With over 250 cannabis stores in Massachusetts accumulating over 4 billion dollars in gross profits, it has been no surprise that Cannabis shops are aiming for Chinatown, a culture hub for a diverse group as their next target location to open their new store. In the past, there have been many attempts to open a cannabis store, with companies such as Sanctuary Medical, Royalty Group, and its latest attempt, Dragon Buds proposing ideas to the Boston Cannabis Board about opening a shop in Chinatown. However, there has been a pushback from Chinatown’s activist community. The activist community fears that Chinatown’s reputation will revert to its red-light district state in the late 1900s when many saw Chinatown in a bad light.
In 1985, Chinatown had a very negative connotation, with it being heavily associated with things such as drug trafficking, prostitution, and extortion. In addition, Chinese and Vietnamese gangs emerged within Chinatown, causing a breeding ground for organized crime. The combination of gangs, drugs, and prostitution made Chinatown seem like a dangerous place. Many associated the Chinatown community as threatening and something they needed to avoid rather than a safe space for them to buy and enjoy delicious Asian cuisine.
The public perception of Chinatown deteriorated further in 1991 during an organized attack, known as the Boston Chinatown Massacre or the Tyler Street Chinatown Massacre. During the attack, three armed men pulled up and walked into a Chinatown basement of Tyler Street and ambushed six men playing cards. Out of the six men shot, five men were killed and the sixth man was injured. To this day, it is known as one of Boston’s deadliest crimes, causing more people to associate Chinatown as a dangerous place that they needed to steer clear of.
In the past few years, Chinatown’s reputation has shifted more to a positive light. After the Massacre, there was an increase in police patrols focused on protecting Chinatown, causing many of the gangs to break up, with members of the gangs abandoning their posts in Chinatown or being arrested. These days, Chinatown is seen more as a center for the Asian American community. The wide variety of seafood, fruits, meats, and vegetables that they offer has encouraged people of all different cultures to stop by and celebrate Asian culture. So many different types of restaurants serve, including but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian, and Cantonese cuisine. However, the positive connotation that Chinatown is associated with right now could potentially be threatened by the emergence of a cannabis shop.
Many residents and activists are concerned that the emergence of a cannabis shop in Chinatown Sampan will negatively affect the Chinatown community. Sampan interviewed Richard K. Chang, a Chinatown activist opposed to the opening of the marijuana shop and also the head of Josiah Quincy Upper School, A school located in Boston Chinatown. Chang told Sampan “The companies proposing a cannabis shop only see Chinatown as a profitable
commercial business center. However, they forget to acknowledge that it is also a presidential palace for children, seniors, and such, only focusing on economic development.”
Additionally, activists are concerned about how marijuana will affect their community, particularly their younger population. Majuajina is widely known as the “gateway” drug for young people to try out drugs before switching to hard drugs. Cannabis users tend to be more likely to experience moderate or serious psychological distress than non-cannabis users. In addition, in severe cases, there is the possibility of being diagnosed with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, with many negative side effects such as extreme vomiting and nausea. As the head of the school, Chang expressed extreme concern about how opening a cannabis shop would affect his students. “If I lose even one student to drugs it would be devastating. We cannot risk letting our students get their hands on cannabis and throwing away their education.”
On the other hand, there are some positive aspects of a cannabis shop opening. The use of cannabis has been medically proven to treat certain rare forms of nausea, epilepsy, and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and loss of appetite and weight loss associated with HIV/AIDS. In addition, Cannabis is known to help reduce the potential relapse of alcohol and drug addiction and has helped change the lives of many for the better. Sampan randomly interviewed a handful of college students at Boston College asking them about their thoughts on the cannabis shop opening in Chinatown. A young student in her 20s is in support of the Cannabis shop opening. She believes it might be beneficial for Chinatown since “Contrary to the public’s perception, Cannabis shops tend to be very well-organized and draw substantial profit for the community.”
The anonymous Boston College student, along with some restaurant owners, believes that there is profitable potential in the cannabis shop and can appeal to a greater variety of people. In particular, a cannabis shop has been seen as beneficial to some neighboring restaurants and business owners. With more traction comes more people and therefore more business. However, the Chinatown activists and residents see the potential increase in traction in a much more negative light.
To those opposing the cannabis shop, the emergence of a cannabis shop would attract even more street traffic and crime to Chinatown. There would be an increase in loitering and the people who are attracted to Chinatown would not be there for their Chinese culture and cuisine, but rather, for the cannabis. In addition, there would be a decrease in safety and quality of life, with an increase in the likelihood of second-hand smoking and inhaling the smell of weed. From the randomly sampled Boston College students, a sophomore told Sampan that she “did not feel safe walking around Chinatown due to its cramping and its lack of cleanliness on the streets.” She believed that adding another store to Chinatown would make the already overcrowded streets of Chinatown even more packed and make her feel even more uncomfortable walking through Chinatown by herself. A Boston College senior seconded the claim, saying “Every time I visited Chinatown, I found myself noticing how dirty and smelly it was. Adding a cannabis shop would pollute the air more and discourage people from visiting Chinatown.”
Overall, most people are opposed to the opening of a cannabis shop in Chinatown, with it being a 10:1 ratio of people opposed to it vs. people supporting it. There has been a sense of unity between the Chinatown community against the opening, regardless of race, age, political affiliation, etc. Speaking on behalf of the activists, Chang issues a warning to cannabis shops trying to propose a Chinatown. “ Save your time and money to find a different location to open up your shops. As a community, we will fight back to protect our residents and will unite to defeat any future cannabis propositions.”
