Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | August 3, 2020 | wbjournal.com Chasing the green light N estled away on the wooded Route 16 in Uxbridge, just before an onramp to Route 146 South, tucked away from sight, is a small pocket of three small cannabis companies, easy to miss on a winding road peppered with churches, automotive companies and at least one animal hospital. Uxbridge has become known for its friendly relationship with cannabis firms, which brings in revenue for the largely blue-collar, old-mill town in the Blackstone Valley. But despite the frequent headlines, the businesses are understated, providing a quiet bubble where entrepreneurs quietly chip away at their heavily regulated businesses. e latest cannabis company in the Uxbridge enclave to get off the ground is Yamna, which received the go-ahead to commence operations in late June. Run by two friends, Kevin MacConnell and Tim Phillips, the latter of which counts Uxbridge as his hometown, the pair are helping to shape a tiny subsector of the cannabis industry: the microbusiness. Officially, the microbusiness license is for a co-located tier 1 marijuana cultivation and/or manufacturing operation, whose owners are limited to purchasing 2,000 pounds of cannabis a year and are capped at 5,000 square feet of grow space. Microbusinesses are only allowed to wholesale their products to other retailers, unless they receive delivery approval, which is limited to economic empowerment businesses and social equity program participants. Yamna, whose official licensed name is Blackstone Valley Naturals, is neither. e small business license carries a residency requirement – licensees have to live in Mass. for at least a full calendar year before they are allowed to apply. Although designed to help small cannabis businesses get off the ground in an industry dominated by large, cash-flush corporations, the road to commencing operations was slow for the new microbusiness. e licensing option is a track intended to make it easier for small businesses with less capital to start making sales and earn back their startup costs, but so far the wait time between applying and opening their doors has been plagued with the same types of challenges and delay-induced financing issues as much larger license endeavors. "At the time, [the microbusiness license] seemed like it was a great idea because it was just one application that was for two licenes, and it seemed to fit everything great for us," said MacConnell, seated with Phillips at their Uxbridge facility in early July. Microbusiness licenses fees are discounted 50%, according to the Cannabis Control Commission, with MacConnell estimating the classification saving the pair about $5,000 a year. ey are given license application review priority, aer operating medical firms and economic empowerment applicants, which come first under state law. For MacConnell and Phillips, who met while working in the Colorado industry before relocating to Massachusetts, their business model is akin to a cra brewery. Like a cra beer company, they plan to coexist with the big players, providing consumers with a specialty alternative to mainstream cannabis options. And as is typically the case with their cra beer counterparts, their products will be available at a premium. Aside from flower, which will be sold in jarred eighths, Yamna's main focus is its signature cannagar – a cannabis cigar. Its cigars are different than the standard pre-rolled joints available at dispensaries around the state because each one includes two grams of ground flower – e microbusiness license, designed to make it easier for small marijuana entrepreneurs, remains plagued by the slow regulatory process BY MONICA BUSCH Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Tim Phillips (left) and Kevin MacConnell, owners of Yamna in Uxbridge and one of only two cannabis microbusiness licensees in Massachusetts, stand next to their delivery vehicle. PHOTOS/MONICA BUSCH

• Cover