◼ ECONOMICS29PHOTOGRAPH
BY
KAYANA
SZYMCZAK
FOR
BLOOMBERG
BUSINESSWEEK
THEBOTTOMLINE Onlyabout 200 ofthenation’smorethan
7,000licenseddispensariesareBlack-owned,undermininghopes
thatlegalizationwouldprovidea vehicleforsocialequity.CannabisBusiness Associationestimates that
only 200 ofthenation’smorethan7,000licensed
dispensaries are Black-owned.
Adedeji says Black people deserve access to
legal pot’s windfall profits. It would be a step
toward repairing the inequities of systemic rac-
ism. “We need to create generational wealth in
the minority community,” he says. The argument
is gaining currency amid a booming pot industry.
On Nov. 3, voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey,
andSouthDakotawilldecidewhethertolegalize
recreationalpot,ashave 11 otherstatesandthe
DistrictofColumbiasince2012.(Thirty-fivepermit
medicalmarijuana.)
Somestateandcitygovernmentshavesocial
equity programs for marijuana businesses.
ThoseofMassachusettsandIllinois,aswellas
Oakland,Calif.,andLosAngeles,areamongthe
mostdeveloped.Theseeffortsgenerallygivea
leguptobusinessownerswithnonviolentmari-
juanaconvictionswholiveinneighborhoodswith
disproportionatedrugarrests.Helpcaninclude
training,breaksonregulatoryfees,andpriorityin
awardinglicensesandloans.“Noneofthesepro-
gramshavebeena smashing,immediatesuccess”
becauseofthechallengesfacingdisadvantaged
businesses,saysShaleenTitle,whoholdsthe
socialequityseatontheMassachusettsCannabis
ControlCommission.Adedejididn’treceiveany
specialtreatmentundertheprogram.
The main barrier is money. Opening a
dispensarytypicallycosts$500,000to$1.5million,
accordingtocannabisindustrytrackerArcview
MarketResearch.Banksloansaren’tanoption,
becausethefederalgovernmentstillconsiders
potillegal.Sowealthierpeople,whocantapfunds
fromnetworksoffamilyandfriendsandeven
private equity, are edging out the disadvantaged.
When Adedeji needed $1 million for his first
Massachusetts shop, a large marijuana industry
supplier lent him the money, at 8% interest, but
also levied a $3 per item fee and specified that he
had to buy 70% of his product from the lender,
Massachusetts records show. After a state investiga-
tion, the bigger company dropped those conditions.
Kevin Sabet, an Obama administration drug
policy adviser, says big corporations will end up
reaping the rewards of legalization, while poor
neighborhoods bear the cost of increasing pot use.
“It’s dangling money in front of communities that
deserve richer opportunities,” says Sabet, president
of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which supports
decriminalization rather than commercialization.
Adedeji opened his first pot dispensary in
Eugene, Ore., in 2017, and has secured licenses tooperate three in Massachusetts. In Athol, where
there are none, he paid only $50,000 to buy the
formergasstation.
Attheshop’sgrandopening,abouttwodozen
people,wearingmasks,waitina sociallydistanced
line to enter. Noreen Perez, 52, a former dog
groomer, seeks help for her anxiety and pain.
Bruce Fowler, 78, an Air Force veteran and retired
toolmaker, has come to browse.
The scene is a far cry from the crowds at some
of the better-financed White-owned dispensaries
such as New England Treatment Access LLC, which
occupies a soaring Beaux Arts-style former bank
building listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The business is owned by a company called
Parallel, whose chairman is the billionaire heir to
the Wrigley gum fortune. Before Covid-19, it could
see 2,500 customers a day, making it one of the
most successful dispensaries in the country.
Athol may not seem the most natural market for
a Black-ownedpotbusiness.Thetownis morethan
90%White.Inthe 2016 presidentialelection,its
voters favored Donald Trump, whose Department
ofJusticehasoftenbeenunfriendlytolegalized
pot.LocalofficialsnonethelesswelcomedAdedeji’s
businessforthepotentialbumpit coulddeliverto
thelocaleconomyandtaxrevenue.
Onopeningday,MarcOstberg,a branchmanager
of BankHometown, visits from down the block.
Dressed in a suit and sporting a plastic face shield,
the banker nods and smiles as Adedeji raves about
the store’s soothing indica and animating sativa
cannabis blends. The conversation highlights both
the challenge and possibility of the new venture.
“Have you ever been elevated before?” Adedeji
asks. “No? One day, we’ve got to change that up.”
�John Hechinger▲ Adedeji● The investment
needed to open a
dispensary starts at$500k