Cannabis Control Commission to Host a Conversation About the Intersection of Cannabis and Equity on September 13

The event is part of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Fierce Urgency of Now Festival, presented by City Awake

WORCESTER- The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission), in partnership with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s City Awake platform, will be hosting a conversation on the Intersection of Cannabis and Equity on Wednesday, September 13 starting at 4 p.m. as part of the Fierce Urgency of Now (FUN) Festival. The event is open to the public and will take place in person at Roxbury Community College’s Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center located in Boston.

FUN aims to bring Boston’s diverse young professionals together to build connections, advance careers, and ignite positive change through programming, presentations, workshops, and engaging panels from various experts and voices from the business, civic, and local communities.

“I am pleased the Commission’s Equity Programming and Community Outreach team will facilitate this important conversation about the intersection of cannabis and equity at such a critical time in our policy work to increase inclusivity in the regulated industry by those who have been harmed by the War on Drugs, and disproportionately Black and Brown communities,” said Commissioner Nurys Camargo, who is appointed to serve as in the agency’s social justice seat by the State Treasurer, Governor, and Attorney General. “As we turn to finalizing our draft regulations to implement the state’s equity reform law, the dialogue that will be shared at FUN will set the stage for the important work Massachusetts has left to do to ensure legalization truly reconciles the ongoing impact of previous marijuana prohibition and enforcement.”

The Intersection of Cannabis and Equity event will focus on the intersection of cannabis legalization and equity in our communities. It will highlight the nation’s first statewide programming designed to ensure full participation in the legal cannabis industry by communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs by giving participants the opportunity to learn about the Commission’s Social Equity Program (SEP). Attendees will be invited to ask questions and connect with Commission and industry representatives who can share helpful resources for entering the legal medical and adult-use cannabis marketplace.

Participants will hear from guest speakers Commissioners Camargo, Ava Callender Concepcion, and Bruce Stebbins, as well as Chair Shannon O’Brien, in addition to staff from the Equity Programming and Community Outreach and Licensing Departments. There will be opportunities for networking, and breakout rooms on various topics, including an application clinic where staff will be available to answer questions about program eligibility and assist participants in preparing to apply for the SEP ahead of the opening of its fourth cohort. Representatives from Mass CultivatED will also be there to talk about working in the industry with a criminal background and sealing or expunging records.

For more information and to register for this event, please visit the Eventbrite page.

Additional information is available by visiting the Commission’s website at MassCannabisControl.com, by contacting the Commission by phone (774-415-0200) or email (Commission@CCCMass.com), or following the agency on Facebook and X.

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