The state fund designed to help entrepreneurs from communities disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition saw a major infusion of money over the past year, bringing in more than $29 million in new funding while doling out $26.5 million in grants to 181 businesses.
The $26.5 million in awards is over 10 times the amount granted in the fiscal year 2024, the first grant cycle since the Massachusetts' Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund was established. The state awarded $2.3 million to 50 recipients in the first grant cycle.
An annual legislative report filed last week shows the fund started fiscal 2025 with $27.3 million, then received a $29 million transfer from the Marijuana Regulation Fund in April, along with about $12,000 in donations. By year's end, the fund had a $29.6 million uncommitted balance after awarding its largest round of grants.
Created in 2022, the trust fund is meant to chip away at barriers to entry for smaller cannabis businesses, especially those owned by people of color, women, and individuals impacted by past enforcement policies. But local store owners say the industry remains tilted toward well-capitalized corporate operators who had an early foothold through the state's original medical marijuana program.
Read more at The Worcester Business Journal
