Connecticut officials are about to take their first look at business owners who hope to benefit Black and other underrepresented communities by setting up shop in the lucrative cannabis industry.
The Social Equity Council, established to make sure the adult-use cannabis program is grown equitably and that money earned in sales is returned to the communities hit hardest by past government drug policy, is set to meet Tuesday and review applications.
Nearly two-thirds of the nearly 37,300 applications to start a cannabis enterprise in Connecticut want to participate in the social equity side of the business intended to reverse the damage to underrepresented communities by the government’s war on drugs.
Andrea Comer, chair of the council, cited as reasons for the success of that side of the business factors such as no limits to the number of applications and lower application cost, Other reasons may explain its popularity.
“It tells us that there (is) awareness in the state about the opportunities being extended to people in Disproportionately Impacted Areas to ensure equity in the adult-use cannabis program,” she said.
The council will review the selected applicants to make sure they meet qualifying criteria and vote to accept recommendations for approval or denial for social equity status. Applicants will then move to the next review at the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The war on drugs dating to the administration of President Richard Nixon in the 1970s has come under greater scrutiny and criticism. Black suspects and other people of color were disproportionately prosecuted while white defendants who had greater access to lawyers avoided the full impact of prosecution.
“It’s unconscionable we’d legalize something that people have been criminalized and not make space at the table for those harmed by the war on drugs,” Comer said in a recent interview.
State lawmakers who legalized marijuana production and sale in Connecticut last year were tripped up over social equity provisions. A threatened veto by Gov. Ned Lamont, who ultimately signed the bill into law, focused on a provision that gave preference to those previously arrested on a marijuana-related charge. The legislation was sent three times to the Senate.
Connecticut became the 19th state last year to legalize adult-use cannabis. Since July 1, 2021, adults 21 or older could purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana, or up to 5 ounces locked at home or in a vehicle’s glove box or trunk.
A total of 56 licenses will be split evenly between general licenses and those for Social Equity businesses. Twelve will be available for retailers; four each for micro-cultivators and hybrid (adult and medical use) retailers, 10 each for delivery service and food and beverage businesses, six each for packagers and manufacturers and four for transporters.
Ginne-Rae Clay, interim executive director of the Social Equity Council, said the council also will vote on a logo and the hiring of an operator of an accelerator program to help the new enterprises be successful. It will teach ways to avoid predatory lending, understanding partnerships and operating agreements and other business principles.
Sorting through the applications is a complicated business. Those reviewing the applications, in addition to the Social Equity Council, are the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and CohnReznik, an advisory, assurance and tax firm that will review applicants’ income, residency and ownership and control.
Comer said she believes the program will be successful if revenue from sales taxes and license fees are reinvested in communities most harmed by the government’s past drug policies and helps create intergenerational wealth.
“Success for us is to say, even if it wasn’t perfect, we made conditions better in terms of the cannabis space from an equity perspective,” she said.
Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.
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