In 2022, Massachusetts lawmakers established a Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board “to advise the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) as EOED administers the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.” The legislation charged the CSEAB with “advis[ing] the Executive Office of Economic Development on the development of regulations, administration, and reporting of the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund,” which “was established to encourage the full participation in the state’s regulated marijuana industry of entrepreneurs from communities that have been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.”
It’s been nearly a year since then-Gov. Charlie Baker set the fund in motion, and stakeholders are still waiting—for an application, for details, for anything…
The group Equitable Opportunities Now, which “educates and empowers people of color to become active participants in the Massachusetts legal cannabis market,” is on top of the situation, and has sent two letters to Beacon Hill lawmakers this month outlining the situation as well as the stakes. They’re urging state leaders to initiate a “one-time emergency transfer of $50 million to the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund … to compensate for the persistent delays in distributing these funds.” Their letters can be found below, in full, with the most recent one first. -TJM Editors
Recap + Guest Opinion: Please Advance The Social Equity Trust Fund Fix | Talking Joints Memo
The group Equitable Opportunities Now, which “educates and empowers people of color to become active participants in the Massachusetts legal cannabis market,” is on top of the situation, and has sent two letters to Beacon Hill lawmakers this month outlining the situation as well as the stakes.
