Cannabis Queen of the Commonwealth

Bay State’s fourth largest LGBTQ-owned business is grown from the ground up

Ellen Rosenfeld is the owner of the fourth largest LGBTQ owned businesses in the state. Her cannabis empire, CommCan, has been cultivated from the ground up since opening their first medical dispensary in 2015. Now, as Rosenfeld enters the recreational cannabis-use market with her new dispensary in Millis, she is growing jobs, local tax revenue and a mellow customer base.

“My father was born in Millis. I grew up in Millis. Born and raised in Millis with my brothers.” says Rosenfeld of her deep roots in the community where the principal operations of CommCan are located.

Rosenfeld, 65, is a pioneer of the Massachusetts cannabis industry. CommCan is the largest woman-owned business of its type in the Commonwealth and her empire is expanding to a potential third location in Rehoboth. The industry is not teeming with gay women, but Rosenfeld is unbothered by anyone who might have other ideas about who can and cannot lead in this usually male-dominated industry.

“I know [misogyny] exists. I had one guy look at me once and end with ‘sweetie’ and I looked at him and I go, ‘Do I look like a ‘sweetie’ to you?’ And that was the end of that.” says Rosenfeld.

Family roots

Rosenfeld’s two younger brothers, Mark and John, help operate the company and share ownership of the remaining 49 percent. Rosenfeld holds the commanding 51 percent majority. After all, the idea for getting into the weed business was hers.

“I was in Provincetown when this was all coming down and I texted my brother: ‘I think we are going to get into the marijuana business.’ He read the text and responded, ‘Well I guess we are in the marijuana business then!’” laughed Rosenfeld.

The story of how Rosenfeld became the Cannabis Queen is rather serendipitous. Rosenfeld’s father was a developer. He started buying land in and around Millis in the 1950s. As Rosenfled describes, he collected land like most other people would collect postcards. One of his purchases was a few hundred acres of industrial park on the edge of town. Years later, when medical marijuana became legal in Massachusetts, Rosenfeld learned that the property her father bought had turned from regular land into a green goldmine.

The town of Millis had proactively zoned the industrial park her father bought to allow medical marijuana dispensaries. As Rosenfeld quickly learned, acquiring land zoned for that use was the biggest hurdle for cannabis capitalism.

“This opportunity came on a complete fluke. I was talking to someone at the time who got one of the coveted [medical marijuna] licenses. He offered to lease the land from me. But I am a businesswoman, so I started to talk to a lawyer about doing the business on my own. He said we were in a great position to do it, and we did, and it snowballed,” she recalls.

Home grown

CommCan is a completely self-financed, family owned, vertically integrated cannabis business. They take the product from seed to sale. Rosenfeld and her brother, Mark, together led a tour of their cultivation facility and Millis dispensary. The tour offered a flash education on the cannabis business. The facility includes grow rooms, of course, but also a lab where the oils are extracted, a kitchen where the edibles are made, a warehouse where the product is stored and of course the room where the joints are made—all by hand (although not technically rolled). This is a business after all, and efficiency is key.

The tightly knit family appears to be the heart and soul of the operation. Each sibling has a skill set. Mark has become an expert on growing and harvesting a quality product. John builds out the operations and facilities. Rosenfeld is the engine keeping things moving forward. She does the government relations, fundraising and anything else that needs to be done. She is currently working on opening the Rehoboth dispensary, a process that requires every tool in Rosenfeld’s skillful toolbox.

You get the sense that if she had to, Rosenfeld could successfully take on any challenge that pops up. She is somewhat of an expert in a field where the laws change as frequently as the seasons. Recently CommCan had to deal with Governor Charlie Baker’s complete ban on vaping products, forcing CommCan to shelve all of its vaping product. Restrictions like these are unusual under normal circumstances, but in the world of weed they are par for the course. Rosenfeld has learned to take it in stride.

“People think this is just a bunch of potheads running this. They have no idea how scientific, how regulated, how expensive it is. It’s a business and not a bunch of potheads. And I love it,” says Rosenfeld.

Ironically, Rosenfeld never really used

“ People think this is just a bunch of potheads running this. They have no idea how scientific, how regulated, how expensive it is. It’s a business and not a bunch of potheads. And I love it. ”

Ellen Rosenfeld

cannabis growing up, despite coming of age in the 1960s. Now she only uses it rarely to help her sleep. This was only a recent development. The business keeps her pretty busy between the medical dispensary in Southborough, the medical and recreational dispensary in Millis and a potential third location. Rosenfeld is currently single, but her family and a strong group of long-time friends have helped her get through the challenging times.

“My friends have been right along with me in this. There were times during this process I didn’t think I was going to make it.” says Rosenfeld. “Honestly, up until a few months ago, I was not looking for a partner. I thought I could not bring anyone into this life, but now I’m back on the market.”

In the meantime, Rosenfeld has bigger fish to fry. Being the Commonwealth Cannabis Queen is a full-time job, and Rosenfeld wears the crown well. [x]