BOSTON (WHDH) - Pure Oasis pot shop in Dorchester was looted early Monday morning following a night of violent protests in the city, now the Cannabis Control Commission is investigating the incident.
Several groups of people entered the store and got away with about $100,000 worth of product.
But, police said there was no one in the area near the shop located on Blue Hill Avenue when they arrived but, a window was smashed and the business was ransacked.
No money was taken and the damaged storefront was boarded up later in the day.
“It felt like a gut punch,” Co-owner Kobie Evans said.
Pure Oasis opened in March becoming the only first that to be run by black entrepreneurs nearly four years after state voters passed the nation’s first marijuana law aimed at encouraging people of color and others harmed by the war on drugs to participate in the new industry.
“Our place was pretty trashed. It was pretty disturbing,” Evans said Tuesday.
Though he is proud of his business, Evans said it took a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think it’s sad when something like this happens in a place owned by a black person when they are rioting and looting for black people,” customer Doug Ellerby said.
State officials also confirmed a second pot shop break-in at Mayflower Medicinals in Allston and a third at Patriot Care in Downtown Crossing.
“It was organized and it was criminal but it wasn’t you know, a professional group,” Evans said.
The CCC is working with local police to investigate the matters.
“The commission remains deeply concerned for all licensees and the health and wellbeing of constituents who have been devastated by disproportionate harms to communities of color. We will collaborate with local authorities as necessary to ensure the safety of all Massachusetts residents during this time,” officials said in a statement.
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