Proposed Massachusetts Marijuana Reforms Represent An Important Step Forward (Op-Ed)

*“This bill offers something we have not seen in a long time—a policy that
actually reflects the realities of running a cannabis business in today’s
market.”*

*By Payton Shubrick, Gyasi Sellers, Tito Jackson and Dennis Benzan,
CommonWealth Beacon*

We are a group of owner-operators of minority-owned, women-owned, social
equity and economic empowerment cannabis businesses from across the
Commonwealth and have deep concern about our ability to survive under the
currently outdated laws and regulations.

Massachusetts once stood at the forefront of cannabis equity reform. We
were the first state to create a social equity program. However, businesses
like ours urgently need relief and support to survive in an incredibly
challenging market.

We’ve built businesses that hire from our communities, reinvest locally and
model what social equity and economic empowerment can look like, but we’re
barely surviving due to oversaturation and oversupply. We need laws and
regulations that enable us to thrive—not just survive—and give us a fair
shot at growth and sustainability.

With the current limit of three licenses for any owner, we cannot structure
models for growth or provide financial security for small owner-operated
businesses. We also cannot raise capital based on the negative narrative
around the market. The numbers don’t work unless you’re a vertically
integrated or multi-state operator with better profit margins in
neighboring states.

That’s why we support the recent redraft legislation, titled An Act
Modernizing the Commonwealth’s Cannabis Laws, released by the House members
of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy. We commend House leaders for
recognizing the harsh reality that many of us operating businesses in
Massachusetts are closing, and for putting forth changes that will give us
breathing room and a future.

This bill offers something we have not seen in a long time—a policy that
actually reflects the realities of running a cannabis business in today’s
market.

One of the most important reforms it includes is the gradual increase of
the retail license cap from three to six. Lacking the ability to scale,
we’re permanently disadvantaged in every negotiation with landlords,
investors, and suppliers. The current cap stunts our businesses before they
can grow.

Without bankruptcy protections, some of our businesses will need to go into
receivership, and some may even need to file for personal bankruptcy—losing
homes and livelihoods. Increasing the license cap gives struggling
businesses the option to sell and protect personal, family and community
assets.

The bill also embraces equity joint ventures and employee ownership, paving
the way for new investment dollars to come back into the local cannabis
market. This gives social equity businesses a path to new sources of
capital to stabilize and scale their businesses while traditional sources
are still out of reach.

Critical guardrails requiring audits of business ownership and strict
enforcement of the license caps are also included in the bill. These
reforms ensure that changes to the licensing structures will uplift the
people and communities they were meant to benefit.

The legislation also increases the adult-use possession and purchase limits
from one ounce to two—which is seemingly small, but incredibly impactful.
It is a necessary step that will help consumers access safe, tested
products, boost legal sales and chip away at the illicit market that
undercuts us.

Finally, this bill ends the mandatory vertical integration requirements in
the medical cannabis program. We need to allow all small and disadvantaged
businesses to participate in the medical market without requiring them to
control the whole cannabis supply chain or demonstrate that they have
capital resources of at least half a million dollars.

For medical patients in cities like Boston and Springfield, vertical
integration requirements are a huge barrier to access to medical cannabis,
which is sold tax-free. This change opens the door for those purchases for
those with medical needs in communities with large populations with limited
disposable income.

This legislation is not a perfect bill, but it delivers meaningful,
immediate and enforceable reforms that will help small, minority-owned
cannabis businesses survive today and grow tomorrow.

We didn’t enter this industry to be shut out from realizing the original
intent of the first social equity and economic empowerment programs in the
nation. We entered it to lead and build businesses that reflect our
communities and repair decades of harm. This bill gives us a chance to do
that.

*Payton Shubrick is CEO of 6Bricks, a family-owned adult-use dispensary in
Springfield. Gyasi Sellers is founder of Treevit, a licensed delivery
operator based in Athol. Tito Jackson is CEO of Apex Noire, an adult-use
dispensary in Boston. Dennis Benzan is co-owner of Western Front, which
operates three adult-use dispensaries across Chelsea and Cambridge.*

*This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
License.*

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