Equitable Opportunities Now
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.
Eight 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.
Donahue asked several of the people and groups that were invited to testify Wednesday (the CCC was not invited to testify) whether they thought that the statutory structure of the CCC contributed to the issues they raised. He asked about how other state cannabis oversight agencies are structured and whether moving the CCC under an executive office might make sense.
That idea would be a non-starter for Kevin Gilnack, the policy co-chair for Equitable Opportunities Now, though he did agree that “recent events obviously have highlighted the need for some potential clarification and enhancements of the CCC’s authorizing statute.”
Massachusetts business owners, industry trade groups, and advocates ask lawmakers to reform the Cannabis Control Commission…
On 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.
After 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.
We 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.
The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) will host a Public Listening Session on Independent Testing Laboratories (ITLs) and related matters on November 7, 2024
The 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.
Equitable 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.