More 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.
Tag: Sen. Adam Gomez
“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.”
Yesterday, the Legislature passed, and Gov. Maura Healey signed, the closeout FY23 supplemental budget that will unlock millions of dollars in grants and loans to cannabis equity businesses. This is an important step toward creating economic opportunity for communities harmed by the war on drugs, as envisioned by voters when they passed Question 4.
“The law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Maura Healey today will unlock millions of dollars in grants and loans to cannabis equity businesses. This is an important step toward creating economic opportunity for communities harmed by the war on drugs, as envisioned by voters when they passed Question 4.
“We appreciate all the work that Gov. Healey’s Administration has done in preparation for the launch of the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund and hope they will work quickly to roll out a simple, transparent, user-friendly application process as soon as possible.”
The investments and policy decisions we make now will have a lasting impact on whether we create a truly equitable industry.