Boston Globe | Cannabis Control Commission flexes new muscle on Beacon Hill

Three years after recreational marijuana sales kicked off in Massachusetts, the agency that regulates the industry is urging legislators to update the state’s stagnant cannabis laws, saying changes are urgently needed so it can carry out its mission.

The Cannabis Control Commission recently voted unanimously to launch its first-ever coordinated lobbying blitz on Beacon Hill, in support of proposed bills that would award low-interest loans or grants to disenfranchised entrepreneurs trying to open licensed marijuana businesses.

The agency’s five commissioners, four of whom were appointed within the past year, said the state is falling short of its legal — and moral — obligation to ensure equity within the legal pot business after decades of racially disproportionate drug arrests.

“Our equity applicants are being left behind,” Commissioner Ava Concepcion said at a public meeting this month. “It’s time for the Legislature to address the reality. … Otherwise, the promises of equity and inclusion ingrained in our state’s cannabis laws will never be realized.”

Read more here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/29/marijuana/cannabis-control-commission-flexes-new-muscle-beacon-hill/