As it continues to build out the nation’s first statewide cannabis social equity program, the Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday selected six organizations to provide technical and financial assistance to prospective business owners from communities disproportionately harmed by past drug laws.

From 15 applications it received, the CCC selected six groups to negotiate a formal work agreement: Cannabis Community Care and Research Network, a marijuana advocacy, research and education group; Greenlight Business Solutions, which helps clients navigate cannabis regulation; Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council, a group that works to educate and advocate for consumers; Point7, a woman-owned cannabis business management consulting firm; Four Trees Management, a cultivation consulting firm; and Marketing Edge Consulting Group, which helps small businesses and entrepreneurs.

“With the help of these vendors, our Social Equity Program, also the nation’s first to be implemented statewide, will ensure our legal marketplace is accessible to impacted individuals and offer the resources participants need to overcome barriers to entry,” Commissioner Shaleen Title said.

The program is a central component to the state’s 2017 marijuana law. The law mandates that the CCC adopt “procedures and policies to promote and encourage full participation in the regulated marijuana industry by people from communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact those communities.”