By Dan Murphy
Rooted In, the adult-use cannabis dispensary located at 331 Newbury St., would like to add single prerolls to the menu, but the proposal didn’t sit well with some member of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay Licensing and Building Use Committee when the matter was broached during that group’s Jan. 6 virtual monthly meeting.
Chief Operating Officer, Brian Keith, then outlined Rooted In’s proposal to sell single prerolls for a trial period of three months. (The shop currently sells prerolls in packages of at least two.) During this time, Rooted In would sell only its labeled, house-brand prerolls, which aren’t sold at any other dispensaries, in single servings.
The branding would allow Rooted In to unscientifically track “transgressions” in the neighborhood related to the sale of its prerolls, such as increased litter or an uptick in public consumption, said Keith. And if at the end of the trial period, Rooted In sees any definitive evidence of adverse impacts in the neighborhood linked to its sale of single prerolls, he said the business would then reconsider its request.
Additionally, Rooted In would begin targeting areas beyond its block during regular cleanups to help further mitigate any potential litter from its products during the trial period, said Keith.
Keith pointed out there currently is “no statutory ban” which prohibits Rooted In from selling single prerolls, although Conrad Armstrong, committee chair, noted this was one of the agreed-upon conditions when NABB voted not to oppose the business initially in 2022.
Moreover, Keith suggested that Rooted In is now at an unfair disadvantage, since he said most other dispensaries in the city already sell single prerolls. (The Back Bay’s other adult-use dispensary, Ayr, located at 827 Boylston St., also doesn’t sell single prerolls in accordance with NABB’s request, however.)
Echoing Armstrong, Elliott Laffer, a member and past chair of the committee, as well as a longtime NABB board member, likened the requested ban on selling single prerolls in the neighborhood to NABB’s similar request that new liquor stores in the Back Bay not sell single-serve ‘nips.’
“It’s not a reflection on you guys,” said Laffer, adding that Rooted In has had an unblemished track record in the neighborhood since opening on Dec. 8, 2022. “But [the restriction on selling single prerolls] was important and remains important as far as I can see.”
In another matter, The Learning Project, a small, private elementary school based at 107 Marlborough St., wants to repurpose a five-story building it owns at 263 Clarendon St. to create more classroom and administrative space for the school.
One floor of the Clarendon Street property could accommodate the kindergarten class, which is currently operating out of the First Baptist Church of Boston at 110 Commonwealth Ave., said Justin Hajj, head of school, while another floor would likely be devoted to administrative uses.
Possible uses for the other floors are still under consideration, added Hajj, though classroom space is anticipated, especially for the art and science programs.
Vehicles wouldn’t be allowed to stop on Clarendon Street for any pickups or drop-offs, said Hajj; instead, parents or guardians would either drop off their children at the main building on Marlborough Street, or park at a metered spot before walking their children over to the Clarendon Street building.
Trash would be handled privately and not stored in the alley, said Hajj, while the project is expected to generate less trash than the building does today, with its five rental units. (Trash from the rental units is now stored in the alley ahead of collection, he said.)
Meanwhile, Armstrong told both applicants he would inform them of NABB’s position on their respective applications (i.e. to oppose or not oppose) sometime next week.