Social Equity

The National Hispanic Cannabis Council launched on Thursday to raise awareness around cannabis-related health, economic, and legal issues and to promote participation and leadership in the cannabis industry.

An Illinois proposal would establish new cannabis industry licenses after leaked documents revealed that just two percent of registered Illinois cannabis business owners last year were Black or Latino.

California officials are awarding $15 million in grant funding to localities, much of which will be distributed as low- or no-interest loans or grants for cannabis equity applicants.

Alvin Edwards is the founder of Fruits of Our Labor, which hires former prisoners to provide professional services; David Moss is the chief development officer for cannabis dispensary From the Earth. Together, they have created an equity-building partnership in cannabis.

In new amendments to his adult-use cannabis proposal, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for a $100 million Cannabis Social Equity Fund and for establishing cannabis delivery in the state.

New social equity legislation in Massachusetts includes language establishing cannabis business loans, loan forgiveness, and more.

Former NBA All-Star Chris Webber and JW Asset Management LLC have joined to launch a $100 million private equity fund aimed at investing in cannabis companies led by entrepreneurs of color.

A recent Cannabis Compliance Board report in Nevada found that most cannabis industry operators in Nevada are white, male, and older than 34-years-old.

The Washington State Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis has called for the state to prioritize race over location for equity applicants and to let funds reserved for equity applicants go to current licensees who would meet the program’s requirements.

A group of Oregon activists, business owners, and lawmakers have put forward the Oregon Cannabis Social Equity Act, which aims to use cannabis tax dollars to help repair damage done by the racist drug war.

Data recently released by Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency shows that applications for cannabis business licenses by white people outnumber applications from people of color by a ratio of 16 to 1.

Following the departure of multiple member dispensaries, the Massachusetts Commonwealth Dispensary Association has dropped its lawsuit protesting the state’s social equity provisions for adult-use cannabis delivery licenses.

The Massachusetts Commonwealth Dispensary Association is suing state regulators over a plan to only issue cannabis delivery licenses to social equity applicants for the first three years. Advocates, meanwhile, have lauded the provisions.

Illinois has collected some $62 million in cannabis revenue earmarked for minority businesses and neighborhood improvements, but the money’s distribution has been repeatedly delayed.

Ilinois state senators have advanced a measure aimed at improving the state’s social equity cannabis licensing process.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has requested $5 million to help boost the state’s cannabis entrepreneurs and social equity businesses.

Cannabis activists and lobbyists in Washington state are predicting a busy legislative session this year. Already, bills are planned to address the state’s lack of cannabis homegrows, undo the excise tax on medical cannabis, and more.

Adult-use cannabis sales could commence in Arizona by March with existing medical cannabis dispensaries getting the first licenses, followed by 26 social equity licenses.

After its inception this year despite delays from the coronavirus, the Washington Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force has opted to center on anti-Black racism in the cannabis industry.

Cindy De La Vega is CEO and part-owner of STIIIZY Union Square, the first Latina-owned dispensary in San Francisco, California.

After nearly a year of legal cannabis sales in Illinois, there are still zero licensed cannabis businesses in the state that are majority-owned by a person of color.

Denver cannabis regulators announced new proposals that would allow for cannabis delivery and additional social use venues, as well as new provisions that would prioritize those licenses for entrepreneurs who qualify under the state’s social equity requirements.

The drug war is a long-documented instrument of institutional racism — but it’s also symptomatic of a much larger system that has worked to maintain the status quo for generations. This editorial explores the lessons learned and correlations to our future as we experience the crumbling of cannabis prohibition.

Under new adult-use cannabis regulations in Massachusetts, social equity applicants will be given the first crack at delivery licenses for three years.