donated his purchase to the city Historical Society, Martin said “I intend to use it.”

He said he takes 1,800 milligrams of ibuprofen daily to treat inflammation and pain. The body oil is supposed to have the same anti-inflammation qualities, and he hopes it will be better at treating pain.

“I’ll donate the empty salve bottle and the receipt to the Greenfield Historical Society.”

Martin said the opening of the facility for recreational sales is significant for both for downtown and as the first such facility in Franklin County. He said it says something about Patriot Care that they were the first to explore a location in Greenfield when other recreational sellers ignored the area.

Greenfield has authorized eight licenses for recreational marijuana sales. Martin said that, including Patriot Care, the town has received nine applications for those eight licenses.