🔒Viewpoint: Don’t let big cannabis crush small business

Massachusetts' cannabis industry was founded on promises of equity and opportunity for communities harmed by the War on Drugs. Yet, new legislative proposals threaten to dismantle these commitments by removing ownership caps, paving the way for large corporations to dominate the market and push out local entrepreneurs.

Eight bills introduced this session would lift ownership limits, giving multistate operators more control. These changes would make it nearly impossible for independent operators to compete and survive.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council represents the communities this industry was designed to uplift. Our businesses are proof of what ownership limits make possible, and our stories reveal what is at stake.

Navigating the cannabis industry as small business owners is very challenging. Building Pure Oasis, Boston's first Black-owned dispensary, meant years of overcoming regulatory barriers and raising capital. Without ownership limits, we would have stood no chance against corporate giants. Ownership caps leveled the playing field, allowing us to establish ourselves and create local jobs. 

Lifting ownership limits would let MSOs dominate through greater wholesale purchasing power than local businesses, predatory joint venture arrangements, and driving away new investors.

For Zèb Boutique, a woman-owned retail shop in Dorchester, the fight is about honoring the plant and the communities it was meant to heal. Before changing the rules, Massachusetts must ask if the original goal of repairing harms from the War on Drugs has been met.

We lack unbiased data on the current state of industry equity. Without clear metrics and community dialogue, decisions risk being made in the dark, eroding trust and sidelining local voices.

Delivered Inc., a Latino-owned cannabis delivery business in Clinton, embodies what local control should look like. Our business reinvests in the community and creates good-paying jobs. But when large corporations dominate, wealth leaves the community, flowing to out-of-state shareholders. That’s not what voters intended when they legalized cannabis. 

Ownership limits ensure the industry’s wealth benefits local economies and that diverse, independent businesses can continue to thrive.

Ownership caps are not bureaucratic red tape; they are essential for fostering competition, equitable opportunities, and keeping wealth in local communities.

Massachusetts’ social equity programs are just beginning to bear fruit. Delivery services are finding their footing, grants are rolling out from the Social Equity Trust Fund, and social consumption sites are on the horizon. Lifting ownership limits now would destabilize this progress.

MCEC urges lawmakers to maintain current ownership limits, improve transparency on license ownership, establish a tip line for reporting violations, and pass bills that strengthen the equity and the industry.

Voters didn’t choose an industry dominated by a few wealthy corporations. They chose equity, opportunity, and fair competition. 

Ruben Seyde is co-owner of Delivered Inc. cannabis delivery company in Clinton. Drudys Ledbetter is co-owner of Boston-based dispensary Zèb Boutique. Kobie Evans is co-owner of Boston-based dispensary Pure Oasis.