Massachusetts residents voted “yes” for recreational cannabis back in 2016. Two years later, recreational sales began taking place in the state. A major goal for the rollout of recreational marijuana in the state was social justice, specifically for communities disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition.

The state has had recreational sales for the last year, meaning it’s a good time to check in on their progress.

What is the social equity program?

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) started the social equity program to ensure disadvantaged communities harmed by marijuana prohibition have an equal opportunity to join the legal industry.

Qualified applicants may receive assistance with their business plan creation, help with accounting, employee training, and other support to help them successfully run a cannabis business.

"The idea here is to create a form of equity where it's not about making sure that everyone is in the same exact spot, but it's about creating a level playing field where everyone has a chance," Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title told WBUR in an interview.

There are 29 areas of disproportionate impact that qualify an applicant for the program. Applicants must have spent at least five of the last 10 years living in a qualified city, have a past drug conviction while residing in Massachusetts, or be the spouse or child of someone with a Massachusetts drug conviction.

How successful has the social equity program been?

As more states legalize marijuana, communities, applicants, legislators continue to push for social equity programs. Massachusetts went ahead and set up a social equity program to give a head start to those who need it most, but how successful has it proved to be?

In February of 2019, people registered to work at marijuana businesses were 67% male and 72% white. This doesn’t represent the disproportionately harmed communities the program was expected to target, including “people with drug convictions, women, racial minorities and veterans.” Commissioners understood this meant more work and changes ahead for the newly-started program.

Fast forward to June of 2019, and the state reported only receiving 10 applications out of the 123 open spots in the social equity program. Those who did apply were to receive priority review from the CCC.

One of the biggest barriers may be the expense required to open a cannabis business, especially for those who have already been selling on the black market and making more profit.

The impact of community host agreements

Of the many provisions outlined by the CCC, new cannabis business owners are required to have a community host agreement where they explain their business plans to the community.

Seems nice, right? While a host agreement may be useful in theory, the reality is a lengthy process that keeps prospective business owners waiting around.

In November of 2019, Next City reported, “the 26 adult-use stores owners are delighted as their cash registers ring nearly non-stop. But for the other 191 prospective store owners, opening an adult-use marijuana store in Massachusetts is an excruciatingly slow, overly expensive and generally painful experience.”

The lengthy process is even more damaging to small business owners and those who qualify for the social equity program. The more time applicants spend in a queue, the more money they lose while larger companies with more investment money thrive.

Candidates compete with one another to win over landlords for marijuana retail zones. This means landlords can choose to go with the most lucrative offer, not necessarily the candidate who deserves the chance to open a business the most.

Since applicants need to have a location secured before applying, they’ll also have to pay rent while the CCC takes their time going through applications. This hurts a lot of social equity program applicants who don’t have the means to keep a location secured while they wait, allowing bigger, richer corporations to dominate the industry.

Training and resources from the CCC

Nearly 100 residents of disproportionate impact participated in a state training course in October of 2019. The training is free, offering technical assistance and building skills for those looking to enter the industry. The CCC says they’re trying to level the playing field for disproportionately harmed individuals to allow them to enter the legal industry by providing essential tools and training.

According to the CCC, “in addition to private educational opportunities, Social Equity Program participants will be eligible for fee waivers when they apply for a license and have exclusive access to delivery-only and social consumption license types when they become available in the Commonwealth for at least two years.”

Only time will tell if the free resources and assistance provided will “level the playing field” for disadvantaged community members. In compliance with state regulations for starting a cannabis business, community members still have to fight those with deeper pockets in a highly competitive space.

Final thoughts on the state of the social equity program

Massachusetts is clearly trying to make amends and level the playing field. But as with any new program, it will take a long time to sort out. While the commonwealth has done a good job coming up with a social equity program on paper, there are a lot of areas for improvement when it comes to the execution of the program.

Few social equity program applications have made it through to the CCC, despite a number of spaces available. Even those who apply will have to sit in the queue for long periods of time waiting for all parts of the process to complete, including holding a community host agreement.

There’s no doubt the commonwealth is pushing for a more equitable system. They just haven’t reached it yet.

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