Minorities for Medical Marijuana’s website has posted an 80-page report titled “Understanding Social Equity” compiled by Chris Nani, an attorney and founder of Endo Insider, a newsletter that follows the cannabis industry. It calls for states to incorporate programs that restore the rights of formerly incarcerated individuals, serve as a bridge for people interested in the cannabis industry and assist in the licensing process.
The document also mentions institutional challenges facing minorities. For example, when Maryland lawmakers passed a law in 2018 for the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission to conduct a disparity study, the study found minorities are at a disadvantage in the industry.
A year later, the application process got delayed with conflicts of interests on the scoring and ranking process. The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland led in expressing some of those concerns.
The state’s cannabis commission released a report last month on last year’s process that “found no evidence of bias or undue influence in the 2019 medical cannabis application review process.”