Cannabis-Themed Short-Term Apartments Open In Boston

Corporate apartment specialist Northeast Suites has unveiled 420 Suites, a collection of about 200 cannabis-themed short-term rental units in the Boston area. While the units are aimed at cannabis enthusiasts, renters will not be able to light up in most of the units.

For the moment, 420 Suites will provide renters with cannabis-themed gifts upon arrival, educational materials about cannabis products and assistance in registering as a medical marijuana patient.

Perhaps more importantly, the company will provide chauffeured transportation to and from the medical marijuana dispensary Revolutionary Clinics in Somerville and the rental units, which are in the Back Bay, Downtown, Fenway, Longwood and East Boston, the Boston Globe reports.

Though cannabis is now fully legal in Massachusetts, retail recreational marijuana sales haven't started yet in the Bay State, since the state's Cannabis Control Commission is still processing the applications necessary to start retail sales. A scattering of shops might open in August, MassLive reports.

Presumably, when recreational cannabis shops do open, 420 Suites will provide access to them, but there will still be some limitations. Since most of the 420 Suites units don't allow smoking, in-unit cannabis consumption will be restricted to non-smoking options, such as edibles.

Northeast Suites CEO Patrick Flynn told the Globe that the company is positioning itself for the time when the recreational market will be fully established in Massachusetts. It also has plans to expand into the nearby cannabis-legal jurisdictions of Maine and Washington, D.C. 

Cannabis isn't the only kind of specialized rental unit that Northeast Suites offers. The company has converted 20 of its Boston rentals into GoLocal suites. Each of those apartments is fully equipped with products manufactured, sourced or assembled in the United States, the Alliance for American Manufacturing reports.

Each GoLocal suite includes more than 60 items sourced from U.S. manufacturers. That includes major appliances and furniture, but also small items such as can openers, paper towel holders and even a Michigan-made pizza cutter.

“This is my chance to educate people who don’t realize that American-made products are not only superior, but they support families and communities,” Flynn told the organization.