The official launch of the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition and its board of directors was announced on February 21, 2024. The coalition is a cannabis trade group aimed at serving the needs of license-holders throughout Massachusetts and will be working with the state’s governing agency for the industry, the Cannabis Control Commission, to help draft legislation that will help create a more consumer-friendly and competitive business environment.
Particular issues in Massachusetts that the coalition would like to address are the licensing requirements, consumption limits and reforming host community agreements. The coalition would also provide support to industry workers and provide a network where its members can have productive communications with regulators, public officials and other license holders.
“The Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition aims to unite the cannabis industry and create a better social, economic and regulatory landscape in the Commonwealth,” MCC founder and executive director Ryan Dominguez said in a press release. “In the years since legalization, the industry has learned valuable lessons about fostering a fair and competitive environment. Our goal at the MCC is to be a voice driving positive change from Beacon Hill to local storefronts and to create more opportunities for success for all.”
Dominguez was recently appointed to the Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board by Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg.
Coalition members range from small mom-and-pop dispensary owners to large-scale commercial cultivators, as well as a variety of ancillary service providers including law firms and financial service providers.
The coalition’s board members are: ClearSky Cannabis CEO Anthony Parrinello; Theory Wellness CEO Brandon Pollock; Treevit CEO Gyasi Sellers; Garden Remedies CEO Jeff Herold; 6 Brick’s CEO Payton Shubrick; PharmaCann vice president of stores and operations Shelley Stormo; and Good Chemistry chief operating officer Toby Number.
While Massachusetts has reached $5 billion in cannabis sales since its launch in 2018, operators are facing a multitude of challenges that impede their ability to do business. Cannabis employment is down across the commonwealth, according to Boston Business Journal, and state data shows a total of 16 licenses have either been revoked, surrendered or simply not renewed since 2018.
“My hope is that the MCC can help to course-correct the challenging aspects of the industry,” Shubrick said. “As a small business owner, I want to ensure equitable and fair practices for all while creating an authentic community of well-intentioned, diverse thinkers. This coalition will consider diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging into all of our actions in order to be accessible and supportive of the entire industry.”