Boston's first Black female-owned cannabis dispensary opens for business
By Courtney Cole, WBZ-TV
CHARLESTOWN - Boston now has its first cannabis dispensary owned by a Black woman. Nike John, the founder of The Heritage Club in Charlestown told us she's excited to invite people in to experience the space.
"The absolute best part of our opening was on day two. Someone came in and said, 'I've never been to a dispensary before. My roommate said this was a place that was inviting and where you could ask questions.' And I was like that's why I built this," John explained.
This milestone comes six years after cannabis was first legalized in Massachusetts and three years after the City of Boston created The Cannabis Equity Program, with the goal of diversifying the industry in Boston.
WBZ's Courtney Cole takes a look at the challenges the dispensary owner faced along the way-- and how the city's program is impacting the face of the industry, locally.
From the moment you step into the thoughtfully curated space of The Heritage Club, you know this isn't going to just be a retail experience -- but an educational one, too.
"One of my favorite parts of how this got started was that my mom suggested that I open a dispensary," said Nike John, founder and owner of The Heritage Club. "And I wasn't sure, why until I listened to the history of the war on drugs and the opportunity for social justice work-- which she knows I'm really passionate about."
The road to get to opening the doors on Cambridge Street, wasn't an easy one.
"So, the process...it starts with-- in Massachusetts specifically-- finding a location," John told Cole.
Even with 10 years of experience in real estate, John told said it was a challenge.
"So, don't give up on finding that if you're in the process," said John.
Next, the dispensary owner said is community outreach.
"You get a host community agreement (an HCA), and then you can apply with the state. And that starts a whole other licensing process. I was able to do that with the City of Boston and get a host committee agreement. And then, apply with the CCC, (that's the Cannabis Control Commission) and then I got my provisional license. After that--it took a year from provisional to get my license and then open," said John.
Not to mention the serious financial investment required.
"All in- I had more than $150,000 in holding costs, just for the lease, that I had to defer and negotiate. And my landlord was nice enough to say it's OK. I'm going to support you through this," she told WBZ.
The lack of diversity in the cannabis industry was the driving force for her to stick with it.
"I wanted to show that Black women can run a business and cannabis as well as anybody else and that we need to be a part of this industry, to help make sure that equity is something that keeps going on and is encouraged," John said.
Launching her business successfully is not the end of the story, she explained that it's about reaching back to help others, too.
"We have a bunch of different brands and we're committing to displaying and promoting at least 30% of these mission-driven, diversely owned, women-owned, Black-owned, businesses," said John.
In 2019 the City of Boston, passed The Equitable Regulation of Cannabis Ordinance which created The Boston Cannabis Board, The Cannabis Equity Program and also created the criteria on how to be designated a Boston equity applicant.
The goal: to give a more diverse group of people, the opportunity to break-in to the business.
Since the creation of the equity program, the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion said not all cannabis entrepreneurs of color are equity applicants. But of the equity applicants there are:
-45 Certified Equity Applicants
-30 Equity Applicant Host Community Agreements HCAs (this includes the 3 shops that are open and the ones that are still in process at the State level)
-9 Equity Applicants still in the process (meaning they are still in the community process and have not yet been heard by the BCB).
Here's the breakdown of the racial demographics of the equity applicants:
John said she is working to change the narrative.
"That is the most exciting and rewarding part," John said. "I think it's a part...it makes me emotional talking about it because I know how many people have tried and not gotten approved. I was rejected my first time around, just not giving up and getting to remind people-- that we can do this."
When Cole asked the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion what challenges they are still facing when it comes to getting more people of color involved in the cannabis industry here in Boston, they said in part:
"One big challenge for aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs is finding a commercial space suitable for their business. Not only is commercial rent expensive, but most banks are not able to loan money to cannabis establishments since it's still a federally prohibited substance. Additionally, Boston has a lot of K-12 schools, and a cannabis establishment cannot be located less than 500ft from a K-12 public or private school. There is also a half mile buffer zone between cannabis establishments that the BCB takes into strong consideration when scoring a cannabis establishments license application. The BCB is required by the State to grant a minimum of 52 cannabis licenses, and both buffers and seeking out affordable space that allows for cannabis makes opening an establishment difficult for the applicant. The Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity & Inclusion is currently looking at ways to make it easier for our equity applicants to be successful in the industry with more grant money, more technical assistance, and equity-minded policy recommendations."
Anyone interested in more information can email the city directly: cannabisbiz@boston.gov