The state’s Cannabis Control Commission took preliminary votes this week that would allow “marijuana bars or cafes where cannabis products can be consumed on site, to permit home delivery of pot, and to regulate the sale and use of the drug at other businesses such as restaurants, yoga studios, movie theaters, and massage parlors that receive state licenses,” the Boston Globe reports.
Finally, an alternative to more banks and nail salons in our village centers
by Greg Reibman | Dec 14, 2017 | Newton | 34 comments
Well there is another alternative to banks and nail salons in Newton Centre! There is a new macaroon store on Union Street. I’m sure that will be wildly successful!! How many macaroons must one sell daily to cover rent on Union Street??
Macaroon store is just a couple doors down from the now defunct juice bar.
The Juice bar is transitioning to new owners and is supposed to open up in the new year. The original owners had been in the Highlands for over 20years but unfortunately got kicked out by their landlord. They made the move to Newton Centre but have since decided they wanted to do other things in life so they found someone to take over the business.
Has the world gone mad ?!!!!
I guess we can afford the new “tax reduction bill”, now passing thru congress by gaining revenue selling drugs and lottery tickets almost anywhere. How about running numbers , slot machines and roulett tables at church and in city hall? We might also gain a few more “affordable housing units” in the Orr Block by upping the rent on the first floor for a massage parlor or two , some off track betting, and football gambling complete with a pharmacy dispensing methamphetimines. Let’s get creative here.
@Blueprintbill– I don’t know if your comment was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, or if you just have your head up your behind. Whatever the contortion, you still managed to get both feet in your mouth. I’ll skip the rebuttal, because your thoughts on cannabis are so ridiculous that they speak for themselves. But let me ask you a simple question. Do you think alcohol should not be sold in stores, bars and restaurants? Because unless you support reinstating the 18th Amendment, and in light of the voter’s decision to legalize cannabis, it’s hard to justify treating cannabis any differently than we treat alcohol. Feel free to try if you’d like.
I agree with Mike Striar, as usual. Alcohol kills. Marijuana doesn’t. I’ll admit the term “massage parlors” gave me a start.
Doesn’t Newton have to approve locations and licensing before they can open? Judging by the time it took to have a medical marijuana store in Newton, I’m not holding my breath.
FYI – I trashed an inadvertent post on the same topic – no comments on that one, so nothing lost from the conversation. Carry on.
It’s here, it’s legal, get used to it- sorta. I’m most interested in seeing if the City Council is prepared to deal with permit and zoning requests – and how. It’s coming, so I hope so.
Interesting in this early announcement from the CCC was the applications outside of “Cafes” and delivery- will be offered the choice of pot gummies next to the craft beer menu at the Superlux? I’m not certain I would partake, but I’m curious if we’ll see things like that (and in Newton), if it will even seem strange in, say, 10 years (I suspect it will not, as new as it all is now).
I can only imagine that a marijuana cafe on Union Street would benefit the macaroon store.
Mike Striar,
Once again in the attack mode. My head may be “up my behind “, my wonder is where yours is located.
Once upon a time in my long memory, gambling was allowed only in Nevada, and bingo was illegal. And then more recently marijuana was supposed to be allowed for medicinal purposes. Sadly the federal government never approved it as a legal pharmaceutical, where a prescription could be written.
We now apparently find marijuana allowed in bars , cafes and restaurants .
Sale and use will be permissible in yoga studios, movie theatres and massage parlors. Well maybe not in Newton , we are much more sensible.
I would be really leary of getting on my bicycle much less in my car. Between alcohol and texting while driving to negotiate the streets with marijuana about would be taking ones life in ones hands.
The world has indeed gone mad. Too much reefer already on the streets and perhaps in the statehouse.
@Greg “I can only imagine that a marijuana cafe on Union Street would benefit the macaroon store.”
I was thinking the same thing 🙂
@Blueprintbill– You didn’t answer my question. Do you think alcohol should be sold sold in stores, bars and restaurants?
@Mike Striar– Of course it should, alcohol is totally harmless and never leads to any bad decisions whatsoever!! Unlike marijuana of course, which our beloved federal government tells us is as bad as heroin.
Give me a break. If alcohol is legal, marijuana should be too, and they should be regulated similarly. I’m already looking forward to seeing an April screening of the Grateful Dead Movie while snacking on some delicious macaroons!
Thanks, Buf. Common sense dictates that cannabis be treated the same as alcohol in our zoning regulations. Unfortunately, that’s not the way things are shaking out here in Newton. I have a strong suspicion that the City Council will soon try to undermine the 2016 ballot initiative by issuing moratorium on the “recreational” sale of marijuana in Newton…
Mayor Warren appointed a special committee to deal with the implementation of the new law. This group has been meeting with no public oversight, as no members of the public are allowed to attend. They also refused my request to turn over any notes or minutes from these meetings. This is absolutely NOT the way our local government should be responding to a ballot initiative passed by the voters.
@Mike: did you file a Freedom of Information Act request?
It’s easy to do. Just Google it to learn how.
I made a direct request for minutes and notes to members of the committee via email. When they refused my request, I posted that here on V-14, and notified The TAB.
I know I could file a Freedom of Information Act request, but that’s not how I choose to interact with government. In my opinion the City needs to be more transparent. It should not take a FOIA request for a member of the public to obtain information he or she is entitled to.
Here’s the takeaway message. There are elected officials who don’t give a damn cannabis legalization was decided at the ballot box. They have no respect for the democratic process, and they still believe the vote can be reversed, or effectively rendered moot…
Until I hear him say otherwise, I believe Mayor [wanna-be-Governor] Warren believes exactly that. So he’s appointed a special committee to oversee implementation of the new law in Newton, and there’s not a single cannabis proponent on that committee. The committee meets in secret, and no one from the press or public has even seen their notes…
I believe the special committee will propose a moratorium on recreational cannabis, and the matter will be put before the City Council where enough like-minded members very well may vote to put cannabis reform on hold…
It’s worth remembering, the Mayor and City Council tried this before with a moratorium on medical cannabis. That moratorium was ultimately reversed, but not before it kept thousands of medical patients from being able to fill their prescriptions in Newton for years…
Democracy is a fragile concept. It is a threat to democracy when elected representatives act to deliberately impede the implementation of a referendum decided by the voters. We should not tolerate this in Newton.
The ineptitude of the State not footdragging by the city delayed implementation of the medical marijuana law in Newton .
We’ve had this debate before, Brian. The City passed a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries more than one year after they were approved by voters. The timing of that moratorium came just before the deadline for the first round of dispensary approvals from the State. That’s why dispensaries opened in other communities years before Garden Remedies was able to open in Newton. But let’s move on…
What are your thoughts on the zoning implications of recreational marijuana in Newton?
This is quasi off topic, but does anyone know what the deal is with Murray’s in Newton Centre? I know it got a new owner a couple of years ago but it looks like it is dying a slow death for months. Appears to be a cash flow problem and the shelves are rediculously empty. Definitely a chicken/egg scenario. I seldom go there because they have no stock, but they have no stock because no one goes there.
What are the odds any Newton marijuana facilities are in Waban? Any chance they will be in Newtonville? Or Nonantum?
Well Bob, Newtonville has many, many thousands more square feet retail space than Waban, although I’m guessing you are trying to make a different point.
But Greg, does one need thousands of square feet of retail space to open a cannabis cafe? If one looks at it closely, Waban is near public transportation for the cafe clients to safely make their journey. So the question is, if Waban doesn’t get a cafe and Newtonville does, why might that be?
Bob: I’m sure you are trying to make a political statement suggesting that the affluent residents of Waban have more political influence to keep this out of their village. It’s a topic that’s worth discussing so why beat around the bush?
My answer is more pragmatic. The fact is there’s more potential rentable locations in Newtonville plus Newtonville is denser, has more foot traffic, more interesting amenities (restaurants, bars, NewArts center, the Paint Bar, shopping) and more residents coming thanks to two wonderful projects that have been approved by our city council.
With all the retail turnover we see in Newton Centre, it might be a good option for a cannabis cafe. Maybe cannabis and macaroons!
Bring one of these to West Newton Square! We still have all of those vacancies on Elm and Border. (Does anyone know WHY those storefronts are STILL vacant, BTW?)
But don’t other parts of the city want to become denser and have more housing and more nighttime activities? Why should only Newtonville be blessed with wonderful projects that have been approved by our city council? It seems so unfair to other villages.
I agree Bob, Newtonville has been blessed. It’s a nice place now but it’s headed towards becoming fantastic.
@Bob – yes. Newtonville has recently got the go ahead for some new denser development. It’s hardly alone in the city for density though. Look at Avalon in Highlands/Upper Falls. Look at the few highrises on rt9 in chestnut hill. Look at the Riversaide project. Take a look at the proposed massive Northland project in Upper Falls. As for nightime activity, newtonville at night is quiet relative to newton center.
One may be for or against dense development but it’s hardly unique to newtonville.
The storefronts near the T in Waban are also right near Angier Elementary School..I’m not sure having a marijuana cafe that close by would be ideal…just like I wouldn’t;want to see a bar open there during the day.
So Greg, when are you moving here? There is still a 3BR condo on Court Street for only$1,238,800. Why stay in your very ‘undense’ neighborhood if we here are so lucky?
@Bob: I’d love to retire in Newtonville some day.
Newton Highlands Mom, how sheltered. I so remember walking home from elementary school and during World Series time stopping into two bars to check on the score. Oh, well.
Greg, the fact that there is so little retail in Waban may be related to political influence.