Page 81 - BusinessWest August 18, 2021

nearly 300 cannabis-related operations doing business in the state. The casinos are owned and operated by huge international corporations, while the cannabis ventures come in all sizes, from huge, multi-state operations to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises.
And while the resort casinos have changed the landscape in Springfield, Everett, and Plain- field, the cannabis industry is reshaping dozens of smaller communities and bringing new life to idle real estate across the state (more on that later).
impactful the cannabis industry can become in the Bay State, he said there are essentially “no limits” on either the number of licenses or the bearing of this sector on the economy or indi- vidual cities and towns.
“We have 267 cannabis establishments open in Massachusetts, most of them on the retail side,” he noted. “Unlike gaming, which had a limited number of licenses, there are no limits on the number of cannabis licenses; it’s an inter- esting structure because there’s been an effort
to create opportunities for a local entrepreneur
became available on the CCC and his decision to apply for one of them.
Key to that decision is the why. As with the Gaming Commission, he was drawn to this board — and the cannabis industry — because of its broad implications for economic development within the Commonwealth.
“Part of my passion has been fueled by the opportunity to work with this new industry com- ing into Massachusetts,” he noted. “Similar to my interest in the gaming work that I did, I was look- ing for the economic-development aspects of this [cannabis] industry, whether it’s investment, jobs, small-business opportunity ... I certainly saw that both gaming and the introduction of the canna- bis industry was going to offer those opportuni- ties. That’s where my passion lay with gaming, and it’s where it lies with cannabis as well.”
Surveying the scene in the Commonwealth, he said cannabis has come a long way in a short time in Massachusetts.
“I was impressed with the work of the com- mission and the staff ... from the time the ballot question passed to the statute to opening the first retail, it was about two years; that’s very aggres- sive,” he said, adding that the industry is still ascending, with no real indication of just how high it can go.
“Right now, a big part of the agenda of our meetings is looking at renewals, final licenses
for applicants, and also a healthy number of provisional-license applications that are coming through the door,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be a slowing down of activity when it comes to people pursuing a license and people taking the final steps to opening their doors.”
Elaborating, he said there are a number of
“Being from Western Mass., being from Springfield, and knowing Holyoke,
I think one of the obvious returns has been investment in brick and mortar, whether it’s been an old mill building as a cultivation-and-grow facility to some of the new retail facilities that you see popping up.”
Named to the board in January, Stebbins said he’s still learning about the burgeoning cannabis industry in Massachusetts, and there is much to learn.
His education involves venturing out and see- ing various operations in person, he said, and also listening to a large and intriguing mix of activists, stakeholders, physicians, parents, and those who have been in the industry, including some who have come to Massachusetts from other states that had legalized cannabis earlier, such as Colorado and Washington.
Overall, while it’s difficult to say how large and
as well as larger operators who have significant experience in other states.”
For this issue and its focus on the cannabis industry, BusinessWest talked with Stebbins about what he can see from his front-row seat, what he’s learning, and what he projects for an indus- try that is off to a fast start and shows no signs of slowing down.
On a Roll
When asked about how he wound up trading his seat on one commission for the other, Steb- bins started by talking about the positions that
CANNABIS
CAREERS ARE
GROWING!
Start with our core program, September 4–5.
Then choose your career track:
// CultivationAssistant
// ExtractionTechnician
// Patient Services Associate/Retail/Budtender // CulinaryAssistant
Learn more at /// // / hcc.edu/canna
CANNABIS
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