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  APRIL 14, 2021 THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS VOLUME 37 NUMBER 25 $3.00
Creating
 a Buzz
Region’s Cannabis Industry Blooms with Intriguing
Ideas
... Page 28
  Helen Gomez Andrews and Chris Andrews of the High End in Holyoke
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       As for the lost jobs, some elected officials, and some area manufacturers as well, see this as an opportunity for the region, given the ongoing workforce crisis and shortage of good help (see how the stories on this list are all interconnect- ed?). One firm, Indian Orchard-based Eastman,
actually started advertising directly to those impacted Smith & Wesson work- ers, welcoming them to seek work at that firm.
Cannabis Continues to Flourish
In the three years and one month since NETA opened on Conz Street in Northampton and became the state’s very first dispensary for legal, recre- ational cannabis, almost 200 cannabis businesses — not just retail shops,
but growers, manufacturers, labs, and wholesalers — have cropped up across Massachusetts. Last month, total sales in Massachusetts crossed the $2 billion mark ... and the second billion arrived in a much shorter timespan than the first billion.
What this tells industry proponents is that constant expansion of competi- tion isn’t simply spreading out a limited pool of customers; it’s creating more, and many believe there remains a sig- nificant well of individuals who haven’t yet turned on, but will eventually, as they hear good things from friends and family and the last barriers of stigma fall.
Locally, that’s good news on a cou- ple of economic fronts: municipal tax revenues
and jobs. In Northampton, for instance, which boasts at least 20 cannabis-related businesses, excise taxes have brought in more than $4.3 mil- lion over three years, to help pay for much-neede
“Last month, total sales in Massachusetts crossed the $2 billion mark ... and the second billion arrived in a much shorter timespan than the first billion.”
city services. And just down the road in Holyoke, a surge in employment in this new industry — hun- dreds of jobs and counting in that city alone — has led to new job-training programs to feed the growing demand.
If there has been one hiccup, the Cannabis Control Commission’s stated commitment to social-equity opportunities — with the goal of helping communities and demographics nega- tively impacted by the war on drugs to access entrepreneurship opportunities in cannabis — has met with inconsistent results. But commis- sioners have heard those complaints, and the conversation continues.
Meanwhile, the sheer number of cannabis businesses in Massachusetts is actually making
it easier for all players — even small ones — to succeed, because of the cross-pollination making vertical integration less of a necessity these days. It’s an industry of many niches, and every niche is reporting tremendous oppportunity.
Tourism Industry Rebounds
While full recovery is still a ways off, the region’s large and vital tourism and hospitality industry staged an inspiring comeback in 2021.
  Happy Holidays From our family, to yours.
Thank you for placing your trust in us.
We enjoy working alongside you while taking your construction goals from planning stages to reality.
May the holidays and the upcoming New Year bring happiness and health to you and your family.
     Trustworthy. Sincere. Straightforward. Your satisfaction is our guarantee.
American Society 413.547.2500 www.RayHoule.com 5 Miller St, Ludlow MA For Healthcare Engineering
  28 DECEMBER 22, 2021
YEAR IN REVIEW
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