Massachusetts Cannabis Social Equity Trainings Set to Resume After Year-Long Delay

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) plans to resume the
state’s cannabis social equity training program this fall after a year-long
delay caused by budget constraints, the CommonWealth Beacon reports.

Regulators approved 229 individuals for the trainings last year, but the
process halted abruptly after the Legislature failed to allocate proper
funding. State officials now plan to resume the program for the approved
applicants on September 8 and will begin accepting additional applicants
starting August 1.

Passed by voters in 2016, the state’s cannabis legalization law requires a
social equity program that includes cannabis industry trainings, guidance
for navigating the industry’s many regulatory hurdles, networking
opportunities for approved applicants, and fee waivers to help cannabis
business owners or employees enter the industry, the report said.

The CCC’s Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins told the Beacon that he appreciated
officials’ efforts to carry on the program despite funding-related
uncertainties.

Kevin Gilnack, the deputy director of Equitable Opportunities Now, said in
the report that while he appreciates the difficulties faced by regulators,
“it’s definitely frustrating to those who were really eager to get into the
industry and looking at this [training program] as their pathway into it.”

“I think the important thing is that we figure out a way to make sure that
future social equity program participants aren’t held back by these funding
challenges. It would be great to see the Legislature actually set up
automatic funding so that regardless of what else is going on, social
equity will remain a priority that actually gets fulfilled every year.” —
Gilnack, to the Beacon

Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healey (D) last year awarded 50 grants totaling
$2,350,000 to cannabis social equity businesses through the state’s
Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.