Hey, there! Log in / Register
Medical-marijuana dispensary approved on Newbury Street, but could face legal battle
By adamg on Wed, 11/15/2017 - 12:46pm
UPDATE: Guy actually supports the thing.
The Board of Appeal yesterday approved a medical-marijuana dispensary at 331A-333 Newbury St., after the proposed operator agreed to not seek permission to sell recreational pot, to obtain at least 10 spaces in a nearby garage for customers and to pay for police details to go after pot smokers on the Commonwealth Avenue mall.
But Compassionate Organics' Geoffrey Reilinger could face a legal fight. Residents opposed to the measure have hired attorney and former City Councilor Lawrence DiCara to fight the proposal, which they and DiCara said would expose too many children to the idea of marijuana consumption.
At the hearing, DiCara also raised the specter of a Newbury Street gridlocked by double-parking customers - who he said would light up in the alley between Newbury and Comm. Ave. - and by fleets of armored cars delivering marijuana to the facility and driving away the cash he said patients would have to use because federally insured banks are not allowed to process credit-card transactions for marijuana dispensaries.
And then there was Oliver Curme, a retired venture capitalist who lives on Commonwealth Avenue (and not represented by DiCara), who opposed the proposed dispensary because of the icky people he said would patronize it:
It'll bring undesirable elements into the neighborhood, and just so you know what I mean, there are Army vets with PTSD and we don't want them in the neighborhood, you know, just give me a break, they can get over it.
And the second thing, is people with wheelchairs, with MS, or whatever [here board members told him to limit himself to zoning issues]. Third one is women with breast cancer. They all have that cadaverous look and they wear those ridiculous turbans, and for goodness sake, [here board members tried and failed to get him to sit down] Newbury Street is our high-end shopping district, we don't want people like that scaring off the clientele.
The city's first medical dispensary opened on Milk Street downtown in August, 2016, a year after the zoning board approved it.
At the hearing yesterday, a representative of one Back Bay doctor supported the proposal, saying it could help in the fight against opioids by giving people a way to come off opioid addiction. Margaret Huff-Rousselle, a health-policy professor who lives on Commonwealth Avenue, said she has a Harvard colleague who is still forced to turn to the black market for medical marijuana because there are too few places to buy it legally.
Ann Hochberg, attorney for the family that has owned the Newbury Street building since 1962, said the use is a good one for "the funkier end of Newbury Street," which she said is already facing empty storefronts because of competition from online retailers. Local unions representing carpenters and electricians also supported the proposal because Reilinger has agreed to hire union workers to build out the facility.
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay opposed the proposal. Chairman Martyn Roetter said the civic group is not opposed to the idea of a medical marijuana dispensary in the neighborhood, but said it shouldn't be on a street where people live and children congregate. Dispensaries should be in locations where children only "rarely and fleetingly in passing by" might become aware of marijuana. In contrast, the Newbury Street location means "many children" will be "permanently and inevitably exposed to its impact."
Nearby residents with children agreed. Susan Baker, who lives on Beacon Street, said her son walks by the proposed location twice a day on his way to and from school and said "hundreds of other kids will be exposed on a daily basis." She added, "We just don't want Newbury Street, because it directly abuts the residential neighborhood, to be a destination for people to come and procure marijuana."
Ross, whose council district included the Back Bay, however, retorted that's not a legal reason to block the dispensary, because state laws related to dispensaries and proximity to children are related to such things as schools, not streets on which children might walk.
He said the 300 to 325 customers a day Reilinger expects would be only a small fraction of the type of traffic a Starbucks or similar retail outlet would see on Newbury Street, and said Reilinger has an agreement with the nearby Somerset Garage to let his customers park there during their visits - and that he would pick up the tab.
But that assertion brought an angry retort from Dr. Patricia Brown, who lives on Hereford Street and who has been on the garage board of trustees for 18 years - she said she has never heard of such an agreement and said she doubted it was even possible given how little space there is there.
Ross said he had talked to somebody named Youssef at the garage, and said Reilinger did not want to commit to a formal contract before he won final permission to build. The zoning board said it didn't care where Reilinger had his patrons park, but said they would not sign off on their approval until after he shows a signed contract with some garage operator in the area for use of at least 10 spaces.
Josh Zakim, who took over Ross's seat when Ross ran for mayor four years ago, opposed the location. Kate Ball, one of his aides, said that, like NABB, Zakim believes a dispensary in the Back Bay could work in a less visible location, rather than on "arguably Boston's premier retail street."
Mayor Marty Walsh took a stand of neither opposition nor support.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Does every liquor store and CVS
have to go through this as well in Back Bay?
As a matter of fact ...
Yes, they do. But rich guys don't usually stand up at hearings and make horrible comments about veterans and other people with medical conditions.
How Many Are Paying For Police Details?
Maybe I've missed it, but I've never heard of a drug pharmacy or liquor store paying for police details at a location other than their place of business, for the purpose of arresting people who probably never patronized the establishment.
Convenience stores and coffee purveyors create a significant public nuisance when their customers fail to properly dispose of packaging and other trash. Are any of them paying for police details to issue citations to people who litter?
Oliver Crume sounds like a real POS
And then there was Oliver Curme, a retired venture capitalist who lives on Commonwealth Avenue, who opposed the proposed dispensary because of the icky people he said would patronize it:
It'll bring undesirable elements into the neighborhood, and just so you know what I mean, there are Army vets with PTSD and we don't want them in the neighborhood, you know, just give me a break, they can get over it.
And the second thing, is people with wheelchairs, with MS [here he waved his hands in the air], or whatever [here board members told him to limit himself to zoning issues]. Third one is women with breast cancer. They all have that cadaverous look and they wear those ridiculous turbans, and for goodness sake, [here board members tried and failed to get him to sit down] Newbury Street is our high-end shopping district, we don't want people like that scaring off the clientele.
46:24 in the video
If your jaw dropped reading those lines and couldn't believe it was real, you have to see the video. He starts at 46:24.
Bonus point: He tried to jump the line at 44:57.
Yeah,
the fact that he had no shame to even say those words and then to be recorded, just leaves me speechless.
There have always been people like Mr. Curme and there always will be but when you see it in action - cripes. And I love how he gave the air quotes to "MS" . What, does he believe that it does not exist and those that have it, are somehow faking it? What a scum of a human being.
What?!
Is this possibly for real? Was he doing some kind of performance art? Maybe it was a satire gone wrong? Perhaps he lost a bet, or was playing truth or dare with someone at the Somerset Club and took "dare." If not, for future note, you can't say those kind of things as part of a proper satire without wearing a monocle.
I had a jaw-dropping moment
I was watching Crume speak, and afterwards realized that my mouth was just frozen open.
I know there are people who think like that, and that kind of thinking explains a lot of the decisions in this city, but most people at least have the sense not to talk like that in public.
Can someone get that video clip on the Reddit front page?
incredible
At first I thought this had to be a prank but a quick Google search does seem to indicate he's real.
Get fucked, Oliver Curme, retired venture capitalist who lives on Commonwealth Avenue.
lives in a mansion
He doesn't just live on Commonwealth, he lives in a mansion on Commonwealth per the video.
I'm a non-violent person
But I'll go buy a baseball bat to bash this fucker's head in.
Ah, Mr. Curme,
your afterlife will consist of you in a very small locked room with all those people whom you disparage plus a handful of folks smoking the weed.
Funny, in my world, Mr. Curme is the undesirable element.
(You, Mr. Curme, aside from you having a zero sense of empathy, many many people who are in pain and suffering use marijuana, medically, to alleviate their pain. One such person comes to my mind. A woman who I had the pleasure of knowing who died at 35 due to advanced colon cancer and left a husband and two small children at the time. She was a lovely, caring, church going individual, who suffered. So go fuck yourself.)
If the world is just
If the world is just, he will die of fungating tumors, alone, without analgesia.
Wealth only goes so far when it comes to insulating you from the reality of frailty and death.
WTF
Perhaps your twisted karmic utopia is already here and some other bloviating pixie wished pain and suffering on those poor souls that the venture capitalist provided some of. This would make him a good guy in your desired vision of cosmic justice.
Your constant prayer for the horrible misfortune of others surely does not include a complete background check, does it? I mean, what if the turban lady voted for President Trump?
In short, it is just not cool to hope for deadly tumors on people.
Says the guy ...
Who has repeatedly gone on record here to support policies that kill women and kill members of the underclasses.
Afraid of Karma, are ya?
policies that kill women and kill members of the underclasses
I do not support abortion.
Go Condemn Rick Santorum
His wife was saved by one.
lol
lol
Ah, okay
So you will adopt all the motherless kids in El Salvador whose mother's died from tubular pregnancies and ecclampsia?
Good.
I wonder when he is on his death bed...
if he gets to be that lucky, will he have a "come to Jesus moment"? Nah.
Holy shitballs
My jaw dropped reading that. I cannot believe there's video of it. Good grief.
Satire?
These statements are so wacky and improbable as to suggest that they're not being offered seriously. Come on -- a guy who says he lives in a mansion telling people with PTSD to "get over it," complaining about wheelchairs in the Back Bay, and calling breast cancer patients "cadaverous" and "ridiculous," this is all literally how a Weekly Dig cartoonist would portray the 1% as devoid of any basic human kindness.
I'm seriously wondering if he and his money are actually on the dispensary's side in all this.
Psst..
There are a lot of wacky people out there that say wacky things. There are also a lot of mean people out there, like this man, who say mean things. This is not improbable.
Quick google search reveals
Quick google search reveals he is a real person and definitely does not need the money.
OLIVER CURME
Spell his name correctly -- OLIVER CURME -- so that any time people google him this horrendous video of his bigotry and hatred will pop up first.
Absolutely unreal
What kind of a horrific human is Oliver Curme? Giving people with PTSD a hard time is bad enough - but MS and breast cancer?!?!?! He's acting like any of those things is something they could control.
This is absolutely disgusting.
Blowing Smoke
Oh give me a break. I work right around the corner from the dispensary on Milk Street and if I didn't read U-Hub, I wouldn't even know it was there. Minimal signange, no "undesirables" lighting up in the ally next to it, etc.
This is all just scare tactics from people who grew up watching too much Reefer Madness.
And can we get over the "but the children!" piece - unless you live in a dry house and never drink in front of your kids, the amount of exposure they'll get by walking past this probably pales in comparison to the amount of watching Mommy, Daddy and Friends enjoy some "juice juice" whenever they host company.
But what about Kevin?????
Or for that matter at any of
Or for that matter at any of the Patio Bars along the same street.
Come on, people
Almost an hour? Really?
Oliver Curme-udgeon
Thumbs up for this post!
Thumbs up for this post! Well done Will!
Please don't light up near
Please don't light up near kids playing in the parks, thanks.
This is such a bummer. You
This is such a bummer. You already can't walk anywhere in Boston during the summer without the stench of weed hanging in the air.
That's not the only bummer
It's a bummer you don't realize that medical marijuana doesn't just come in smokable form.
yup
My fav MMJ product right now terpine vape pens. So cool, and not smelly!!! It saved my living situation!
Hey,
some of us I like the smell of weed. Rather that than cigs.
And, come on, you can't walk anywhere? Really? Well, have you tried Newbury Street?
It has gotten so bad
I've never smoked weed, but I supported legalization. The horrible stench of it is everywhere now. I'd love to see it back illegal again just so I don't have to smell it.
Oliver Crume is a terribler
Oliver Curme is a terrible person. He speaks of "undesirables" but old rich men like him are the ones ruining this country.
And why does a business a block from a T stop need to have 10 parking spaces? Customers who don't drive will pay more to subsidize the lazy drivers. Drivers in Boston should be embarrassed by getting all these handouts paid for by non drivers.
Because maybe some people are
Because maybe some people are unable to take the T to the dispensary for health reasons?
You sound a lot like Oliver Crume yourself there kornholio.
Denver
In Denver, two of the most popular urban dispensaries downtown are along the pedestrian/transit only corridor.
Perhaps they should put in 5 handicapped spots directly in front?
Will You Please Stop?
You're obviously young, because whatever else this guy Curme might be, he doesn't appear in the video to be much older than 50. You're obviously fully mobile, because everything you post is about bicycles. You're obviously wealthy, because you make a point of living in JP but you're also freaked out by "sketchy" corners downtown. And you obviously have no responsibility to dependents significantly older or younger than yourself, because you appear blissfully unaware that one might need to transport them and their mobility aids somewhere further than a block away.
And that's all great. It sounds like a wonderful life. You should feel very lucky.
My mother, on the other hand, lost her husband to suicide, raised a child almost entirely by herself while working full-time, and then acted as the sole caretaker to her own mother during late-life disease and dementia. She is the strongest, kindest, most motivated person I have ever known. She also can't afford to live in Boston, so when she has to go into town she drives and I hope she finds a parking place near wherever she's going.
You, from your position of immense privilege, are describing this woman as "lazy" and saying she "should be embarrassed by getting all these handouts." This is so far from the truth as to be hilarious, except it's exactly the same repugnant language frequently used to shame the poor. That says a lot about where you draw your inspiration, and how you view people with incomes lower than yours. What I really hope you consider, though, is that some of the people you whine about so petulantly have more pride on their worst days than you and 100 clones of yourself do on your best.
I think Mr. Curme is 63
but does not look a day over being a asshole.
omg dude really?
I was so on the same page, almost amazed we could agree something, even if it's someone nearly unquestionably being a scumbag. Then you somehow made this another anti-car rant, something only you could do.
Sigh.
Um, cause the T sucks, in general?
And not all drivers are lazy., BTW. Some of us take the T and commuter rail because it is cheaper that what our employer would charge us for parking per month.
A comedy villain
If I tuned into a TV show and some character named Oliver Crume was speaking those lines, I would assume it was a comedy, because it's too over-the-top awful for anything that aspires to be realistic. It's like he's playing the Terrible Person in a kid's movie.
The Burrage Mansion
I wonder how many of Oliver's co-residents of the Burrage Mansion hold his views? Also, when he mentions MS he does a spastic move, apparently making fun of MS patients. I feel like I've seen some other white a-hole do that at a public podium, but for the life of me I can't think of who....
Maybe his upstairs neighbor
Maybe his upstairs neighbor Ansbert can talk some sense into him.
Occam's razor....
The entire "Oliver Curme" act has got to be a false-flag operation designed to discredit the opponents of the dispensary. I can't come up with any other explanation that is even remotely plausible.
Bob,
so you think this guy is a plant? Really? Perhaps his economic class hits to close to home for folks who live on The Hill but, I can assure, you there are plenty of folks like Mr. Curme who are just nasty people (His name is not false. In fact, he apparently also sits on a variety of boards).
I know he's a real guy
I know that Oliver Crume is a real guy; I just honestly flabbergasted that anyone could seriously stand up in a public meeting and say what he said.... but then again, I wasn't expecting the American public to elect that other guy who mocked the disabled, so maybe I'm just out of touch with reality.
I can't imagine that his economic class finds a lot of resonance with the folks on the hill who who live in Section 8 housing, or elderly housing, or HIV+ housing, (all of which, by the way, neighbors fought for, contributed to, and raised money for) but maybe some of them were wealthy in a previous life.
By the way, when developers do a big project, they are sometimes required to build a certain number of subsidized units. Often they fulfill the requirement by building the "poor folks' units" somewhere elsewhere in the city. Last developer who came before our neighborhood representatives with a big development was told, clearly, "We want the subsidized units to be right here in our neighborhood, ideally in the building itself, not somewhere across the city." The developer was a little surprised. We ain't NIMBY that way.
I'll take your word for it.
And am pleased to hear that. I really am. But yet when someone wanted to move her little Mexican take out to a sit down restaurant location on The Hill, well, that did not fly. And then there is the little issue of the handicap ramps. So although I really want to believe that your area is less NIMBY, and perhaps you do have pockets of good souls (and it sounds like you do) let one try to put a dispensary anywhere on Charles Street and then we will see.
In regards to Mr. Curme, I am not surprised at all. He is angry enough to spew hate in a public forum. It has happened in the past, it does happen now and it will continue to happen.
Principles suck, sometimes
One reason the input of the neighborhood association is taken seriously by the city is that it has a decades-long reputation for articulating its principles and acting in accordance with them.
One of those principles is to oppose the conversion of any residential property in the interior streets of Beacon Hill into commercial use.
If you have that as your principle, then you oppose a permit application to convert residential into commercial. If you make an exception for someone whom you like, or whom you think is decent, or deserving, then you lose your credibility.
A lot of us loved Julie, patronized her business, and put time and effort into helping her when the gas station housing her takeout stand was slated to close. People were leaning on their friends in real estate looking for space; there was talk about raising money for a food truck, etc.
Now either Julie doesn't understand the idea of adjudicating based on principle, or her PR firm put her up to it, or some jackass from the neighborhood pissed her off, but a fair number of us felt personally stabbed in the back when she, disappointed that the neighborhood opposed opening a restaurant on a residential block, went very public with accusations that the neighborhood was hostile, unwelcoming, and maybe even a little bit racist.
I personally would support a dispensary on Charles Street. Or Cambridge Street. Anything's better than another bank branch.
It should not be that complex, Bob.
Julie just wanted to open a little place on The Hill. If you all loved her, as you say, you all would of found a way to make it work for her. It is not complex, really, unless you really did not want her to locate her restaurant there because of your, ahem, "principles". She did not want to move to another location at the time and she did not want a food truck or she would of proceeded with that course of action, no?
We could go back and forth regarding principles but the point is that Julie felt slighted in some way. It could be that she felt this way because she was taken aback at the reaction from The Hill when she tried to relocate. So because of this she probably viewed your neighborhood as "hostile, unwelcoming and maybe even a little bit racist". You may discount these feelings but they should be acknowledged. And it is understandable why she went public.
I am disturbed that you are basically insulting her intelligence both ways by saying she just did not comprehend "the idea of adjudicating based on principle" and that she was not intelligent enough to realize her PR firm, if she had one, "duped" her. You are placing all the onus for her failure on her actions which I do not agree with since she did nothing wrong in my eyes.
Any, why, pray tell, should you all feel "stabbed in the back?" She was the one that lost out, no?
It's less dramatic than all that.
It's somewhat less dramatic than you're making it out to be. Also, at the end of the day, the neighborhood's action (or, actually, inaction) had very little to do with Julie.
A property owner wanted to convert residential space in his building into restaurant space and then rent it to Julie. The law doesn't allow that. He asked for a a zoning variance: an exception to the law. Such an exception would not be for Julie, it would attach to that property forever. If he obtained the variance, long after he had sold the building; long after Julie's grandchildren die of old age, there would still be a permitted restaurant use there.
The city generally takes into account the neighbors' support or lack thereof when deciding whether to grant such an exception to a property owner.
The neighbors didn't think that there was any good reason to,
When the neighborhood opposed this property owner's (not Julie's) application to turn his residential property into a restaurant forever, Julie took personally something that ultimately had nothing at all to do with her personally or her business, by very publicly calling us, her loyal customers and supporters, a bunch of racist assholes.
I don't know about anyone else, but when someone whom I have supported calls me an asshole and insinuates that I am a racist, I feel betrayed, stabbed in the back.
Did anybody ever find out the
Did anybody ever find out the identity of the guy who was caught on video crapping on somebody's doorstep in East Boston? Can we send that guy to Oliver Curme's residence at the Burrage Mansion?
My name is Mr. Burns
"I live in a mansion around the corner, which you deadbeats wouldn't know anything about. Anyway, me and my rich friends don't want scumbag losers with MS and cancer coming and sucking around our neighborhood, stinking the place up. In conclusion, veterans are a plague upon our society, and should be shunned to the point of suicide.
Good day."
That was difficult to watch and listen to.
I have worked in the public sector for about 8 or 9 years of my career, during which years I attended countless public hearings. I also serve on a public commission in the town in which I live, a town that is also inhabited by many, many people whose financial means are probably quite similar to those of Mr. Curme. We conduct multiple public hearings each month.
I have never, ever, seen anything that even remotely approached this level absurdity. An earlier commenter suggested that this looked like some kind of performance art or a gag of some sort. Oh my word do I hope that is true. If it is not, this video is going to go viral and lots of haters are going to suggest that this guy somehow is representative of Boston.
That was difficult to watch and listen to. I have always believed that this is a country that, for its many faults, was overwhelmingly inhabited by fundamentally decent people. That belief is eroded a little bit more with each passing day. It was eroded even more than usual today for having watched that.
So if this is for real, shame on you, Mr. Curme. You have disgraced this great City and Commonwealth.
It is, issacq
The majority of folks in this country are good and decent people! (Why just yesterday a person who won a 50/50 raffle where I drew the winning ticket donated her winnings to our fundraiser - $680 - without even pausing.) Don't let this prick get you down.
Hurt people hurt people. Perhaps Mr. Crume is one hurt person (how can he not be?) It does not excuse this behavior by any means but perhaps makes it easier to understand?
MMJ Card Holder
Now that election is over, I can come out as a big old stoner.
I always love these debates in these meetings. All these people always opposing something they've never stepped foot inside. Maybe if they saw what it was like, and see how well run these places are, that might change some people's opinions.
But of course, people love to comment about things they know very little about.
I'll go right on record and say I have a MMJ card. I got it before I filed paperwork to run for office, just to legalize everything up. Before that, I had 'a guy'. I just got tired of doing the meeting up, and once I found out I could get other MMJ products besides flower. I was all about it.
First off, when you go inside these places. There's so much security. Not just a detail (like NETA does in Brookline) but maybe a security guard. You have to be checked in by someone in an airlock before you are let inside.
Many places like Patriot Care have a waiting area before you can go back to the counter area where you place your order.
And there's enough cameras everywhere that you'd feel like you were in a TV studio. Not kidding. Every single inch of these places is monitored.
As far as the people "hanging around". Out of all the dispensaries I've been to, I've NEVER seen anyone hang out nearby and smoke. It's just not true. Most people, like myself, go in, get your sh*t, and leave. I'm usually on my way to another errand.
And "for the children". Please stop with this nonsense. I'm tired of this argument, because the same parents who say this about drugs, are the same parents who drink alcohol by the gallon. It's hypocritical. The *ONLY* people I will accept this argument are practicing Mormons. They are truly substance free and have a point. Everyone is just full of hot air otherwise.
The second thing I will add about "for the children" is... Once again, people are making assumptions about something they do not know. If you buy an edible there, it's sealed. AND put into a bag that is stapled, which is placed inside a child proof zipper bag. There's no way a child is gonna get at that. Not unless a parent gives it their child. And by that point, how is that the dispensaries problem? It's not anymore.
As far as Mr Crume's comments... FUCK YOU. I really invite this asshole to go sit in the waiting room at an MMJ intake facility for a few hours. It's not a bunch of stoners trying to get a card. You will see cancer patients, people with Parkinson's, Vets with PTSD, and people like me who have HIV. People who REALLY need this treatment. I was surprised myself when I did my intake.
It's shameful that he chastised sick people because of NIMBY-ism. I hope he fries in hell for his comments. Seriously fuck you.
this
is why we need a thumbs up again.
Ditto on the thumbs up
And thanks Cybah for your message.
Thumbs
to the parent and grandparent posts. Nice one, Cybah.
Oh My! Another Hater!
You'll have to offer some of your cookies to certain posters here who now have severely impacted twisted knickers!
Thank You, Cybah...
Your insight and candor about this is very much appreciated! Parents and other folks worried about the children: You ever take your kids to Boston Common? Spend an hour there and besides seeing squirrels running around with contact highs you get a front row seat to: knife-fights, the tragically junk-sick, and more.
Remember, little Suzy and Timmy, that guy posted by Park Street Station isn't selling little baggies of brown sugar to bakers in need.
People like Oliver Shit-Eating Fuck Crume make me wish banishment was still a thing in Boston.
You are welcome
You are welcome. Feels liberating to be open about it now.
I had/have a canned reply. I did run for office, and if it ever came up. I would not deny it and I have a canned reply. It's pretty rock solid. And the above was the gist of it.
I'm just SO tired of these arguments because they are invalid. MMJ has been in MA for several years now, and have we had *any* problems? None, other than people opposing the opening of such places. Because if I think we did, legalization would not have passed last year.
I agree with the Boston Common comment. Or anywhere in the city for that matter. Take a look around sometimes. If you are so 'concerned about the children' and you wanna teach them not to do drugs, don't look for cannabis smokers.. you won't find any. Look for the opiate junkies.. they are E V E R Y W H E R E now.
But people are concerned about children seeing cannabis smokers? Right. Seems to be they outta be more concerned about junkies. That's something you're more likely going to see them than a cannabis smoker.
And yeah I understand Boston Common DOES Have a cannabis smoking problem. Sorry folks it does. But that isn't because of MMJ.. it's because of decriminalization (first), then legalization. People just don't care anymore and I can't say I blame them after so many years of Prohibition. But ya know, the legalization law did have provisions on where you can and can't consume cannabis.. and it's up to the cops to enforce it too. (so they are as much to blame as the smokers)
But even I don't care much for the smell, and I do partake myself. I do admit, while it's nice to get a wiif of something nice N dank when I get on the 111 after work.. it does get old after a while . People just need to be courteous about it. (or just get vape pen or a PAX3... they are the bomb!)
It all comes down to this.
That there is a segment of our society, usually the very wealthy, that can pay enough to hide from the ugliness of the world (in their eyes). So they pay big dollars for beautiful homes that remove them from the "others", the broken, the hurt, the suffering, the poor, the ill, the ugly, you name it. They live in their lovely bubbles with others like themselves. Everything is wonderful until, gasp, a business such as this wants to locate near their Nirvana. And then they crawl out of their mansions with fists raised spewing nonsense arguments.
Such folks may feel more at home...
.... in some gated community somewhere in the western suburbs.
Like Rand Paul?
He was lucky that his neighbor wasn't into guns when he took exception to pumpkins and composting.
Ummm....
How many people live between Diesel and Sonsie? Isn't that where this is going.
Lets be real, the Back Bay Neighborhood association chafes at most things (I recall from a friend on it there was opposition to the car free days on Newbury) - anyone who has lived here for awhile knows that probably more pot will be consumed across the street in the space between TJ Max (still Tower Records to me) and Starbucks, as well as most of the smoking you'll smell at that end of the street, except of course for people waiting for the bus.
If they really want to help the 'premier' street, how about helping out the 3-10 homeless guys from Mass Ave to Arlington that ask for change this time of year? Nothing like someone begging for change outside of your high end cake store, or Chanel, right?
NABB likes car-free days
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay loves car-free Newbury days. The opposition came from the business owners on Newbury street.
https://www.facebook.com/NABBonline/posts/1901956390072457
Wow.
This oliver scumbag needs a dose of reality. No matter how successful you’ve been (probably by screwing people over) or what your stance is on this proposal you have no right to be such a POS. This needs to go viral so he can be exposed. I’m floored.
Grinch, Scrooge, Potter ...
and Crume.
WWWWD? (what would Willy Wonka Do?)
Oliver Crume
This individual is a disgusting piece of trash, not fit to wash the feet of soldiers who have served this country, women struggling with breast cancer or those afflicted with MS. What a worthless being he is. Left the word human out on purpose. Let's hope that all those companies he serves as board member realize what dreadful PR he has wrought upon them.
Now you gone and done it!
https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/930924611931443200
Outstanding.
Outstanding.
Olbermann's an asshole
He made the flat-out statement "[...]Not a plant"
But it was.
Olbermann needs to either fire his fact checkers or shut the eff up.
Take a walk on the wild side
If you enjoy stepping through the looking glass into an alternative reality, do an online search for "oliver curme jfk assassination"
I can't make head or tail of it, but there seem to be a bunch of people who are suspicious of each other and that OC is a founder of some foundation that holds a big archive of JFK material.
Perhaps the worst Bostonians of all time...
Oliver Cirme is perhaps the worst Bostonians...ever.
Here is the clip where he begins his rant. Just wow
Adam, you can make this guy go viral. Away you go.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&t=46m21s&v=ST_1pWFUwxQ
This CAN'T be legit
I've watched the video and this Oliver guy was so beyond the pale the entire thing comes off like a Saturday Night Live skit. I mean, it was actually comedic. I almost laughed out loud at the "ridiculous turbans" bit. Does he think that every person who walks down Newbury Street now looks like an airbrushed model and that this will somehow change if a dispensary opens? It HAS to be a joke, a false flag or a scheme of some sort. If it isn't, this man is one sick fck.
Of course it was false flag
See the updates -- the guy is a supporter of the dispensary trying to make the opponents look bad.