SERVICE WITH AN EYE

Massachusetts is the first state to implement a statewide equity policy within adult use cannabis law. The goal is to encourage individuals and communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs to transfer their skills to the legal market. The Cannabis Control Commission grants these economic empowerment applicants resources to start a business intended to ease the burden of barriers to entry. The benefits that qualified equity applicants receive after obtaining priority review include management and recruitment training, accounting assistance, tax prediction and compliance, help with creating business plans, education on industry best practices, and assistance with raising funds and capital. Denver, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas have all implemented recreational weed regulation with varying degrees of social equity in mind. The Massachusetts Commission is learning from already existing cannabis law in these states. That advantage of perspective has paved the way for the country’s most sweeping progressive cannabis policy yet.

Developers in East Boston have filed new plans to convert a 113-year-old church into housing. This after the neighborhood protested its closure with an 8-year sit-in. Now they’re doing what they can to honor the landmark and its history.

A new chapter in the West Roxbury pipeline saga closed this week. 13 activists went before a judge on Wednesday for charges obtained during a 2016 protest. However, they weren't relieved to hear that Judge Mary Ann Driscoll is dropping the trespassing and disturbing the peace charges against them.

Millennials of color hold a town hall to address The Boston Globe’s latest spotlight series on race. A panel of young black professionals discussed Boston’s black brain drain.