The cannabis industry is fighting over how many stores one company can own. Here’s why.

When recreational cannabis became legal in Massachusetts in 2016, the state imposed strict limits on how big any given retailer could be. The thinking went that capping the number of dispensaries any single business could own at three would keep large retail chains from dominating the weed market, leaving more opportunities for entrepreneurs in communities battered by the war on drugs to attain generational wealth.

Now there is talk of relaxing that limit. And it has sparked unprecedented tension within the industry.

On one side are operators who believe the three-license cap has stymied opportunities for struggling retailers to expand or sell their businesses to larger operators and exit with cash in hand. On the other are those who worry tweaking the limits would open the door for multi-state marijuana corporations to dominate the market, creating a cannabis oligopoly and putting minority business owners at a disadvantage.

“It’s not a consensus issue for the industry to raise the cap,” said David O’Brien, president of the 65-member Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association. “Some smaller companies fear it, because they think it’ll give more power to larger companies. Others want it.” [Read More @ The Boston Globe]