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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1198 -- 11/17/23
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1198

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. BOSTON LEADS THE WAY ON BRINGING SOCIAL EQUITY TO THE LEGAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY [FEATURE]
The city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts have been forging the
path toward effective social equity in the marijuana industry. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/16/boston_leads_way_bringing_social

2. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
An NYPD cop gets popped for slinging heroin and fentanyl, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/15/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

3. IN SUPREME COURT RULES FOR JURY TRIALS IN ASSET FORFEITURE CASES,
SINALOA CARTEL HANDS OUT FOOD, MORE... (11/9/23)
Florida Supreme Court justices were skeptical of the state's effort to
keep a marijuana legalization initiative off the ballot, a Canadian
Senate committee calls for an immediate psychedelic research program for veterans, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/09/supreme_court_rules_jury_trials

4. OR LEADERS VISIT PORTUGAL FOR LOOK AT DECRIMINALIZATION, VA COULD SEE
LEGAL MARIJUANA SALES, MORE... (11/10/23)
President Biden remains steadfast in his opposition to federal marijuana legalization, Ohio's Republican governor calls for the legislature to
amend the brand new marijuana legalization initiative before it goes
into effect next month, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/10/or_leaders_visit_portugal_look

5. WI PSILOCYBIN RESEARCH BILL FILED, GERMAN POT LEGALIZATION VOTE
POSTPONED, MORE... (11/13/23)
A leading critic of former Philippines President Duterte's drug war has
been freed from prison after being jailed for nearly seven years on
bogus drug charges, Vietnam sentences 18 people to death for drug
offenses, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/13/wi_psilocybin_research_bill

6. LA POLL HAS MAJORITY FOR WEED LEGALIZATION, WHITE HOUSE PUSHES FOR
OPIOID FUNDING, MORE... (11/14/23)
The mayor of Washington, DC, declares an opioid public health emergency,
red state Louisiana now has a majority for marijuana legalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/14/la_poll_has_majority_weed

7. OH GOP EYES CHANGES TO NEW LEGAL WEED LAW, NATIONAL DRUG SURVEY DATA RELEASED, MORE... (11/15/23)
New York advises drug treatment providers to quit testing for marijuana
in most cases, Ohio GOP lawmakers want to modify the just-passed
marijuana legalization initiative, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/15/oh_gop_eyes_changes_new_legal

8. US AND CHINA REACH ACCORD ON FENTANYL, MD NOW ACCEPTING CANNABUSINESS APPLICATIONS, MORE... (11/16/23)
A Massachusetts bill would prioritize treatment over jail for
probationers who fail drug tests, a new study finds no increase in crime
near New York City's safe injection sites, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/16/us_and_china_reach_accord

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1. BOSTON LEADS THE WAY ON BRINGING SOCIAL EQUITY TO THE LEGAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2023/nov/16/boston_leads_way_bringing_social

Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana in November 2016, and since
then, the city of Boston has become a national leader in attempting to
insert a measure of social justice into the nascent legal marijuana
industry. That takes the form of social equity programs: A deliberate
effort to redress the harm done predominantly to communities of color in
the prosecution of the war on drugs, by ensuring community members an opportunity to participate in the legal marketplace.

In Boston, social equity programs were instituted by the passage of the
2019 "Ordinance Establishing Equitable Regulation of the Cannabis
Industry in the City of Boston (https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2019/12/Cannabis%20Ordinance%20with%20Criteria.pdf),"
which created the Boston Cannabis Board (BCB) (https://www.boston.gov/boston-cannabis-board)and the Boston Cannabis
Equity Program (https://www.boston.gov/departments/economic-development/cannabis-equity-program).
That made Boston "the first US city to prioritize cannabis industry
diversity," as journalist John Jordan wrote (https://www.globest.com/2019/11/27/boston-becomes-first-us-city-to-prioritize-cannabis-industry-diversity/)
at the time.

"Our statewide equity program was also the first in the nation," said
Shekia Scott, who as Cannabis Business Manager for the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion runs the Equity Program. "Before
this, I was director of communications outreach for the state Cannabis
Control Commission, and after coordinating that, Commissioner Shaleen
Title and I got Boston Councilor Kim Janey to continue an ordinance
first introduced by then-Councilor [now US representative] Ayana
Pressley. Working with her and her staff, Shaleen and I contributed
language to the ordinance, broadening the scope of what the state was
doing," she told the Chronicle.

The city program was initially funded with one million dollars -- more
than the state's equity program -- and now relies on a percentage of
proceeds from marijuana taxes to fund its operations.

Under the ordinance, the BCB handles licensing of marijuana businesses,
while the Equity Program sets out criteria for licensees to become
Certified Boston Equity Applicants, which provides them with access to financial and technical assistance.

To qualify as an equity applicant, someone must meet at least three of
eight criteria (https://www.boston.gov/departments/economic-development/cannabis-equity-program)
based on race, income, residency, veteran status, and having a past
arrest or conviction for marijuana or being the child of someone busted
for weed.

Being black or brown with a marijuana arrest record and having lived in
Boston for at least three years would qualify you; so would being a
white veteran and city resident who doesn't make a lot of money.

"Equity applicant status gets you unlimited access to technical
assistance and a knowledge base," Scott explained. "If you need a
website or help with an app, we connect you to contracted technical
assistance partners who can complete those projects or help you complete
them. You also have unlimited access to grants of up to $49,999. You
also have access to conversations with investors, and it gives you a 1:1 priority in licensing. The BCB will always approve licenses on a 1:1 basis."

The city is nearly but not quite there, though. Of the 26 marijuana
businesses currently operating in the city, 12 belong to equity applicants.

"There is no cap on licenses, but the city is shooting to have about 52
retail licenses," said Scott. "Half of them will be equity applicants."

Or maybe even more. There is some talk about changing the 1:1 ration to
2:1 in favor of equity applicants, but economic conditions are not
currently very conducive for making that move.

"We would have to amend the ordinance and get city council approval, so
we will start a community process with testimony from all stakeholders,
but it's a bit of a hard sell right now because we're seeing a slowing
down of applications for licenses," Scott said. "We're not receiving a
massive number of applications, equity or not. If we had an overwhelming backlog, that would be a better selling point."

One of the eligibility criteria for the Boston equity program is
participation in one of two state equity programs, Scott explained.

"One is economic empowerment, but that ended in 2018 with a number of applications accepted," she said. "And there is also a social equity
program, which is now on its first cohort. The state's program is purely educational and technical assistance, with one track for entrepreneurs
and two tracks for workforce development. And if you're interested in
opening an ancillary business, such as an architect, a law firm,
point-of-sale systems, website development, general business consulting
and the like, there is a track for that."

The state social equity program also provides benefits for equity
applicants, such as the waiving of application fees and seed-to-sale
processing system fees, and the halving of annual renewal fees.

Scott is proud of the way her city and her state have been in the
vanguard in the realm of repairing the damage done by drug prohibition.

"Boston and Massachusetts have a number of things that make us leaders
in the space," she said. "We were one of the first cities in the country
to have an equity ordinance and the state is the first in the country to
have an equity program. "We see a lot of states just take our
regulations and our statutes word-for-word," she said.

"The continued reinvestment of tax funding helps keep the program alive,
and we have the only technical assistance program in the country that is
not just education-based but project-based. If you need an architect, I
can pair you with an architect, and the program pays for it. It's
important not to just have equity language, but to make sure it is
enacted and to have accountability," she said.

On social equity in the legal marijuana sphere, Shekia Scott and the
city of Boston are leading the way. Others have already taken note;
perhaps more should.

================ ...
___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>
Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

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It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

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