At least 200 would-be customers were lined up outside Rockville’s first medical marijuana dispensary Friday afternoon when one of the owners announced that a cannabis shipment — including elixirs, tablets and flowers — had arrived.

Bill Askinazi promised that everyone in line would go home with at least some marijuana, then said computer issues were delaying the start of sales, and rushed back inside.

Call it a soft opening for Maryland’s long-awaited medical marijuana program, with at least two stores opening Friday after nearly five years of bureaucracy and delays.

In addition to Askinazi’s Potomac Holistics, Allegany Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Cumberland, near the Pennsylvania border, served its first customers late that night.

Five other dispensaries also told The Washington Post that they plan to start selling cannabis products in coming days. Wellness Institute of Maryland, in Frederick, said it had already made limited sales through a trial program but declined to provide further details.

Some people drove for more than an hour to get to the Rockville dispensary. Denise Broyhill came from Annapolis and was the dispensary’s second customer. She exited the store just after 5:30 p.m., holding a newly bought cannabis flower and 20 yellow tablets.

Broyhill, who spent $104, said she is seeking pain management for a neurological problem, and was excited — and “relieved” — to be able to try something “new and different.” [Read more at The Washington Post]