Equitable Opportunities Now (EON) was founded after passage of Question 4 to ensure equitable ownership and employment opportunities for Black and Brown communities who have been targeted by the War on Drugs.
Prohibition decimated communities across Massachusetts because our leaders didn’t listen to the people being impacted by their policies, and we won’t make the same mistakes during legalization!
EON uplifts the voices of and empowers entrepreneurs, activists, and community leaders to pass policies that deliver on the equitable opportunity that voters and legislators intended to foster.
EON’s key policy priorities include:
- Cannabis Control Commission regulatory policies that support disparately harmed communities
- Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund revenue and access
- State legislation to support equity businesses
- Municipal equitable licensing policies and education
Read our latest policy news…
- Make Your Voice Heard: Urge CCC to Protect Communities Most Harmed by War on Drugs
Submit your comment today to make sure the Commission protects and strengthens equity — not weakens it. - REPORT: Cannabis Industry Opposes License Changes 5:1, Per TestimonyNew Analysis Reveals 5:1 Opposition from All Applicants & Licensees, 18:1 Opposition from Social Equity Businesses
- MA House passes bill to significantly expand MSO market controlPotential law would double MSO licenses & allow 35% ownership in unlimited companies…
- 🚨 URGENT: Speak Out to Save Cannabis Equity in MA – Take Action Now!The House cannabis bill threatens small, local, and equity-owned businesses. Help us fix it before it’s too late.
- Email Your Senator to Support Cannabis Equity & Local BusinessesSen. Miranda’s Amendment #53 urgently needs your support…
- Tell your State Rep to support cannabis equity & access in the FY26 budget!Help expand delivery & secure vital support for EON!
- 🚨 URGENT: 8 Anti-Equity Cannabis Bills Up for Hearing THIS WEDNESDAYSpeak out to protect opportunity, competition, & equity in MA’s cannabis industry…
- Tonight: Cannabis Equity Policy Update and Networking & Consumption ReceptionGet critical Beacon Hill updates and connect with friends and allies at Broccoli Gallery with EON and the Mass. Cannabis Equity Council…
- You’re Invited: Cannabis Equity Policy Update and Networking & Consumption ReceptionDon’t miss this opportunity to reconnect in-person, learn, and make a difference!
- Don’t let corporate cannabis destroy equity in MAWell-funded multistate operators (MSOs) and their lobbyists filed EIGHT bills to seize greater control of Massachusetts’ cannabis industry. But there’s good news: EON and our legislative champions have a bold legislative agenda to empower equity operators and strengthen the entire industry — without letting MSOs undermine fairness and competition.
- Social Consumption Public Comments to the Cannabis Control CommissionIn response to a request for informal public comments, EON submitted the following letter to the Cannabis Control Commission highlighting the many commendable components of its draft social consumption regulations and the process of developing them, and detailing opportunities to strengthen the proposed framework for this new subsector of the cannabis industry.
- EON Launches New Resources to Protect Equity Businesses from MSO Market ConsolidationSocial equity businesses, small operators, consumers, patients, and advocates are encouraged to speak out and help protect those most harmed by the war on drugs from large predatory businesses trying to take over the industry.
- EON, BECMA, & Equity Operators call for five-year extension of delivery exclusivity periodIn response to the Cannabis Control Commission’s request for feedback on the delivery license exclusivity period for social equity businesses, Equitable Opportunities Now, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, members of EON’s Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council, and other small business owners testified at the CCC’s Dec. 11 public listening session and submitted the letter below.… Read more: EON, BECMA, & Equity Operators call for five-year extension of delivery exclusivity period
- EON Urges CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urges Legislature to protect competitionFollowing up on a previous call for an investigation into alleged license cap violations, EON and members of our Mass. Cannabis Equity Council sent the following letter urging the CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urge the Legislature to protect competition. Dear Acting Chair Stebbins and Commissioners Camargo, Concepcion, and Roy:… Read more: EON Urges CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urges Legislature to protect competition
- Do you have a plan to vote?After months of ads, text messages, and fundraising emails, we’ve finally made it… Today is Election Day and your vote matters. If you haven’t voted yet, please make a plan and figure out when you can get to the polls around work, picking up kids, and dinner.
- State lawmakers weigh independence, structure of Cannabis Control Commission as they consider reforms | GBH NewsEight years after Massachusetts voters passed a ballot law legalizing the adult use of marijuana, state legislators are exploring whether there are ways to make the cannabis regulatory system work better for businesses, consumers and others involved in the industry.
- Cannabis Industry Stakeholders Unload Concerns At Beacon Hill Hearing | Talking Joints MemoMassachusetts business owners, industry trade groups, and advocates ask lawmakers to reform the Cannabis Control Commission…
- Public Comments to Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy Regarding the Cannabis Control CommissionOn Wednesday, Oct. 30, representatives from EON and our Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council were invited to testify before the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy regarding governance and operational issues at the Cannabis Control Commission. Check out remarks from EON Policy Co-Chair Kevin Gilnack, Zèb Boutique Owner Drudys Ledbetter, and Dris Brands Owner Chris Fevry in the hearing video and read our full letter to the Committee below.
- Public comments regarding license transferability in the City of BostonAfter extensive outreach to the 17 social equity business owners of MCEC with provisional and/or final licenses, and dozens of other equity and general applicants and licensees, it is clear that this is an important, timely, and complex conversation.
- Public comments regarding Independent Testing Labs, Third Party Transporters, and the need to avoid delay of delivery regulatory changesWe are writing to express concern that ongoing deliberations regarding changes to the third-party transporter and Independent Testing Lab (ITL) should not cause any further delay in advancing these critical and overdue changes for equity businesses, microbusinesses, and patients.
- Poll: Share your thoughts about the CCCEquitable Opportunities Now is honored to have been invited to testify before the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy about the Cannabis Control Commission. Help us represent you and your concerns by sharing your feedback now!
- CCC to Host Public Listening Session on Independent Testing Laboratories on November 7The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) will host a Public Listening Session on Independent Testing Laboratories (ITLs) and related matters on November 7, 2024
- Boston Cannabis License Transferability Public Comments Due Tues. 10/29The City of Boston’s Office of Economic Opportunity & Inclusion (OEOI) and the Boston Cannabis Board (BCB) are seeking public comments from October 8, 2024, through October 29, 2024, on cannabis license transferability. These comments will help guide our decisions as we explore updates to the transferability policies and regulations.
- Public Comments Regarding Delivery, Microbusiness, & Telehealth CCC RegulationsEquitable Opportunities Now’s (EON) board and staff; our network of grassroots activists, consumers, patients, entrepreneurs, and workers; the social equity business leaders in our Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council (MCEC); and the undersigned delivery operators commend you for your ongoing efforts to enhance your regulations. Given both the industry and regulatory framework are still young and evolving, we deeply appreciate your openness to engaging stakeholders and reviewing regulations that can better balance flexibility, access, profitability, health, safety, and equity. We hope that you find the following public comments regarding your proposed regulatory changes helpful and welcome the opportunity to discuss them further.
- Speak out for Black & Brown cannabis delivery operatorsCannabis delivery licenses are exclusively available to people from communities harmed by the war on drugs. But these local small businesses owned by Black, Brown, low-income, and previously arrested people have been held back by burdensome regulations. Thanks to advocacy from delivery businesses and advocates like you, the CCC is on the verge of passing… Read more: Speak out for Black & Brown cannabis delivery operators
- POLL: Help us get social consumption right in Massachusetts!Social consumption licenses are a new frontier for advancing equitable economic opportunity in the Commonwealth’s cannabis industry — and your input is critical to make sure we get it right.
- Mass. Cannabis Equity Leaders Call for Investigation into Alleged License Cap ViolationsMore than a dozen cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensary owners, along with BECMA and EON, are raising concerns about repeated reports that owners of Ascend Wellness — a large, multistate operator founded and headquartered in Massachusetts — have violated the Commonwealth’s ownership limits.
- TODAY: Vote in MA’s State Primary Election!Today is Election Day in Massachusetts, and polls are open until 8 PM!
- Cannabis equity end-of-session priorities: Expand medical access & equity and reject changes to license caps & CCC receivershipEquitable Opportunities Now submitted the following letter to Massachusetts legislators expressing our deep appreciation for their support, highlighting widely-supported bills, opposing changes to license caps, and opposing putting the Cannabis Control Commission into receivership…
- EON’s Comments to DEA on Need to Deschedule MarijuanaRescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not enough. Marijuana must be removed from the CSA and should be federally regulated for both medical and adult use. Rescheduling does not address the challenges and injustices that must be reckoned with…
- YOU DID IT! Help build on our progress for cannabis equity…Last week, MSO lobbyists and a few politically connected operators tried to change the rules so that the biggest, most profitable companies could get even more of the Commonwealth’s cannabis industry. MSO lobbyists are no match for the power of your voice. Thanks to supporters like you who spoke up to protect competition and equity in the Massachusetts cannabis industry, the proposal was defeated — for now.
- Speak out NOW: Ask your electeds to protect cannabis equity from MSO market consolidationPlease tell your legislators and Gov. Healey to oppose any effort to rush a major change in cannabis industry rules through at the end of session without even having a hearing!
- SIGN ON: Add your name to our letter urging Senators to protect cannabis equity businessesJoin us in telling State Senators to oppose any effort to rush a major change in cannabis industry rules through at the end of session without even having a hearing!
- ALERT: Email Your State Rep ASAP to protect equity businesses from MSO market consolidationThere is an effort playing out TODAY in Massachusetts to weaken one of the strongest protections for cannabis equity businesses in the Commonwealth — potentially devaluing their licenses and starting a race to the bottom for the benefit of MSOs and a handful of operators. The amendment could be debated today or tomorrow, so please use the instructions below to email your State Representative ASAP — then follow up with a call!
- The cannabis industry is fighting over how many stores one company can own. Here’s why. | The Boston GlobeA debate over the cap on weed permits has sparked worries about broken promises to entrepreneurs of color and fears of a marijuana monopoly
- Cannabis equity businesses and Equitable Opportunities Now team up to oppose license cap changes & address industry challenges“The Commonwealth’s license cap is vital to protecting a competitive market and our legally mandated mission to foster equitable participation in this new market,” said EON Policy Co-Chair and MCEC founding member Armani White, who owns provisionally licensed Firehouse. “With lobbyists and lawyers for large multistate operators working with a handful of business leaders to undermine small business protections, it’s vital for cannabis equity businesses to have a voice in the policymaking process.”
- Ask your Legislators to support EON funding in the FY25 budget!A Conference Committee is currently negotiating differences between the House and Senate budgets right now, and YOUR legislators need to hear from you! Use this form to ask your State Representative and State Senator to urge the Conference Committee to include EON’s funding in the FY25 budget.
- EON suggests enhancements to Model Municipal Equity By-Law or Ordinance, applauds CCC public comment periodsIn response to the Cannabis Control Commission’s call for public comments regarding its draft Model Municipal Equity By-Law or Ordinance, EON submitted the following public comment.
- CCC holds public comment period on Model Municipal Equity By-LawThe Cannabis Control Commission wants your feedback on its new Model Municipal Equity By-Law or Ordinance — and we want to hear from you too!
- Ask your Rep. to support cannabis equity in MA’s budgetPlease take a few minutes right now to ask your State Representative to invest in creating equitable economic opportunity for communities harmed by the war on drugs. Here’s how:
- Make your voice heard at the voting booth today!Polls are open until 8 p.m. and if you are in line at 8 p.m. you cannot be turned away. To find your polling location and view a sample ballot, please visit www.wheredoivotema.com.
- EON applauds CCC for Model HCA public comment period, advancing key deliverables, & increasing transparency on Ch. 180 implementation processEON applauds Acting Chair Ava Concepcion, her fellow Commissioners, Director of Licensing Kyle Potvin, Esq., and the CCC staff for providing a two-week public comment period for the Model HCA that elicited 19-20 public comments that generated approximately 90 potential changes — and for advancing these key deliverables.
- Cannabis Equity Fund Grant Applications Due Before Midnight TONIGHTAs a reminder, the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) is accepting applications for the Immediate Needs Grant Program from cannabis social equity businesses that have at least a provisional license from the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) until 11:59 PM TONIGHT (Thurs. 2/15).
- EON Launches New Municipal Cannabis Equity Licensing ResourceIs your city or town going to be compliant with new equitable cannabis licensing requirements by the May 1, 2024 deadline?
- CCC Equity Survey Deadline Extended Through Feb. — Make your voice heard now!The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission)’s Equity Programming and Community Outreach (EPCO) department invites you to complete a brief questionnaire about our equity programming and initiatives in Massachusetts
- Equitable Opportunities Now Public Comments Regarding the CCC’s Model HCAEquitable Opportunities Now submitted the comments below with these suggested red-lined edits to the Cannabis Control Commission in response to a call for public comments to their proposed draft Model HCA. Please email kevin@masseon.com with any questions or feedback. RE: Equitable Opportunities Now Public Comments Regarding the CCC’s Model HCA Dear Cannabis Control Commission Acting… Read more: Equitable Opportunities Now Public Comments Regarding the CCC’s Model HCA
- CCC launches 4th cohort of its Social Equity ProgramThe Cannabis Control Commission began accepting applications for the fourth cohort of its Social Equity Program (SEP) starting Monday, February 5. The SEP, the first of its kind in the nation, is a free, statewide technical assistance and training program that creates sustainable pathways into the regulated cannabis industry for individuals most impacted by the… Read more: CCC launches 4th cohort of its Social Equity Program
- Public comments to EOED regarding 400 CMR 8.00, “Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund”In response to draft regulations 400 CMR 8.00, “Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund” issued by the Executive Office of Economic Development, Equitable Opportunities Now issued the following public comments.
- CCC ends 2023 strong by advancing delivery regulatory reformsAfter years of advocacy by delivery operators and allies, and thanks to the responsiveness of Cannabis Control Commissioners, the CCC voted in December to advance three major delivery regulatory reforms…
- Honoring cannabis equity pioneer Nike John of The Heritage ClubIt is so important to lift up success stories and celebrate the business leaders pioneering a way in this industry — and EON could not be prouder to celebrate our friend Nike John, the founder and CEO of The Heritage Club and The Boston Heritage Fund at our Celebration of Cannabis Equity Champions on Tuesday!
- Acting Chair Concepcion, Asst. Secretary Vega and other leaders to speak at Celebration of Equity ChampionsThird-annual fundraising reception will honor contributions to Massachusetts’ historic cannabis equity policies at licensed cannabis equity business New Dia Fenway
- Special Guest: EOED Asst. Secretary Juan Vega to share Cannabis Social Equity Fund update at Celebration of Equity ChampionsEOED Assistant Secretary for Communities and Programs Juan Vega will share general information about the agency’s plans for the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund and share the EOED’s progress in implementing the changes included in the FY23 supplemental budget (that you helped to pass!) in coordination with the Legislature, Executive Office of Administration & Finance, Comptroller’s Office, and other government partners.
- EON Letter to CCC Regarding Model HCA, Model Municipal Equity Ordinance, & Municipal ComplianceFollowing the Cannabis Control Commission’s Dec. 14, 2023 meeting, during which Commissioners and staff discussed progress in implementing HCA and municipal equity regulations promulgated pursuant to Ch. 180 of the Acts of 2022, Equitable Opportunities Now submitted the following public comment…
- Acting CCC Chair Concepcion & Commissioner Camargo to address EON supporters at Celebration of Equity ChampionsEON is honored to recognize Cannabis Control Commission Acting Chair Ava Callender Concepcion, and other government and community leaders, for their contributions to equitable opportunity at our Celebration of Cannabis Equity Champions next Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. at New Dia Cannabis Co.’s Fenway location.
- BECMA, EON urge CCC to Repeal Burdensome Regulations Targeting Equity BusinessesThe initial framework for Marijuana Delivery Operators and Marijuana Couriers has failed to create meaningful economic opportunities for the communities intended to benefit from it due to overly burdensome regulations that emphasize an overly cautious and costly approach that exceeds the standards set by any other state in the country. On behalf of Equitable Opportunities Now, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and our members and supporters across the Commonwealth, we urge the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) to make the following regulatory changes at the earliest possible opportunity to unlock the potential of these important license types…
- Come hear from Boston Cannabis Business Manager Shekia Scott!EON is proud to count Mayor Wu’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, and City of Boston Cannabis Business Manager Shekia Scott, as allies and leaders working to create equitable economic opportunity. Please join us to honor City of Boston Cannabis Business Manager Shekia Scott and other government and community leaders at our Celebration of Cannabis Equity Champions!
