Boston, MA — (ReleaseWire) — 12/11/2019 –The community gathered at the Democracy Center last week to boycott Revolutionary Clinics for filing a lawsuit against the City of Cambridge regarding the recent passing of the Cambridge social equity ordinance. Read reflections from local entrepreneurs, cultivators, equity proponents including Councilor Zondervan, co-author of the Cambridge Equity Ordinance, as they stood in solidarity for the lawsuit to be dropped and equity placed before profits :
Quinton Zondervan, Cambridge City Councilor, Co-author of the Cambridge Equity Ordinance
“It’s really inspiring what you all are doing here. I’m just honored that I got to play a small part in that. But we did our part and passed the law, now the rest is up to you to keep fighting for it, right?…And we’ll be there at city hall supporting you every step of the way.”
Joseph Gilmore, President of Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council
“Rev Clinics acts as if this social equity ordinance holding them up for two years is going to devastate them, but we see how much money these dispensaries are making, millions and millions of dollars. We are drawing the line with anyone that is going to put their profits over equity. And that goes for the rest and every other dispensary. This conversation doesn’t stop with Rev Clinics. We need to see some real tangible commitments towards social equity from organizations like “Commonwealth Dispensary Association.”
Richard Harding, Co-Founder of R.A.C.E
“I respect so much the work of Councilor Zondervan and Siddiqui. Cambridge has become ground zero in the fight for equity across the country. It is the biggest civil rights issue of our lifetime. It is an opportunity to create generational and institutional wealth within the black community. The outcome of the suit will become case law and will set a spark that will be felt throughout the industry. We need moratoriums to be imposed across the country in every community that was affected by the war on drugs.”
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Kate Phillips, Director of Education C3RN
“I’m really tired of seeing the demographic of people who consume not represented in the people who own these companies. Working with a lot of these old white men who own all these companies can be really hard to get them to care about education to get them to care about why it’s important. Education is important because it gives empowerment. It takes power away from people that try to hold all of this and make it seem like you can’t learn what they do. Yeah, you can!”
Grant Smith, Disabled Medical Patient
“Now that Cambridge has gone forward with this period, and now that they’ve won the first and what will hopefully be the first of many legal victories upholding the legitimacy of this ordinance, it sets the groundwork to take these kind of priority periods statewide into every other local city and town. And it is absolutely a revolutionary step that Cambridge took.”
Viondy Merisma, CEO of The Green Torch
“The state said that Waltham wasn’t destroyed by the war on drugs…You can’t tell me that I wasn’t impacted. The best about it is that the (Waltham) city council agreed and voted yes on the ordinance with a 12-2 vote…And I really do want to thank Cambridge for sure, Councilor Kathleen McMenimen…was the one saying “hey Cambridge is doing this, perhaps we should be looking at this.”