Jonathan Napoli told a City Council committee yesterday he wants to add a medical-marijuana dispensary [2] to the hydroponics store he runs in Dudley Square.
That's good news for Councilor Bill Linehan, who says he's worried the city would try to pack all five Suffolk County dispensaries into his South Boston/South End district. But not everybody in Dudley Square is thrilled by the idea.
"Is Dispensary how we want Dudley defined?" Kaidi Grant [3] asks [4] this morning. "Dudley doesn't need to be known as the Weed District," she says, adding that Napoli's assertion that a dispensary would bring economic vitality to the square can be countered by other efforts to improve the area - such as the city's reconstruction of the old Ferdinand building [5] into BPS headquarters. "Dudley needs positive branding to rebuild for the future."
City officials say no dispensary will open in Boston until at least May, when state officials are set to release overall regulations for the new facilities, under the referendum approved by voters last month. Boston officials are looking at specific zoning regulations, which could limit where dispensaries open - and subject them to public zoning hearings.