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Boston, Massachusetts Social Equity Applicant to Open First Recreational Dispensary

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]fter months of deliberation, Boston, Massachusetts is finally getting its first recreational cannabis dispensary.

According to WBUR, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) gave Pure Oasis a license on Feb. 6. It’s been four years since recreational cannabis was legalized, and the Massachusetts state capital is only now getting its first dispensary. “It’s been a very long road. So, you know, to finally see daylight is beyond ecstatic,” said Pure Oasis co-founder Kobie Evans. “I don’t even know if we have words for where we’re at emotionally about being at this point. We’re excited.

Pure Oasis is also the first business to take advantage of the state’s social equity program called Economic Empowerment. Dispensaries that are owned by, employ or benefit people in communities disproportionately criminalized by cannabis are given a license. “We’re very happy that Boston will be the first place for an economic empowerment designee,” said Alexis Tkachuk, the city of Boston’s director of emerging industries.

So far, there are 122 businesses with economic empowerment status, and 24 with completed license applications. Eight have received approval, but this is the first one to open. However, while Evans is proud of being the first applicant to get there, he would like to see other businesses do the same. “We wanted to be the next generation of trailblazers to provide an example to the residents of the neighborhood, to the young people, to the budding entrepreneurs, that, you know, these things are possible,” he told WBUR.

Pure Oasis is expected to be fully operational by March. The city of Boston has struggled with getting legal cannabis off the ground in the past. With the implementation of a cannabis committee and a close look at the lack of minority applications, the state has been making a real effort to address these challenges and has already begun to see the results.

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