City, JP Cannabis Museum offering informational sessions

Mayor Michelle Wu announced this month the City of Boston, in collaboration with the Core Empowerment Social Justice Cannabis Museum in Jamaica Plain, will offer a series of free introductory informational sessions beginning Tuesday, January 18 on the cannabis industry and entrepreneurship for those who intend to operate a cannabis business in the City of Boston. 

Wu said the objective of these January sessions is to increase the number of equity owned cannabis business licensees and applicants in the City of Boston. 

“As we build a cannabis industry in our City, it’s crucial to uplift the communities that have lived the harms of previous marijuana laws and enforcement,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I encourage all interested entrepreneurs to use these resources to ensure equitable growth for this emerging industry.”

In November of 2019, the City of Boston passed an “Ordinance Establishing Equitable Regulation of the Cannabis Industry,” which requires the development of procedures and policies that encourage participation in the regulated cannabis industry by communities that have been disproportionately affected by the “War on Drugs” — particularly the Black and Latino communities. 

In March 2021 Jamaica Plain’s first adult-use cannabis dispensary and the nation’s first Social Justice Cannabis Museum opened in Hyde Square. 

Core Cannabis’s Seed Dispensary and attached Social Justice Cannabis Museum opened at 401 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain. Eighty-two percent of Core is owned by locals, 72 percent women owned and the owners of the company have spent collectively over 10 years incarcerated by the war on drugs.

“The Core Social Justice Cannabis Museum is pleased to partner with the City of Boston to host Boston CannaBiz 101,” said Core’s Chief of Staff Tomas Gonzalez. “The three day seminar will provide participants with the tools they need to navigate the legal cannabis industry.  The event will include a keynote address from the Cannabis Control Commission as well as a guided tour of the current exhibition, American Warden.  We look forward to furthering our mission to educate citizens and elucidate the injustices of American drug policy in our unique space.” 

These three day-long informational sessions will be held at the Core Empowerment Social Justice Cannabis Museum at 401A Centre St. on January 18th, 19th, and 20th, and will be a resource to benefit all cannabis businesses and entrepreneurs, including Boston Equity Applicants. 

The informational sessions will cover every aspect of the industry that are integral to opening and maintaining a successful cannabis business, ranging from: Legislative history of the legalization of cannabis and the need for social justice within the industry; Various Licensing types available from the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC); Financing; How to create a corporation; City of Boston Host Community Agreements (HCA); Site Control; as well as standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for all license types offered by the Cannabis Control Commission. 

In August of 2020, the Boston Cannabis Board held its first transactional hearing. In accordance with Massachusetts Zoning Law, Boston must have a minimum of 52 licensed cannabis establishments. 

With that, Wu said she is committed to ensuring that all of Boston’s diverse communities are able to benefit from this emerging industry. These informational sessions will help identify a pipeline of equity applicants and cannabis entrepreneurs.

For more information about this free series for cannabis entrepreneurs in Boston, including the schedule and list of presenters, interested attendees can RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-cannabiz-101-tickets-208635092177?aff=ebdsoporg- profile.

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