Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman is in charge of standing up a brand new industry, which is federally illegal and brings with it concerns about public health and safety.

But the hardest part of his job, Hoffman recently told editors and reporters at The Republican and MassLive.com, is ensuring equity.

Massachusetts’ marijuana law requires the state to include in the legal industry communities disproportionately harmed by marijuana enforcement. So far, efforts to prioritize applicants from these communities have largely failed.

Of the first 537 applications submitted to the commission, 14 came from those who had “economic empowerment” priority status, given to those from communities impacted by high drug arrest rates.

There were 122 economic empowerment businesses initially given this priority status. Only 28 of those businesses are minority-owned, even though studies show that racial minorities are more likely than whites to be arrested for drug use despite similar usage rates.

“That’s the absolute hardest part of the job,” Hoffman said in the editorial board meeting.

Hoffman said when he judges his own performance at the end of his term, he will look primarily at two areas: if the marijuana industry is functioning like any other normal industry and if the state met its legislative mandate with regard to diversity and helping people harmed by prohibition.

The Cannabis Control Commission has discussed ways to improve its outreach to these communities, and is in the process of starting a social equity program that will offer technical assistance.

As part of that, Hoffman said the commission reached out to economic empowerment businesses that have not yet applied for licenses to ask why.

Some, he said, cited difficulties getting through the municipal approval process.

The commission has previously raised concerns about host community agreements that require businesses to pay more than the 3% community impact fee allowed under state law — either explicitly exceeding that or requiring donations to various causes. While donations are not prohibited by state law, and the conditions of the agreement are negotiated, Hoffman said, “It does give a disproportionate advantage to bigger companies that can afford to throw in a fire truck on top of their 3%.”

Other potential entrepreneurs said they were waiting for the commission to authorize licenses for social consumption and home delivery. The commission will vote Tuesday on rules that would authorize both of these.

But by far the most common response, Hoffman said, was a lack of financing. “The biggest issue is they don’t have any money,” he said.

Although the commission is offering reduced fees to equity applicants, Hoffman said opening a retail marijuana store in Boston can cost $1.5 million. Indoor growing is expensive. Just negotiating a host community agreement requires lawyers and consultants.

Banks are not lending to the marijuana industry, due to the fact that it remains federally illegal. And, he added, if a lender is looking to invest in marijuana, “They will not lend to someone who lives in Boston, has a criminal record and $8 net worth.”

“We’ve got to find other sources of financing, and that is really hard,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman, a former partner at the consulting firm Bain and Co., has taken the lead on banking issues for the Cannabis Control Commission.

At one point he floated the idea of creating a state-owned bank to lend to the marijuana industry, but he said the idea quickly got shot down by Gov. Charlie Baker.

Now he said he is focused on developing some kind of public-private partnership to create a no- or low-interest loan fund. Hoffman said there are banks that have expressed willingness to lend to the industry if the state guarantees those loans.

Generally, banking is a problem for the marijuana industry, because although marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, it continues to be federally illegal. Banks are subject to federal law, and must file reports detailing suspicious activity, which could include all state-legal marijuana transactions.

Congress is considering a bill that would allow banks to more easily accept money from state-approved marijuana businesses.

In Massachusetts, there are three banks that accept money from recreational marijuana businesses.

Hoffman said with 26 retail marijuana stores open, and two more set to open in the coming days, the number of banks is enough, but only for now. “We have sufficient banking services now for the amount of retail activity we have, but that won’t be sufficient long term,” he said.

Hoffman said he has been meeting with banks and explaining the security challenges when a marijuana business must operate with cash only. The commission required the vendor who built the state’s seed-to-sale marijuana tracking system to create a way for a bank to access a client’s records of their marijuana inventory to help banks comply with federal anti-money-laundering requirements.

But, Hoffman said, “I can’t talk banks into this.”

While the three banks are providing cash management services, Hoffman said no bank has agreed to lend to marijuana businesses. The main reason, he said, is the collateral — marijuana — could be seized at any time by federal authorities.

As a result, most money in the legal industry is coming from either medical marijuana companies that are already selling marijuana, self-funded or crowd-funded entrepreneurs, or companies that have gone public on the Canadian stock exchange, where marijuana is fully legal.