The smell of marijuana often seems to waft freely through the streets of Boston. Students and residents alike smoke it, legally for those licensed to purchase medical marijuana and illegally for those who do so recreationally. Despite the method of purchase, marijuana is being smoked in the Commonwealth, and those who choose not to believe so need a reality check.
Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, but few experience the shunning that occurs in the Commonwealth. As outlined in a Boston Globe article, many towns in Massachusetts have ruled against allowing medical marijuana dispensaries at a local level. The Hopkinton and Seekonk boards of selectmen vehemently voted against medical marijuana, contrary to state policy and previous votes. Massachusetts legalized medical marijuana use in 2013, an initiative obviously approved by voters.
As explained in the article, opening a dispensary comes down to the “Not in my backyard” mentality that plagues many when the idea of marijuana is mentioned. Marijuana inherently carries a connotation associated with dirty hippies and lackadaisical behavior. This is distinctly against the City of Boston’s reputation among the general public, often associated with fall foliage and preppy universities.
Currently, only seven dispensaries exist in Massachusetts, caring for the Commonwealth’s population of almost 7 million. “Caring for” because dispensaries are, first and foremost, medical. They are safe havens for patients with ailments like cancer and multiple sclerosis. Both diseases are associated with extreme levels of pain and discomfort. Marijuana is intensely therapeutic for suffering patients and treating dispensaries as a nuisance is incredibly disrespectful.
Dispensaries are not havens for drug-addled hippies. As in anything having to do with mind-altering substances, there will be exceptions, but the vast majority of those entering and leaving dispensaries are there for a specific medical reason and are justified to do so.
As students, we deserve to have input regarding what businesses are established on or near our college campuses. However, as explained in the Globe article, local jurisdiction and residents primarily have the final say of what businesses open in a neighborhood. Arguably, if it were up to the students, medical marijuana would be easily accessible and on college campuses across the city.
From the perspective of students, dispensaries are like liquor stores, except perhaps more closely monitored. A liquor store’s presence on campus is not life-changing and a dispensary’s presence would not be either. Perhaps it would be a bit jarring, at the beginning, to see marijuana legally exchanging hands but certainly nothing shocking.
In Colorado, for example, dispensaries are everywhere, including just off campuses. A quick Google search reveals over 25 in Boulder alone, in fact. Do students frequent the dispensaries? Most likely. That being said, because marijuana is only legal in Massachusetts under the premise of being medically required, dispensaries straddle the interesting line between a liquor store and a pharmacy.
Both pharmacies and liquor stores contribute substantially to the economy, and closing them off of college campuses in Boston is arcane. Thirty-five colleges, universities and community colleges call Boston home, according to the Boston Planning and Development Agency. To ban medical marijuana dispensaries from college campuses leaves few neighborhoods and parcels of land on which to erect such places of business. A significant portion of the city belongs to students and we deserve a say in establishing the dispensaries.
Perhaps it is because we are more open-minded or simply naïve, but medical marijuana dispensaries are not so scary to us. I suppose most of us don’t have young tots toddling around, but we would all look at the same storefront. To enact change, open-mindedness is necessary, and people need to be more open-minded about medical marijuana dispensaries, particularly on college campuses.
