Pubdate: Wed, 05 Mar 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, John Zaremba and O'ryan Johnson

EVANS: POT SHOPS 'NOT A GOOD IDEA'

Hub top cop William B. Evans yesterday slammed medical marijuana 
dispensaries as crime magnets, while city councilors were left fuming 
after state officials blew off a public hearing on the siting of two 
local pot shops - one of them less than half a mile from a Roxbury 
grade school.

"I can just see this being abused big-time. You can imagine how many 
phony scripts are going to be out there for people with their bad 
backs, their ingrown toenail. You name it. And then they're going to 
be out there with their 2 pounds - they get two months' supply when 
they go in - they're going to be out there selling it," Evans said on 
Boston Herald Radio.

"They're going to be robbed. Public-safety-wise, it's not a good 
idea," he added. "And also, I just worry, we're having all these drug 
issues surrounding heroin and OxyContin, why, at this stage, would we 
want to introduce another drug into the community?"

Councilors spent hours yesterday listening to the public and 
questioning city officials, as well as operators of the two pot shops 
planned for Boston, but many questions were left unanswered in the 
absence of the Department of Public Health.

"It's completely inappropriate that DPH didn't come," city Councilor 
Michael Flaherty said. "They should be in this chamber. ... It's 
complete disrespect."

City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who chaired the hearing, said: "This 
was not going to be an easy conversation. The state knew that. They 
didn't show."

Mayor Martin J. Walsh told the Herald last night whether pot shops 
are sited here is largely up to the DPH.

"There are some concerns around dispensaries, that's well-known," 
Walsh said. "We want to make sure they're in an area where we can 
monitor them and make sure they're there for the reason that they're 
there for: people with medical issues that need this prescription."

DPH has been heavily criticized for a secretive process and poorly 
vetted applications. Spokesman David Kibbe offered no explanation for 
the department's failure to appear yesterday.

"DPH has and will continue to work closely with municipal leaders 
throughout the licensing process," Kibbe said. "No applicant will be 
allowed to open without first complying with all municipal laws and 
regulations, and any applicant that fails to meet the state's 
standards will not get a license to operate a dispensary in Massachusetts."

Good Chemistry of Massachusetts wants to open a dispensary at 364 
Boylston St., and Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals has 
picked 70 Southampton St. Councilors raised concerns yesterday about 
both locations.

The Southampton Street site is less than half a mile from the Orchard 
Gardens K-8 School in a neighborhood that already has a jail, three 
methadone clinics and a biolab.

Green Heart executive director Andrew DeAngelo said he's open to 
moving but prefers to stay on Southampton Street. "Let's partner 
together to make this location work," he said.

The Herald has reported that Green Heart listed Stephen R. DeAngelo, 
a convicted felon, as its president before filing its application. 
DeAngelo, convicted of pot possession with intent to deliver in 2001, 
remains a key financier, while his brother, Andrew DeAngelo, is seen 
in a 2011 YouTube clip taking a bong hit of his West Coast shop's 
"Bogglegum" brand of bud and venting about his day.

Good Chemistry representatives indicated they already have started 
considering a new site after fielding opposition to their site in a 
high-end retail district.

Dispensary operators said their businesses would be good for their 
neighborhoods.

Andrew DeAngelo claimed his pot shop could decrease crime with its 
security "boots on the ground." Chief Operating Officer Jaime Lewis 
said Good Chemistry's shop in Denver has "zero security issues."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom