Horace Small for Cannabis Control Commission?
Mass Cannabis Advisory Board member calls out lobbyist access
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Horace Small is the Founder & Executive Director of Union of Minority Neighborhoods and a member of the Massachusetts state Cannabis Advisory Board (CAB).
On our live-streaming show and podcast The Young Jurks, we recently interviewed Small, about the issues that are blocking cannabis economic empowerment (EE) applicants from receiving Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) and local approval. We also discuss the campaign that Micro-cannabis applicant Ed DeSousa has started to have Small appointed to the CCC.
Below are some of his comments from the sit-down.
What did you hope for with your work on the CAB and what actually happened?
For the first time in essentially 400 years, it’s the first time poor black and brown people have had a seat at the table...but what really happened was a lot of monied interests came through the door, there’s Mike Costello, a friend of mine, a lobbyist, Mike Ross went from being a city councilor to becoming a millionaire, a lot of people got paid...people got paid and the people who have not got paid have been the equity applicants.
I feel like we’ve let equity people down we haven’t given them sufficiently a voice and a seat at the table...We have to rethink this.
What’s lacking currently on the Commission?
You have to experience a level of oppression to really understand social justice and this has been my whole life.
Why are applicants still not being treated fairly?
What has hurt us tremendously has been our inability to communicate to communities around the state. The Bay State Banner refuses to write articles about cannabis, the black dispatch if you will, the average black person has nothing to read the same is true for latino papers. So there’s no information getting out.
If there was? There would be a lot more accountability than right now.
On local cities and towns being allowed to decide which applicants receive a host community hearing?
What I’ve noticed is that the people who seem to get priority are the ones who have names, friends of mine but Billy Johnson has to wait his turn, while the former Secretary of Public Safety got approval right away.
We have to develop a game plan, we have to be thinking of this industry as the opportunity we all dreamed of and fought for. I feel like it’s being usurped from the people, there are weed lobbyists who have access, our people don’t, poor people don’t, working people don’t, veterans don’t, we have to create that space. I think Shaleen (Commissioner Title), did as good of a job as she possibly could by herself.
Question we posed to our callers, “Would you like to see Horace Small appointed to the CCC?”
Chauncy Spencer, EE applicant in the city of Boston, “Absolutely, but I'd also like it after you serve a quick term on Boston’s new board.”
Ed DeSousa, micro-applicant, Newburyport, MA, “We need somebody like him, I’m so behind Horace.’
Goldie Piff, EE applicant, Rochester, MA, “I’m all for Horace for the CCC, absolutely, all the way, we need Horace there, I’d also like to see Grant Smith appointed.”
Ominique Garner, EE applicant, Rochester, MA, “Of course Horace for CCC.”
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Horace Small for CCC? Leave a comment, let us know!
YES. He should have been there from the beginning.