On Thursday, Boston’s first retail pot shop and Massachusetts first black-owned business was approved more than a year after the shops had opened throughout the state.
What We Know:
- The approval comes three years after voters passed a law to help minorities enter the business world. Kobie Evans, co-owner of Pure Oasis, says that he hopes to open the shop in about a month in the Dorchester neighborhood. “It’s been a long, challenging journey, but it’s all been worth it…We’re excited to be where we are right now, but we’d also like to see more opportunities for people like us so that it’s not such a challenging road for people that come after us.”
- Many Blacks and Latino groups had voiced their frustration at how slow the approval rate for minority-owned businesses had been in both Massachusetts and nationwide. The state has approved about 280 marijuana company licenses to date. Unfortunately, out of all those licenses, only 10 of those have gone to companies like Pure Oasis. A recent statistic was released on Thursday by the commission and nearly 75% of those who have applied or are approved to work in Massachusett’s legal marijuana business are white. Black and Latino people make up less than 12%.
- Kevin Hart (not the actor), the other co-owner of Pure Oasis, believes that the local industry’s demographics will improve as more businesses open in more diverse communities.
- Massachusetts has 30 retail marijuana locations and only one in Greater Boston. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has faced criticism for his city’s slow rollout of pot shops. He just recently signed into law last year an ordinance overhauling the local process for vetting marijuana businesses. This new law provides technical assistance and other services to minority entrepreneurs seeking to enter the industry.
- Hart hopes to recruit minority workers. They have been holding job fairs in and around Dorchester, a neighborhood that has more than 40% of residents that are black and they plan to employ about 30 workers.
Hart stated, “It’s bittersweet. It’s a great feeling to be first, but we know that also comes with a level of responsibility…It’s our responsibility to take this win we got today and make sure people of color realize they have the same opportunities.”
