Black-owned Boston marijuana store looted in what owners call a ‘targeted’ attack amid protests - The Boston Globe

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They say robbers knew shop layout; more than $100,000 of cannabis taken

Customers lined up outside of the Pure Oasis marijuana store on Monday, May 25, when it was allowed reopen for curbside pickup after a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus.Blake Nissen for the Boston Globe

Pure Oasis, the first Black-run marijuana store to open in Massachusetts, was looted early Monday morning in what its owners are calling a “targeted attack” that coincided with the protests that rocked Boston.

Kobie Evans, the co-owner of the shop in the Grove Hall neighborhood, said at least a dozen people entered Pure Oasis after someone broke through the window and opened the front door from the inside around 1:43 a.m.

Several small groups forced their way into a back storeroom, he told the Globe after reviewing security camera footage, making off with about 2,000 pre-rolled joints and 2,000 pre-packaged containers of marijuana flower worth well over $100,000 at retail prices.

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The smash-and-grab robbery came on the same night — but well away from — peaceful protests in Boston against police brutality that later gave way to violent clashes and the looting of numerous retailers. Evans believes the timing was intentional, with the initial robbers counting on the police being distracted by the protests.

“They were deliberate. They purposefully came just to our shop," Evans said. “They were able to get into a secure back room. They knew exactly where they were going.”

Others then joined in opportunistically, he said.

"It was a melee,” Evans said, describing the scene before police arrived and secured the store.

Despite the robbery, Pure Oasis on Monday opened for business as usual — albeit with a boarded-up window — selling its remaining inventory to a long line of customers. Evans said he and co-owner Kevin Hart spent much of the day working with a security consultant on a plan to beef up the store’s defenses.

“We had a big outpouring of support from the community this morning,” Evans said. “They believe in us and want us around. We all know this wasn’t coming from the community. This was people going through the city and taking advantage of the situation.”

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Pure Oasis in March became the first business to open after participating in the state Cannabis Control Commission’s “economic empowerment” program, which grants faster licenses to companies that are either led by, employ, or benefit communities that had high rates of arrests for drug crimes.

But just two weeks later, the shop was forced to close under emergency coronavirus restrictions imposed by Governor Charlie Baker.

Now, one week after being allowed to reopen, Pure Oasis has been looted.

Evans said the irony is not lost on him: Pure Oasis is a Black-owned company that employs people with prior drug convictions, and whose very licensure was intended to help redress the overpolicing of Black and brown communities, yet it was targeted amid protests against overpolicing.

“Kevin [Hart] and I stand in solidarity with all the people protesting the injustice in Minneapolis and elsewhere,” Evans said. “In no way do we draw any connection between what happened to us and people protesting for a good cause. This is a somewhat isolated incident where a few people exploited the situation for personal gain, because someone wanted a free pair of Jordans and some weed to go with it.”

The Cannabis Control Commission said two medical marijuana dispensaries in Boston, Mayflower Medicinals in Allston and Patriot Care in the city’s downtown, were also the subject of unspecified incidents during the protests. Neither company could immediately be reached for comment.

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“The Cannabis Control Commission is currently aware of and investigating three overnight incidents that occurred at Pure Oasis, Patriot Care, and Mayflower Medicinals," a commission spokeswoman said in a statement. "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.”

The agency declined to comment further on the incidents, saying they were under investigation.

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Dan Adams can be reached at daniel.adams@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Adams86.

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