Only 10 percent of investors in Maryland’s cannabis industry are people of color, according to data from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC).
This figure illustrates the extent to which minorities are excluded from participation in Maryland’s medical cannabis industry, maintaining that those who profit most from medical cannabis do not represent those most often prosecuted for possession both before and after decriminalization.
While approximately 1 in 10 investors in Maryland cannabis are people of color, those investors tend to own a small share in the company. For example, Green Leaf Medical (gLeaf) has the most black investors of any company with a license to grow or process cannabis in Maryland. However, those black investors collectively own only about 21 percent of the company, according to gLeaf’s Annual Report on Minority and Women Owners and Employees. gLeaf’s 34 black investors account for about 75 percent of all black investors in companies licensed to grow cannabis in Maryland.
The data was collected from the Annual Report on Minority and Women Owners and Employees that every licensed cannabis business in Maryland is required to submit by June 1 each year detailing the racial and gender makeup of their business.
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