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As Cambridge natives Richard Harding and Taba Moses watched the cannabis industry emerge in Massachusetts, they noticed two things: White men dominated the businesses, and communities disproportionately affected by the country�s War on Drugs received no benefits from legalized marijuana.

�All of sudden they�re making hundreds of millions of dollars selling the same product that the Cambridge Police Department used to harass us and chase us around for,� Moses said.

Moses and Harding have set out to change the cannabis industry. Along with planning to open their own marijuana businesses, the childhood friends who grew up in The Port have started a nonprofit foundation to help people of color enter the field. They want their efforts to transform the industry nationwide.

Economic empowerment

During the decades-long War on Drugs, when marijuana was illegal, law enforcement practices disproportionately affected communities of color throughout the U.S. When marijuana became legal in several western states, white men primarily benefited from the business opportunities. The early stages of Massachusetts� industry saw similar results.

To bring equity to the industry, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission accepted applications for individuals and businesses to become �economic empowerment applicants.� The program was designed to ensure the cannabis industry included people from communities disproportionately affected by previous marijuana law enforcement practices.

More than 120 applicants were certified through the program, but so far none has opened a business.

Moses and Harding hope to be the first. Their company, Green Soul Organics LLC, has a community host agreement from the city of Fitchburg to open a marijuana cultivation facility for growing marijuana plants. They are also looking at opportunities to open retail marijuana shops in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston.

Green Soul Foundation

One challenge faced by economic empowerment applicants is the technical side of opening a cannabis business. For Moses and Harding, helping applicants with these aspects of the industry has become part of their mission. Though they�re helping future business competitors, they see the work as critical to changing who gets to benefit from marijuana.

This work is done through the Green Soul Community Development Foundation, the nonprofit side of their venture, funded in part by a donation from MedMen Cannabis Dispensaries. The foundation has started assisting one economic empowerment applicant looking to open a retail shop in Boston.

Harding, who serves as president of the foundation, has a network of cannabis industry experts from across the country providing the technical assistance and helping entrepreneurs navigate some of the main challenges, such as legal requirements, developing business plans and setting up systems.

Long-term goals for the foundation include creating a multi-week training program on operating cultivation facilities and retail stores. Harding also wants to organize a three-day summit to give economic empowerment applicants learning and networking opportunities.

Recreational marijuana has rolled out at a slow pace in Massachusetts, and Harding said this has delayed plans for the training opportunities. He�s concerned about having people commit to programs and then waiting a year or more before business opportunities become available.

Cannabis in Cambridge

While Cambridge has medical marijuana dispensaries, the Cambridge City Council continues to work on regulations for recreational businesses. Zoning bylaws have been enacted governing potential locations, and councilors are now trying to ensure that economic empowerment applicants have opportunities in Cambridge.

One proposal would help economic empowerment applicants by setting a two-year moratorium on other individuals or businesses opening retail shops. This plan, developed by councilors Quinton Zondervan and Sumbul Siddiqui, is opposed by the city�s medical marijuana dispensaries because it would delay their conversions to recreational facilities.

Another proposal submitted by Councilor E. Denise Simmons would require Cambridge�s medical marijuana facilities to contribute to a fund, $250,000 annually for four years, that would provide grants for economic empowerment applicants.

Harding and Moses support the two-year moratorium, saying it would give applicants a chance to catch up to existing facilities. Marijuana shops must go through city and state processes, and Harding said an economic empowerment applicant would need almost the entire two years before opening a business.

For Harding and Moses, their motivation in setting up their business and the nonprofit foundation stems from the long-term effects of marijuana law enforcement practices on communities of color. Their business model includes giving back to the community and ensuring the public understands the owners and investors behind the business, something Harding said is not transparent in today�s industry.

As more states legalize marijuana in the future, Harding and Moses want the foundation to have an impact nationally, changing how the cannabis industry operates in local communities.

�The conversation about how these big companies enter into our community needs to change, and it�s not just an empowerment thing,� said Moses, who is the CEO of Green Soul Organics. �Let�s rethink how big companies � and how we ourselves as well � enter the community. We chose to enter by helping and moving forward at the same time, that was a choice that we made � no one forced us to do that.�

They would also like marijuana to have positive effects on the community.

�Part of our mission is to look at people affected by the fake War on Drugs, give a kid with humble beginnings a chance through the Green Soul Community Foundation and have him say, �Cannabis has saved my life,�� Harding said.

For more information about the nonprofit, visit gsofoundation.org.