The constitutional amendment legalizing adult-use cannabis in Missouri won voter approval in November but created a schism among social-justice activists over the question of racial and economic equity.
Some believe the new law will empower minority cannabis business owners, while others worry it will cement an already distrusted, inequitable business licensing system in place.
Much rides on who is selected for chief equity officer by the Department of Health and Human Services, the state agency tasked with overseeing the cannabis program.
By law, the state must have a chief equity officer for its cannabis program in place by Feb. 6 — a position meant to ensure the social and economic equity requirements of Missouri’s new cannabis law are met.
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