After Years Of Incarceration, Cannabis Brings New Opportunities

By Katherine Lehman

People Are Excited About The Business Opportunities New Cannabis Legislation Has Ushered In

Maryland and Missouri recently joined other states in the legalization effort surrounding cannabis. The cannabis industry is new, incredible, and a way to make a lot of money for many people. Today, there are 37 states and municipalities that have legalized medical cannabis, with 19 of those states having also legalized recreational adult-use cannabis. Cannabis has become so popular, in fact, that data from Cresco Labs details cannabis consumption is up 56% since 2018, with 25% of all Americans consuming cannabis. But not everyone has the same opportunity to capitalize on this market.

The Industry Has A Dark Side And Reparation Is Underway

While cannabis acceptance and legalization are growing across the U.S., it’s coming on top of decades of "War on Drugs" policies that have incarcerated people. Cannabis-related crimes have disproportionately impacted people of color for years. In response to this disparity, local legislation has begun providing social equity programs for individuals and groups that have been affected by the War on Drugs, providing a first-mover advantage on many licenses in the industry. These programs offer an opportunity to correct some of the past mistakes and ensure those disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs are offered an opportunity to participate in such a massive industry. 

The demand for social equity in the industry is high. Many people have been denied opportunities and their freedom because they were arrested for simple cannabis possession years before. Now that cannabis has been decriminalized many people are profiting immensely from the same plant that was responsible for other people’s incarceration. This is the inequality and unfairness that social equity programs and mandates are seeking to correct.

How Are Social Equity Licenses Being Determined?

According to the National Association of Cannabis Businesses, in most states, individuals eligible for equity licenses must live in a designated geographical area where there has been a historically high rate of arrest and incarceration for cannabis-related activity. Often these areas have higher than average poverty and unemployment rates. Applicants who have been arrested or convicted of cannabis-related crimes, or are hiring those who have been, may receive priority social equity license application. The association explains, “The goal of social equity laws is to ensure that people from communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition and discriminatory law enforcement are included in the new legal cannabis industry. Policymakers are working to address criticisms that outsiders are setting up legal cannabis businesses and profiting by doing the same things their less fortunate neighbors were arrested and given jail time for just a few years ago.”

To date, 13 states have incorporated social equity programs into initial adult-use cannabis legislation including Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Michigan, Vermont, Illinois, Connecticut, Arizona, and Virginia. Equity programs are also rolling out in Colorado and Washington. But not all states with legalized cannabis employ the social equity approach. There are states like Montana, South Dakota, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Alaska that allow medical or recreational cannabis but do not formally support social equity programs. 

Initiatives Attempts To Level The Playing Field And Create Greater Equality

So why are these programs so important? According to Leafly’s Job’s Report 2021, black Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population, but own less than 2% of cannabis businesses. That’s a dramatic imbalance. The primary factors for this are the cost and difficulty of obtaining a cannabis license, the length of the application and approval process, the difficulty of obtaining business loans, and the complexity of changing laws and regulations. The applications can be over 100+ pages long and business loans challenged due to cannabis’s Federal schedule 1 status. To address these obstacles, cannabis equity programs can offer a lot of perks – from priority application processing and access to business partnerships to reduced or waived local fees, low or no interest grants, technical support, and training and assistance navigating the ever-changing legal landscape of cannabis licensing requirements.

Ways The Business Community Can Help

So what can companies and organizations do to support the ongoing battle for cannabis equity? There are a multitude of ways, such as supporting local legislation or offering discounts and perks to those involved in cannabis equity programs. For example, at Onfleet we fully support measures which seek to improve equity for affected groups. To that end, we provide a substantial 20% discount to all social equity license holders, no matter the size of their business. Onfleet also works with many software partners in the cannabis industry that support equity efforts that provide similar discounts. 

Cannabis equity programs offer a chance for those who have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs to obtain a foothold in the industry. Equity initiatives offer a unique opportunity to lower the barriers to entry in the cannabis business for those who have been impacted by cannabis prosecution the most. Due to historical prohibition and criminalization, the cannabis industry has a much more profound burden of responsibility to social equity than other industries.

What are you doing about it?