Social Equity

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.

Following the governor’s announcement in support of legalizing cannabis, activists and local politicians in Virginia are already pushing for social equity considerations in the state’s legalization plan.

Candace Clark is the co-founder of LinkUp and the Chief Compliance and Regulations Officer for the Social Equity Empowerment Network.

Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis has walked back its claim in a disputed press release last month that the shop is Seattle’s first Black-owned cannabis dispensary after it was revealed that Kemp holds just a minor stake in the company.

Teddy Scott is the CEO and co-founder of Ethos Cannabis, a Mid-Atlantic and East Coast-focused multi-state cannabis operator.

Los Angeles is being sued over plans to issue cannabis delivery licenses exclusively to social equity applicants until 2025.

Washington state is one of the latest to address social equity in the cannabis industry, but business owners and potential social equity applicants say they have concerns about the state’s plan.

Jen Jackson is the founder and CEO of Be Jubie, a Baltimore-based CBD brand with a focus on wellness, restoration, education, and social justice.

Playboy Enterprises is joining cannabis advocates in a social equity and social justice awareness campaign to push for the “legalization, decriminalization and destigmatization of cannabis.”

A publicly-funded social equity incubator for cannabis edibles businesses has launched in Oakland, California.

Eaze has expanded its Social Equity Partners Program to feature Los Angeles-based brands. The program allows customers to selectively view, purchase from, and support disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

With the legalization and regulation of cannabis, numerous states have attempted to address the lasting harms of the drug war by creating social equity grants for entrepreneurs from impacted communities. In Massachusetts, a bill is being considered that would offer loans instead.

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title says she is starting to feel “embarrassed” by inequities in the state’s cannabis industry.

Social equity advocates who were suing the city of Los Angeles have dropped their suit after officials agreed to process additional applications.

The Los Angeles city council has unanimously approved new regulations that will tighten up the cannabis social equity program and create rules for licensing new dispensaries in city neighborhoods that have already reached their cap.

Colorado’s governor has signed legislation addressing social equity concerns in the cannabis industry — the new law allows for additional low-level cannabis possession pardons and sets aside business licenses for social equity applicants.

Advocates have published a rebuke to a recent article released by MG Retailer, calling it an “irresponsible” representation of social equity efforts in the cannabis space.

New cannabis licensing and social equity recommendations from the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulations are under consideration today by the City Council.

Colorado lawmakers have approved legislation for social equity cannabis licensing and which gives the governor power to expunge low-level cannabis convictions from before the state legalized in 2012.

Illinois officials say the state is almost ready to begin awarding social equity cannabis licenses after Gov. J.B. Pritzker suspended the process in late April due to the pandemic-prompted shutdown.

Method Man is launching a cannabis business venture that will prioritize elevating entrepreneurs of color in the space.