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in that free market. We really want to be able to bring more diversity. The future of the industry is going to be homogenized through corporate entities. That’s not why we’re here.

“People will definitely say it’s crazy that you’re doing that, and it is crazy,” Winstanley said. “But at the same time we think it’s a necessary point to take the initiative and hopefully inspire others to take similar initiatives in an independent or free market.

“For us, obviously, there’s a capital commitment,” Winstanley said. “But the net gain, I think, for everybody is that we’re bringing much more people into the market that may not have a seat at the table.”

Theory, which is based in Stoneham, has finalized the application for a second recipient, and hopes to make its selection by March or April. Theory Wellness recently opened a cannabis facility in Brattleboro, Vt., but only applicants from Massachusetts are eligible to apply. Between 25 and 30 entrepreneurs applied the first time.

“We’ll probably have about a month, depending on interest, to see how many people will fill out the full application,” Winstanley said. “Once we get that intel back in to evaluate we’ll set up an internal community from every department for the evaluation process to score and rank the applications and then the executive team will make the final decision. Once people put in their applications we’ll probably do some personal interviews as well with the candidates, too.”

Berkshire County’s cannabis companies pull in around $200 million a year, and Theory Wellness receives about a quarter of that, The Eagle reported in June. But Winstanley said the cost of entering the market, especially now, makes it difficult for cash-strapped entrepreneurs to participate.

Total U.S. marijuana capital raised year to date is down 62.6 percent since last year, and equity financing is down 96.3 percent, from $2.1 billion a year ago to $78 million currently, according to Viridian Capital Advisors, a New York-based capital advisory firm.

“When we decided to do this program again part of it was because cannabis investing is crazy difficult right now,” Winstanley said. “The cost of cannabis is bottoming out right now. Because of that, seeking and securing investment is increasingly difficult.”

Theory Wellness does not retain a stake in any of the companies that it assists through its social equity program, Winstanley said.

“Just to make it really clear because there’s a misconception about this, we have no stake or any ownership or anything like that of the company that we are working with,” he said. “It’s not like we get any preferential treatment, we do not get a percentage of ownership. We get none of that. It is a very, very clear-cut, no-strings arrangement.

“We also have a lot of institutional knowledge around the industry,” Winstanley said. “We can help share and help promotes a little bit more of a free market and a social equity program because the most robust vehicle to do so.

Theory Wellness has renewed its Cannabis Social Equity Program and is accepting applications from people from underprivileged and underserved backgrounds for the company’s help in breaking into the cannabis industry. Theory will offer its help with financing, product, navigating the complicated regulatory hurdles and more to the candidate it selects.

All cannabis companies that are given licenses to operate in Massachusetts are required to create positive impact and diversity plans that describe how they intend to meet and promote the state’s guidelines for equity in the industry, said Bruce Stebbins, one of the CCC’s five commissioners.

“They’re required as a licensee to create a positive impact plan, and that positive impact plant is to help communities help residents who were disproportionally impacted by the war on drugs,” Stebbins said.

A new measure signed into law in August codified the social equity program and now requires municipalities to prioritize equity applications in their local licensing process, according to the CCC.

“I think what Theory Wellness is doing, and all of our licensees are doing, is to step up and create very unique approaches to comply with those positive impact plans,” he said, referring to Theory Wellness’ social equity program, which began in 2019. “So what you’re seeing from Theory Wellness is a really strong strategy.”

“Every year our licensees come back to renew their licenses,” Stebbins said. “I hope what Theory Wellness will do is provide us with an update on how well they are progressing towards this strategy and what success they’ve had with this strategy as part of their positive impact plan.”

Vanessa Jean-Baptiste, the president and founder of Legal Greens and the leader of the first generation Haitian-American team that opened the Brockton facility, said in a news release that Theory Wellness also provided her firm with additional support in banking, insurance, licensing and marketing. When Legal Greens opened last year it was the first dispensary owned by a Black woman on the East Coast. The process took three years.