Community came out against Proposed Cannabis Shop in the Neighborhood

Universal Hub is reporting that the neighborhood came out in full force against a proposed cannabis shop at 313 Old Colony Ave. (the now closed Supreme House of Pizza).

In addition to neighbors and residents, the Andrew Square and City Point civic associations, City Councilors Ed Flynn, Michael Flaherty, Erin Murphy and Frank Baker all opposed the proposed Simplicity Dispensary, along with state Sen. Nick Collins. The Gavin Foundation was also against the shop.

Reason for the opposition? Public safety, traffic, children in the area, the proximity to Mass and Cass, to name a few.

Colonel Boothe, who is proposing Simplicity Dispensary, stated that he would invest $1.3 million to renovate and clean up the building and area which is currently a run down eyesore.

But the neighborhood still voiced their opposition – which seems to be a trend when it comes to cannabis shops in the neighborhood.  Similarly, the neighborhood and elected officials were against a proposed cannabis shop at 538 East First Street called Holland Brands.

The ZBA rejected the proposal and now the people behind the proposal of Holland Brands is suing the the board. 

It’s been over five years since Massachusetts voted to legalize marijuana (68% of South Boston residents actually vote overwhelmingly for cannabis business), South Boston still does not have a cannabis shop. It seems like none of the civic associations or neighborhood organization want the shops in their specific neighborhoods.  Public safety, traffic, the children, etc. are often the reasons of opposition. So now what?

According to Universal Hub, Boothe said South Boston is currently underserved by cannabis shops and that he is aiming to open the shop by June. To do so, he’ll need a “host community agreement” with the Boston Cannabis Board, approval of the Zoning Board of Appeal and sign-off by the state Cannabis Control Commission. So we shall see.

To read more details of this meeting visit here. 

On a side note, early this week, the neighborhood opposed the owner of Supreme House of Pizza and his application to deliver pizza until 2:45am on weekend. 

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