Alert: Applications for the Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity Program open on February 5.

The Social Equity Program (SEP) is a free, statewide technical assistance and training program that creates sustainable pathways into the legal cannabis industry for individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs. If your application is approved, you become eligible to jump the state’s licensing queue, receive certain fee waivers, get exclusive access to delivery and social consumption licenses, and more.

To participate in the SEP, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Income that does not exceed 400% of the Area Median Income and residency in a Disproportionately Impacted Area for at least five of the past ten years (Note: as of November 2022, the Commission approved the City of Lawrence and Worcester Census Tract 7320.01—otherwise known as Great Brook Valley—as Disproportionately Impacted Areas);
• Residency in Massachusetts for at least the past 12 months and a conviction or continuance without a finding for an offense under M.G.L. c. 94C or an equivalent conviction in Other Jurisdictions;
• Residency in Massachusetts for at least the past 12 months and proof that you were either married to or the child of an individual convicted or continuance without a finding for a M.G.L. c. 94C offense or an equivalent conviction in Other Jurisdictions;
• You are currently listed as an owner on the original certification of a Certified Economic Empowerment Priority Applicant who satisfies one or more the following criteria:
  • Lived for five of the preceding 10 years in a Disproportionately Impacted Area;
  • Experience in one or more previous positions where the primary population served were disproportionately impacted, or where primary responsibilities included economic education, resource provision or empowerment to disproportionately impacted individuals or communities;
  • Black, African American, Hispanic or Latino descent; or
  • Other significant articulable demonstration of past experience in or business practices that promote economic empowerment in Disproportionately Impacted Area.

If you checked at least one of these boxes, you may be eligible to participate in the SEP! Watch our video below to learn more.