By February 17, 2026
When recreational marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts, making the industry equitable was front and center. Groundbreaking programs were put in place to help communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs benefit from legal weed, and many thought these efforts would lead to major windfalls.
More than seven years later, however — as a ballot measure to kill recreational weed works its way toward voters in November — these progressive reforms have not led to the economic justice many had hoped for.
Of 690 open cannabis businesses, a Boston Globe analysis found, about 15 percent — 101 — are owned by people in the state’s two primary equity programs, aimed at entrepreneurs and workers in the largely Black and Latino communities targeted by drug arrests, as well as those with marijuana convictions. This access represents progress, advocates say, but equity businesses have not been able to gain a strong foothold in the industry. A number are barely making it. And many are wondering if long-term success, and influence, is possible.
MassBudget Report Reference:
The recreational cannabis industry has generated more than $8.8 billion in sales since 2018, but revenues have essentially plateaued over the past two years.
