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Councilor out to forestall any Combat Zone of pot in Boston

At-large City Councilor Michael Flaherty wants to ensure no neighborhood get too many pot dispensaries should voters approve recreational marijuana use on top of the medical marijuana use they approved in 2012.

The council tomorrow considers his request for a hearing on a proposal to amend city zoning codes to keep marijuana dispensaries at least a mile apart should legal weed happen - or, as he puts it, "no closer than 1 mile, or 5,280 feet."

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Comments

We should do this when we ban bars from being 5,280 feet apart from each other. Liquor stores, too. In fact, there is a lot of prescription drug abuse, let's make sure that there's only one pharmacy per square mile in Boston.

These elected officials need to listen closer to the voices of the people who put them in office and (maybe) keep them there.

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It's actually a good idea. That's the thing with stoners. They don't just want it legalized....they get indignant if everyone else doesn't love pot as much as they do. You can legalize it but keep your nasty dirty roaches away from me.

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Well, all the drunks should keep their nasty, tacky empty nip bottles out of our yards and streets, too. But they don't, so I have to live with it. And cigarette butts. And losing scratch-off lottery tickets people just throw on the ground. And Doritos bags.

Basically, my point is that way too many litter bugs exist. Don't try to act like potheads are any worse than other nasty people who pollute our streets with trash.

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Do you feel the same about cigarette butts? Probably not, b/c they are legal and that is ok, right?

The thing with us "stoners" is that we don't throw away roaches - we keep them for later use. Get with it.

I would love a dispensary in my hood. Stimulate the economy, keep drug dealers out of the equation and let the state charge me way more than they should for an ounce.

Seriously people, get out of the stone age (haha) and do your research on what was once very legal in this country. Stop believing what you saw in Refer Madness.

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We will see less joints and smoking, and more oil and edibles. I look forward to the day when I can take a walk and get me a pot brownie.

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Why do we allow restaurants to be so close to each other? They serve such fatty, salty food. And my neighbors. What I wouldn't give to make them live one mile (5280 ft) away.

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bank branches, donut/coffee shops, and convenience stores that are Lottery agents (i.e., every one) to that list.

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YEAH AND MATTRESS STORES!

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i cant see a weed store being any worse than any other store honestly. its a weed store not a dope store

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or a jerk store

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That one shop at Downtown Crossing is going to be like the Costco of weed.

What a muppet.

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My first take on this was the the councilor is an investor or advisor to someone with a dispensary license who wants to build a little monopoly into the business model under the guise of 'community concern'. A 1mi distance is ludicrous.

I can see both arguments I guess. I've seen the endless rows of crappy weed storefronts elsewhere but there have also been issues where the zoning was so restrictive that the shops were basically forced to all locate super close to each other because they could not operate elsewhere.

Feels like a fake problem though, isn't MA being super stingy about even handing out the licenses?

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Can't wait to see what the city does when on opens up just over the city line in another town... Will we have a repeat of the casino?

Truthfully, this is silly. 1 mile is too much. I'll support this when the same is done bars, liquor stores, cvs's, and any place that sells cigarettes.

I can't wait for it to be legal here (it WILL pass, folks). These politicians are going to do a 180 once the money starts rolling in.

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as long as its from the right drugs, to the right people

actually, its probably the "to the right people" part that matters more.

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It'll pass but they'll never let any stores actually open. It'll be just like the medical -- did that dispensary in Salem (or wherever the hell it got punted next) EVER open??

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Yes, Salem has a dispensary.

I'm with Cybah - the time has come! It will be legal in my lifetime and that brings me much joy.

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Great! That only took like five years.

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I support medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana, but his goal has some merit. It would be too easy for other neighborhoods to push against having a facility in their neighborhoods, even though EVERY ONE voted in the majority for the law.

There can be as many as five facilities in every county. I suggest one in DTX, one in Allston on Harvard Ave (since they had the highest % voting pro), one in Chelsea, one in Revere, and one in Winthrop. Problem solved.

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How is a pot shop any worse than a liquor store or a tobacconist?

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There are some parts of some cities that would love to have kept liquor stores from massing.

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Well, in this instance specifically, I guess it's that there's nothing stopping the person who has a prescription for the medical marijuana to pick it up at the dispensary and then, say out front of the building, splitting up his stash, keeping some for himself for his "chronic medical condition" and selling the rest. That's the fear.

That doesn't usually happen with alcohol because there's nothing stopping someone from going into a liquor store or bar and buying himself/herself a drink.

Also, liquor stores and bars are spread out all over the city, so you don't have to hang out anywhere special to pop a few. With medical marijuana, there's only one place to get it, so people will congregate there in the hopes of picking up some stuff for themselves.

Another good reason to have it on Comm Ave in Allston.

The locations should be spread out around the county, in areas where they are easily accessible - public transportation, car, bike, even walking. Or, go with my idea and have the pot delivered to your door, like a food truck.

It's called a Roach Coach.

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The stuff is really expensive. I can't imagine too many people wanting to sell it. It's not like getting it wholesale from some Mexican cartel or something. That stuff is at a premium. I would think most people would be more inclined to tell folks "Go to the doctor and get your own darn medical marijuana!"

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You've just re-introduced drug dealers, for the convenience of people who can afford to pay for concierge service.

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I voted to decriminalization of Marijuana but that was a mistake. Walking up and down Winter St and smelling it everyday is not the quality of life that I expected from this great city. I shake my head when you can't smoke cigarettes in parks but people are walking up and down streets smoking Marijuana or driving and smoking Marijuana. What a disgrace!

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lmfao i dont smoke but seriously get over it

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Pot smells gross and I think it's entirely fair to say that the rules on public smoking should be tightened. But it's a very big leap to go from that to saying it should remain criminalized. Arresting people for possessing marijuana is not a reasonable reaction to Winter Street smelling worse than usual. Forcing dispensaries to be a mile apart from each other is not either. Smelly pot is a problem which can be addressed with targeted policies, but banning the stuff for that reason is just silly.

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With every thing that's legal comes regulation: taxation, who can buy it, who can sell it, where it can be used, etc. Every day the city or state come up with new laws on cigarette smoke. Yet Pot smokers think they are beyond that.

When you have a beer in your apartment the fumes don't bother your next door neighbor. People call holy war on cigarette smoke but potheads want everyone else to embrace their second hand smoke.

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Thanks for making an untrue generalization about people who smoke pot.

signed, someone who smokes and doesn't agree that he's "beyond that" and doesn't want people to "embrace your second hand smoke"

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Well dude if edibles were legal (like those delicious weed gummies they have everywhere in Colorado, dang), fewer people would have to be smoking up in their apartments.

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Therefore, all motorized vehicles should be BANNED. Or at least not allowed to operate next to each other.

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Generalize much?

When I lived in an apartment I took great measures to ensure that I wasn't smoking out the neighbors and I never once got a complaint. Never mind the fact that so many ppl are moving to vaporizers.

You could say the same about ppl that drink and put their smelly ass beer cans or bottles of alcohol is the hallway in the recycle bin. You do realize that leaves quite the unpleasant smell, don't you?

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Serioulsy, the smell is a disgrace? Better than the piss, puke and shit smell from the drunks. Or the carcinogenic smells from ciggies.

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How up to date are Records Management practices of Boston City Clerks Offices in using best technologies/software ? The Stenographic Record of Public Meetings of Boston City Council could be made available for hard of hearing folks, the Deaf Community, for all.

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Very up to date.

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This imposes a maximum theoretical number of dispensaries within the city limits. Assuming they are placed strategically so as to maximize the number of dispensaries within the city of Boston I cannot imagine this would allow for more than approximately 12 locations.

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Is Flats trying to set up a run for mayor in 2017?

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Over regulation for everything. The ridiculous cap on liquer licenses in Boston. If you have the ability to open a store, you should be able to and then let the free market decide if you'll be successful or not. This state really needs a right to make a living law.

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