Worcester Business Journal

June 13, 2022

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wbjournal.com | June 13, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Cannabis industry should be more diverse Should the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission do more to increase equity and inclusion in the marijuana industry? When Massachusetts voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016, the language of the ballot initiative explicitly said the benefits of the industry should go toward communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. This made Massachusetts the first state to mandate equity and inclusion into the legal cannabis framework. Yet, that didn't happen in the first few years, as the overwhelming majority of marijuana business licenses went to companies with wealthy investors, some of them quite large. People of color hold 10.8% of cannabis business licenses, in a state where they comprise 29% of the population, and less than 6% of licensees meet the definition of those impacted by the War on Drugs. Each chamber of the Massachusetts legislature passed a cannabis industry reform bill in May, including providing more funding for economic empowerment applicants, in order to increase diversity among business licensees. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said the cannabis industry needs better equity and inclusion. F L AS H P O L L B U S I N E S S O F C A N N A B I S F O C U S Yes 57% No 43% "47% of people think 10.8% POC-owned businesses are sufficient. Atrocious." COMMENTS: Cannabis employees in Mass., by race Race/ethnicity Employees % total White 16,346 70.4% Hispanic 2,165 9.3% Black 1,658 7.1% Asian 492 2.1% Other race or ethnicity 317 1.4% American Indian or Alaska native 100 0.4% Middle Eastern or North African 91 0.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander 31 0.1% Decline to answer 2,030 8.7% Cannabis employees in Mass., by gender Gender Employees % total Male 14,365 63.8% Female 8,003 35.5% Other or decline to answer 161 0.7% Source: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Banking LifeDesign ® Care, Clarity, & Confidence. This is LifeDesign Banking. Open an account today! FidelityBankOnline.com/BusinessBonus Move your business checking to one of our BusinessWorx checking accounts and be eligible for a $500 bonus. Plus, you can earn an addi onal $500 bonus by signing up for one of our convenient cash management services. *Open any Fidelity Bank BusinessWorx Checking account between May 23, and June 30, 2022 to be eligible. To earn first $500 bonus you must have $5,000 in total deposits and three automatic clearing house (ACH) or BillPay transactions within 60 days of account opening of $10 or more. To earn second $500 bonus for Cash Management services within 60 days of account opening you must: enroll in Merchant Services; enroll in Check Positive Pay; or enroll in Business Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) and process one deposit with check scanner within 60 days. Note that check deposits via Business Online Banking mobile app are not eligible. New account bonus(es) to be deposited into your account during the subsequent statement cycle after meeting the eligible criteria above. The value of these bonuses may constitute taxable income and will be reported on IRS Form 1099 (or other appropriate form). Offers valid only for new Fidelity Bank business checking account clients. Fidelity Bank business clients with an existing Fidelity Bank business checking account are not eligible. All account applications are subject to approval. Limit one eligible account per tax ID/EIN number. Eligible accounts include BusinessWorx Basic, BusinessWorx Plus, and BusinessWorx Complete. Minimum opening deposit for eligible accounts is $100. BusinessWorx Basic account has no monthly maintenance fee. BusinessWorx Plus has a monthly maintenance fee of $10 per month and fee can be waived with $10,000 combined average daily balances or Merchant Services. BusinessWorx Complete has a monthly maintenance fee of $10 per month and fee can be waived with $20,0000 combined average daily balances or merchant services. Account must be open, active, and in good standing to receive the bonuses. Accounts closed within 6 months of receiving bonus will incur a $500 early account termination fee. Promotional offer subject to change or cancellation at any time. $1,000 BONUS * Earn up to a Business Banking That Works

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