Business

Boston's 1st recreational marijuana shop opens

Posted March 09, 2020 7:00 am

By PHILIP MARCELO

Kevin Hart, front left, co-owner of Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop, completes a sale of cannabis products to the stores first customer Niambe McIntosh, front right, moments after the store opened for the first time, Monday, March 9, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis is Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) - The first recreational marijuana shop opened Monday in Boston, where owners are bracing for large crowds.

Pure Oasis owners Kobie Evans and Kevin Hart say they're preparing for up to 1,000 customers a day in the initial days to visit the store, which is also the first pot shop owned and operated by black entrepreneurs.

Evans and Hart say their shop marks a significant step forward for the East Coast's pot industry.

'œIt's bittersweet. It's a great feeling to be first, but we know that also comes with a level of responsibility,'ť Hart told The Associated Press last month after state regulators awarded the shop a final license. 'œIt's our responsibility to take this win we got today and make sure people of color realize they have the same opportunities.'ť

The shop, located about 4 miles south of downtown in the city's diverse Dorchester neighborhood, has a large waiting area and 10 registers and planned to have about 30 staffers on hand when doors opened at 11 a.m.

Mayor Marty Walsh says police would make sure the opening is safe and orderly, with officers helping with crowd and traffic control and discouraging public consumption of marijuana, which remains illegal in Massachusetts.

'œIt's going to be crazy,'ť he warned at a press conference Friday. 'œThere's going to be lines, there's going to be traffic, there's going to be chaos, there's going to be confusion.'ť

Pure Oasis joins roughly 40 retail marijuana locations already open in Massachusetts, though it is the only one that is run by black entrepreneurs nearly four years after state voters passed the nation's first marijuana law aimed at encouraging people of color and others harmed by the war on drugs to participate in the new industry.

The 3,000-square-foot shop, which will close daily at 7 p.m., sits on a bustling street that cuts through some of the state's most diverse communities.

Customers must be 21 years or age or older to enter and will be subject to certain purchase limits, at least for the initial days of operations.

Walsh, who has faced criticism for Boston's particularly slow rollout of pot shops, has said the pace of store openings in the city will begin to pick up.

At least three more marijuana stores are expected to open soon, and Walsh's administration has reached agreements with about a dozen others seeking to operate in the city.

Most East Coast states, except Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, have only approved cannabis for medical use.

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Follow the AP's complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana

Entrepreneurs Kobie Evans, front left, and Kevin Hart, center left, celebrate the opening of Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop with their first customer Niambe McIntosh, right, the moment the shop opened for the first time, Monday, March 9, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis is Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

Lisa Clement, of Randolph, Mass., front right, waits in line outside Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop before the store opens for the first time, Monday, March 9, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis is Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

Mike Whittaker, of Quincy, Mass., left, director of operations at Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop, arranges products on a shelf in the store, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis, Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one, is slated to open, Monday, March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

Mike Whittaker, of Quincy, Mass., below right, director of operations at Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop, applies bar codes to containers of cannabis flowers as workers, behind center, rehearse using registers in the store, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis, Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one, is slated to open, Monday, March 9, 2020. Store co-owner Kobie Evans, second from left, looks on. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

Mike Whittaker, of Quincy, Mass., director of operations at Pure Oasis recreational marijuana shop, applies bar codes to containers of cannabis flowers in the store, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Boston. Pure Oasis, Boston's first recreational marijuana shop, and the state's first black-owned one, is slated to open, Monday, March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) The Associated Press

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