Black-Owned Pot Shop in Cambridge Celebrates Successes on 4/20
4/20 is known as the high holiday, and for a Black-owned dispensary that just blazed its way into Central Square in Cambridge, there are a lot of reasons to celebrate. Read More
Adult use licensees reach some – not all – diversity goals, review of Mass. data shows
A Grown In review of required diversity plans submitted by Massachusetts’ adult use cannabis license holders finds that many are getting close to attaining their goals, but overall the state’s cannabis workers remain largely Read More
Cambridge finally has a fully approved adult-use cannabis dispensary
More than five years after the state legalized cannabis for recreational use, Cambridge is finally getting its first adult-use dispensary. The state’s Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday approved a retailer license for Yamba Market, a Black-owned retailer based at 580 Mass Ave. The company, the first adult-use dispensary to get final licensure in Cambridge, plans […]
5 Years After Mass. Voted to Legalize Recreational Pot, How Has Business Grown?
Five years ago, Massachusetts voters decided to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes for people 21+. Voters made their voices heard loud and clear that day, but state lawmakers essentially rewrote that law, and it was a couple more years after that until the sale of legal recreational pot. Read More
…Hiring during COVID pandemic while waiting to open is a ‘complicated dance’
For Sieh Samura, the process of opening a cannabis dispensary in Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic and while getting through the hurdles of the licensure process feels like a “complicated dance.” “Any one thing can set off and destroy your timeline and be extremely costly,” Samura said in an interview with MassLive. “So this is […]
Sieh on why the weed industry is struggling to attract people of color
The weed industry is struggling to attract people of color—and Sieh Samura has a good idea why. “[Weed] prohibition was violent,” he said. “And so they were violently discouraging people from basically having these businesses for a long time. And now they’re saying hey, come on. It’s ok now. You can trust us.” Samura is […]
Marijuana in Massachusetts & How People of Color Fit In
Basic Black explores how do people of color fit into Massachusetts’ emerging cannabis industry. Tito Jackson, Sieh Samura, Kobie Evans and Kim Napoli joins the panel. Read More
Purient in the Boston Globe
The marijuana industry is about to get sexier. A cannabis-infused lubricant is hitting dispensary shelves this week for the first time in Massachusetts, and the product’s creators hope it revolutionizes the way people think about marijuana. Read More
Yamba Owners Sieh and Leah Samura in Boston Business Journal
Sieh “Chief” Samura and his wife Leah Samura could see the opportunity that cannabis delivery presented long before the state passed regulations for delivery licenses last year. Read More
Yamba on NPR
Legal Weed Is Gaining A Little Ground Among GOP Congressmen. U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, is co-sponsoring a GOP plan that would regulate marijuana like alcohol and enable the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe cannabis treatments to veterans.
Leah on Boston Business Journal
A month before cannabis-license exclusivity is set to expire in Cambridge, state data shows that not a single equity applicant has made it through the city or state licensing process to open. Internal documents show that Cambridge officials themselves contributed to the delay… Read More
WBUR News talks to Yamba
On a sweltering morning in Harvard Square, Leah Samura strode through the future home of a recreational marijuana shop she plans to open this fall and marveled at the irony of the location: The store where she will soon sell legal pot was once a police station. Read More
