Q&A with Chris Fevry, President of the Massachusetts Cannabis Association for Delivery
Prospective minority owned cannabis delivery operators are facing numerous challenges in launching their business in Massachusetts, but there’s a new organization whose mission is to help and focus on social equity applicants.
Chris Fevry, President of the Massachusetts Cannabis Association for Delivery (MCAD), strives to be a unifying voice for cannabis delivery companies, providing education, resources, and advocacy.
Cannabis Creative recently caught up with Chris to chat about the mission of MCAD, the challenges that cannabis delivery companies are facing, the impact of recent state delivery regulations, as well as his own delivery company, Your Green Package.
Cannabis Creative: What are the challenges placed upon the cannabis delivery operators that led to the creation of MCAD?
Chris Fevry: One of the major challenges that we face is access to funding. Unfortunately, many social equity applicants do not come from a background where they can raise money from friends and family. It’s usually a struggle to gather funds to start a business in the cannabis industry, and access to capital is a challenge. There’s also bad actors attempting to take advantage of people’s desperate situation through shady financial deals.
Another challenge is getting a Host Community in Agreement (HCA) from a town. Many towns have not contemplated delivery in their zoning, have limited land available, or are simply against the idea. This makes getting into the delivery market very difficult for SE/EEs since you need your HCA to apply for a provisional license.
CC: Are there other organizations or associations like MCAD? Are you the first? And why should business owners choose to support your association over others?
CF: We’re the first organization to focus specifically on social equity delivery and social consumption companies. There are also other great groups in the cannabis space promoting social equity like Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Mass Recreational Consumer Council, Elevate Northeast, Equitable Opportunities Now (EON), and more.
CC: Your association emphasizes three key factors when it comes to achieving your mission or overall goal, which are education, resource sharing, and advocacy. How do you intend to be the voice in the industry that advocates for change?
CF: We intend to be the voice that advocates for change in the Cannabis delivery and social consumption space. We intend to do that by being on the front lines when it comes to launching these businesses. Usually, problems occur when there’s a lack of understanding of what the businesses are experiencing and what regulations are being created. We plan on bridging the gap between companies and the regulators. To bridge the gap we will share resources, educate the community through events, and hold sessions with regulators to advocate on applicants behalf.
CC: How do you think the new delivery regulations will impact businesses, like dispensaries specifically?
CF: There will be very little impact on dispensaries. Dispensaries also will have the opportunity to do recreational delivery by partnering with couriers. The real impact will be on the illicit market.
CC: Tell us about Your Green Package and how you see your delivery service impacting the industry.
CF: I see Your Green Package impacting the cannabis industry by being an example to other social equity companies. Also, we see the opportunity to help those who are scared to go out due to COVID or physically unable to benefit from our service.
Our hope is that we will be able to expand the pie and lead the way for other applicants getting into the delivery space.
CC: The Commonwealth Dispensary Association recently said, “This will not be the final word on delivery.” What’s your response to that?
CF: In the words of Chairman Hoffman, I believe licensed adult-use delivery will “promote an equitable cannabis industry, bring needed revenue to municipalities, and further our obligation to uphold the will of the voters. The sky did not fall when retail sales began two years ago, and the sky will not fall when delivery sales commence, either.”
