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.
Yamba Market was the first recreational pot shot to open in the city. On Wednesday they held a block party to celebrate that they made it through all of the roadblocks of opening a cannabis business. Now they're on a mission to help others break into the marijuana market.
"It's pretty surreal on 4/20 the high holiday I'm having my grand opening. I'm a 5th-generation Cantabrigian. I'm four blocks away from where I grew up," Sean Hope, co-owner and founder, told NBC10 Boston and NECN.
Yamba's opening was special. Even as pot shops were popping up in cities right next door, Cambridge decided to prioritize applicants from marginalized communities.
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Hope and his partner were the first to make it through what was a long and challenging process.
"This is all self-funded. My family has some real estate holdings and we leveraged all of that to do this. It's scary and exciting," Hope said.
They're working to make it easier for others to follow in their footsteps. They just helped convince Cambridge to get rid of the 3% impact fee for cannabis companies receiving economic empowerment and social equity licenses.
"I want a 21-year-old MIT or Harvard student, and my mom to be able to come in here and decide what works for them," Hope said.
They have a lot of goals they want to achieve by the next 4/20, but for now they're celebrating this one exactly where they want to be -- with their community.
"Cannabis is amazing but it's so much bigger than just cannabis, it's about doing something for the community," Tiffany Hope said.
Yamba Market has plans to expand into Harvard Square.
