State's cannabis equity fund eclipses $27M
Photo | Courtesy of Major Bloom
Major Bloom, a cannabis business in Worcester
A state fund meant to open the legal marijuana industry up to more entrepreneurs from communities most harmed by prohibition and enforcement now has more than $27 million at its disposal and plans are underway to broaden eligibility for state financial assistance, the Executive Office of Economic Development said in its annual report on the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.
The Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker created the fund in 2022 and called for it to be seeded it with 15 percent of the money in the Marijuana Regulation Fund, which itself is funded by revenue from the marijuana excise tax, application and licensing fees, and industry penalties. But a technical issue prevented the inflow of money to the new trust fund until lawmakers made a change in the fiscal year 2023 closeout budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed last December.
The fund got its initial infusion in December, a bit more than $2.3 million. On Feb. 1, the fund got its first complete annual transfer from the regulation fund, $27,447,434 in total according to the report. After accounting for awards made through the trust fund's "Immediate Needs Grant Program," the balance of the social equity trust fund stood at $27,331,490.74 as of the end of June, the report said.
That grant program was announced in late January and doled out the fund's initial $2.3 million in $20,000 to $50,000 awards to 50 different companies considered social equity or economic empowerment businesses that had provisional or final licenses from the Cannabis Control Commission. Those grants helped cover outstanding business expenses including payroll, rent, professional services, regulatory fees and debt service, the EOED report said.
A second round of grant funding from the trust fund is in development, EOED said. The fiscal year 2025 funding round will try to maintain the kind of assistance the immediate needs program provided, "as well as enhanced support to licensed social equity cannabis businesses with operational or capital needs," EOED said. Eligibility will also be expanded to social equity applicants that are still exploring entry into the marijuana industry, the report said.
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