City council approves changes in the way pot shops get approved in Boston

This may overall be a good change for more transparency but 3+ years after the vote passed with no stores in sight of being open in the city, this seems more bureaucracy that will delay shops being open even further. It's frustrating that it's this difficult to do something that has been implemented elsewhere without the same hurdles and delays.

Where the well connected can get their palms greased.

A red headed, left handed woman with a stutter wouldl get a leg up in the licensing process? She would be a minority.

I understand the want to provide emphasis on local and minority owners in license approval but it seems they are missing the point in this whole process. It is the drawn out onerous process to get approval that is limiting the small time owners from entering the market.

Why would a small business owner put up a large amount of required investment capital, real estate requirements, and wait out a multi year long approval process with no guarantee of being granted the license? Only large firms with deep pockets can wait out the process to get approval for a license.

I have said it before and it bears repeating, open up the license process (or remove it entirety) to the entire community. Yes, there will be an initial flood of shops but eventually the supply will outstrip demand and only the best customer supported shops will remain in business.

Onerous regulatory processes only help the large companies that can afford to navigate the arbitrary hurtles place by local government.

Legalization seems somehow racist now, doesn't it?