Pubdate: Sat, 01 Feb 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Priyanka Dayal McCluskey and Antonio Planas

SITES: 'YOU CAN'T STOP THEM'

Mayor Martin J. Walsh backed off his strong stance against medical 
pot dispensaries near schools and neighborhoods yesterday, admitting 
"you can't stop them" even as rattled Hub residents learned one weed 
shop won state approval to set up near a Roxbury school and another 
in the posh Back Bay.

"I'm going to live up to the terms of the law," Walsh said yesterday. 
"We have requirements now that are out there, and as mayor of the 
city we're going to enforce those. You can't stop them. We just got 
to make sure when they're sited, they follow all the proper procedures."

Earlier this month a more resolute Walsh told the Herald: "I will not 
allow them, or at least use my power or ability, to not have them 
placed next to a school or in ... a residential area."

Walsh denied he was backtracking, saying through spokeswoman Kate 
Norton that he "has been consistent in his concern for the potential 
public safety issues" over pot dispensaries.

The state Department of Public Health yesterday announced 20 winners 
of licenses to dispense medical marijuana, including two in Boston. 
The dispensaries still need to win approvals from local permitting boards.

City Councilor Tito H. Jackson, who represents Roxbury, said he 
opposes the pot shop slated for 70 Southampton St., less than half a 
mile from the Orchard Gardens K-8 School, saying it would be an 
unwelcome addition to a neighborhood that already has a jail, three 
methadone clinics and a biolab.

"I have some very urgent and real concerns about the placement of 
this dispensary," he said. "I have many concerns ... on the high 
concentration of legal drug treatment in the area."

Bonita Cuff of Roxbury, a mother of two, called it an insult to the 
neighborhood.

"That's like a slap in the face. It's disrespectful. They should pick 
somewhere else," she told the Herald. "That's a family neighborhood.

"People are already buying drugs," she added as her two young 
children stood by her side. "I think it's more easier access to drugs 
they're already getting."

Downtown, the medical marijuana dispensary planned for 364-368 
Boylston St., steps away from the Public Garden and high-end Back Bay 
retailers, was also met with immediate protests.

"It comes as a tremendous surprise," said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, who 
heads the Back Bay Association business group. "We'll be very active 
in our opposition. We just don't think it's the right location."

Jaime Lewis, chief operating officer of Good Chemistry of 
Massachusetts Inc., the group behind the Boylston Street dispensary, 
acknowledged that medical marijuana is still "taboo" in the Bay State 
but said the shop will be "very discreet" and will have only a "G" 
above the door.

The owner of the proposed Roxbury pot dispensary, Green Heart 
Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals, did not return calls.

Matt Stout and Ariel Rodriguez contributed to this report.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom