No maryjane at the old Mary Ann's in Cleveland Circle? Company now wants to sell doobies at the old Dunk's instead

The Boston Cannabis Commission will decide whether to let a marijuana chain move its proposed dispensary from the former Mary Ann's on Beacon Street in Cleveland Circle to the former Dunkin' Donuts about 100 feet down the street.

At a hearing today, Happy Valley said the new location, roughly 100 feet closer to Chestnut Hill Avenue, would be a much better location because it has a 13-space parking lot, which means customers in cars can park off the street - as can delivery workers and security guards delivering products and picking up cash.

Opponents, including Boston College, however, said the company has some nerve trying to open in a more prominent locations that will prove an irresistible lure to Kevins and even younger consumers at the nearby swimming pool, skating rink, ball fields and college.

Nearby resident Cheryl Weinstein, who said medical research shows marijuana is particularly harmful to young brains, said Newton rejected one pot shop because of its proximity to a park and asked whether "the brains of Newton children are more valuable than the brains of Boston children and young adults." She predicted that if the commission approves the change in location, Boston Parks and Rec, she predicted, will have to upgrade "No Alcohol" signs at Cassidy Playground to ban families and children under 5.

Opponents also said they'd made their peace with the Mary Ann's location because it would be a small "neighborhood" operation only attracting neighborhood business. But the Dunk's location, closer to the intersection of Beacon Street and Chestnut Hill Avenue, is far more visible and would attract people to drive their from "outside the neighborhood," Diane Ring said.

However, Anabela Gomes, zoning chair of the Brighton-Allston Improvement Association, said her group backed the move, in part because the parking lot would reduce the odds of double parking on Beacon Street - and let people with disabilities drive right up - in part because Happy Valley committed to improving the lot with plantings and possibly even a community-driven mural. Also, she said, she remains convinced Happy Valley is "a good operator" that won't let the area deteriorate.

Eva Webster, who lives nearby, however, said the association doesn't represent Cleveland Circle and that Happy Valley never sought to address the neighborhood group she said does.

Bill Mills, director of community affairs at Boston College, said there are just too many underage people who frequent Cleveland Circle, for whom the store would prove a temptation. He cited not just BC students, who have shown a particular cunning for obtaining substances they shouldn't, but also Brookline High School students.

Mills also opposed the initial Mary Ann's proposal in 2018 as well.

Supporting the proposal, in letters: State reps Kevin Honan and Michael Moran.

Cannabis Commission member Lisa Holmes asked how Happy Valley would deal with the more resourceful underage BC students who use their Internet access to buy increasingly realistic fake IDs.

Jon Gray, the company's security director, acknowledged the issue. He said staff would be trained in ways to detect fake IDs, that the store would purchase ID scanners and that even then, anybody who looks really young might be asked to provide a second legitimate ID, such as a passport.

The board took no action on the request. It typically holds a voting session about a week after its hearings.