Pure Oasis, the first recreational store for the city of Boston has been given the OK by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday.
Naomi Martin of the Boston Globe reported: “Boston inched closer Wednesday to having its first recreational marijuana store, possibly within months, as state regulators granted a provisional license to a planned shop in Dorchester. The license for Pure Oasis also marked the first granted to a member of the state’s economic empowerment program, which aims to help people from communities disproportionately harmed by pot criminalization. So far, the state has struggled to meet its first-in-the-nation mandate to include disenfranchised groups in its cannabis industry.”
On it’s own, considering the city itself has yet to have a single store offering recreational cannabis purchases up and running, the news is big for the Bay State industry in terms of key performance indicators that things are moving ahead.
But with the fact that Pure Oasis is the first economic empowerment applicant to get a provisional license – that category designed for applicants with previous non-violent drug convictions, racial minorities, or those living or working in municipalities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs/cannabis law enforcement – makes it a notable moment in the growth and maturity of this newborn market indeed.
With plans to open in Dorchester at Grove Hall, Pure Oasis getting its license, as CCC Commissioner Steve Hoffman put it, is “a major milestone.”
Speaking with MassLive, proprietors Kobie Evans and Kevin Hart, who have self-funded the project with private loans, said they do not have a management agreement with an established cannabis company. And in spite of the uptick in US cannabis investment, the pair discussed the issues facing the under-funded and resources-lacking regarding getting off the ground in the local and national industry, and why entrepreneurs require capital, operational support, and overall strategic guidance.
“It’s kind of challenging when you are a small business and you don’t have the money to hire someone to write your application, money to pay lobbyists and lawyers,” Evans said.
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