Astate fund meant to open the legal marijuana industry up to more entrepreneurs from communities most harmed by prohibition and enforcement now has more than $27 million at its disposal and plans are underway to broaden eligibility for state financial assistance, the Executive Office of Economic Development said in its annual report on the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.
The Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker created the fund in 2022 and called for it to be seeded it with 15 percent of the money in the Marijuana Regulation Fund, which itself is funded by revenue from the marijuana excise tax, application and licensing fees, and industry penalties. But a technical issue prevented the inflow of money to the new trust fund until lawmakers made a change in the fiscal year 2023 closeout budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed last December.
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