“I don’t know of any social equity applicants that own three stores. I don’t know how they’re going to open three more in the next year.”
Last week, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission held a public hearing “to receive feedback from the public on emergency regulations approved by the Commission on June 17.” Below we reprinted the testimony of Michael Marinaro from Bada Bloom.
My name is Michael Marinaro. I’m the owner of Bada Bloom and Bada Vroom, our delivery and retail license. We are a social equity applicant in Massachusetts. I do want to say congratulations to the new board of the Cannabis Control Commission on your new positions.
I’ve been a social equity applicant here for over five years. I am still not operational. I’ve raised over $3.5 million. I am a vertical operator. I know we’re here to speak on the emergency regulations, so quickly, I am in favor of increasing the purchase limits from one ounce to two ounces. I was absolutely not in favor of increasing stores for large corporate entities while we haven’t even helped social equity.
And yes, I have gotten grants. We are very fortunate for our grants. It is in the regulation that we’re supposed to be getting 0% interest loans. We are still nowhere near there. We’re facing no information on it. No one’s talking about it. I don’t know how we’re not looking so hard to help more social equity. I don’t know of any social equity applicants that own three stores. I don’t know how they’re going to open three more in the next year. So it seems like that regulation there is not really affecting anyone or helping anyone who is social equity.
I’m a farmer. I’ve been in this industry for a very long time. I thought the war on drugs that I was in was supposed to be helping me get into the social equity program. We have really not received much help. I had to go on my own to raise millions of dollars. I do not come from money. My father was an Italian immigrant who came here when he was 16 years old. And unfortunately, I don’t even know if the American dream exists anymore. We do not have an opportunity here that is helping us. We need the commission to step up and help social equity as a whole.
I’m very fortunate again that we have received our grants. It has kept us going, but I had to raise millions of dollars. And I am still not near operations. I still need millions of dollars to finish my cultivation built out of a tier one cultivation. I am a farmer. I want to grow organic flower and give it to the people of Massachusetts. And I am not having that opportunity. There’s corporate entities that are flooding the market with radiated cannabis. They put it through a $400,000 radiation machine, and they sell this to the public. And everyone since day one has refused to label the packaging.
If they wanted more dispensaries, that’s fine. Let the consumer decide. We need packaging stamped that shows their product was radiated. And when I come online, my product will never have remediation because I designed a facility that doesn’t need it.
