As Leah Samura eagerly awaited the opening of her cannabis dispensary, Yamba Boutique, in Harvard Square, she couldn’t help but reflect on the tortuous path she had navigated to get there. It had been five years since she left her corporate job to embark on this entrepreneurial venture, a testament to the challenges faced by minority-owned businesses in Cambridge’s tightly regulated cannabis industry.
Samura’s story is emblematic of the complexities surrounding Cambridge’s approach to retail cannabis permitting. In 2018, the city stipulated that from September 2019 to September 2021, only “Economic Empowerment” (EE) applicants could be considered for permits. This policy, aimed at supporting minority entrepreneurs, was extended twice and now runs until September 2023.
For Dennis Benzan, the co-owner of Western Front, the city’s decision to prioritize EE applicants served as a way to “remedy past wrongs” and address the disproportionate impact of the war on drugs on communities of color
“The idea was to create wealth for communities of color that have been disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs,” Benzan explained.
However, not everyone was convinced that the city’s approach was the right solution. Sean D. Hope, a co-owner of the Yamba dispensaries, argued that the limited pool of potential business owners created by the EE program made it harder to raise capital and find partners. “Because of the way these empowerment licenses are set up, you are extremely limited in raising capital, bringing in partners, and doing the things that businesses need to do,” Hope said.
The city, however, maintained that the moratorium was necessary to provide a head start for businesses that would have otherwise been overtaken by better-resourced companies. “The efforts to prioritize economic empowerment and social equity applicants were motivated by the understanding that, without implementing priority groups, existing companies could potentially transition or expand their businesses into cannabis retail businesses and prevent new, locally owned businesses from having a chance to succeed,” said Jeremy C. Warnick, a city spokesperson.
The debate surrounding Cambridge’s cannabis permitting policies highlights the complexities inherent in creating an equitable and inclusive industry. While the city’s intentions were commendable, the execution of these policies has proved challenging, with some arguing that the restrictions have actually hindered the growth of minority-owned businesses.