mlk

MLK Day 2025: Cannabis and Civil Rights

It’s MLK Day once again. I’ve been writing an MLK Day post on this blog for eight consecutive years. The theme of my posts is that cannabis is a civil rights issue, and that Dr. King would have advocated for ending prohibition based on that fact. Each year, I have demonstrated with facts (upon facts

minnesota cannabis social equity licensing

Minnesota Drops the Social Equity License Lottery

Yesterday, in the grand American tradition of bungled, cannabis social equity programs, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) canceled its social equity applicant lottery. In its announcement, OCM pivoted to an early 2025 lottery combining social equity and general applicants. This development was no real surprise, following a court order delaying the preapproval lottery

marijuana social equity

California Awards $12 Million In Local Cannabis Equity Grants To Repair Drug War Harms

California’s path to cannabis social equity: from arrests to advocacy Data from the California Department of Justice reveals that nearly half a million individuals were arrested on cannabis charges in the state between 2006 and 2015. Even after Governor Schwarzenegger authorized a statewide decriminalization program in 2010, thousands continued to face serious misdemeanor charges related

missouri cannabis social equity

Missouri Revokes Nine Social Equity Licenses

The need for social equity in cannabis programs As adult-use cannabis legalization sweeps across the country and America confronts the toll of previous, draconian cannabis policies, one of the best attempts to right abject wrongs is social equity programs within state cannabis industries. Unfortunately though, social equity programs are easily exploited and “loopholed.” Licenses have

Arizona

Arizona Cannabis: From Social Equity Approval to Corporate Cannabis

Arguably one of the most surprising states to legalize recreational cannabis in the recent past is Arizona. During the tumultuous 2020 election, Proposition 207 was passed by a very considerable 20 percent margin, with more than 650,000 votes in favor of the measure. Not only was the passing vote of the bill itself and its

missouri

Missouri Tops $1.3 Billion in First Year of Recreational Sales

With every election season that comes, it’s become almost inevitable that at least one or two more of the states will legalize cannabis for either fully recreational usage or at least medical reasons. Even if it was but a midterm election, the 2022 election season still resulted in two more states legalizing cannabis for recreational

black history month

DEA’s Post on the Start of Black History Month

As America celebrates and commemorates Black History Month, it’s important to remember exactly how Black Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system in our country. From the crack vs. cocaine sentencing disparities to the fact that Black Americans are on average four times as likely to be wrongfully convicted of a serious

mlk

MLK Day: Cannabis and Civil Rights

Last fall, I came across a memorable opinion piece by Steven King (paywalled), a guy who has written some 10 million words in his career. This particular piece was four short paragraphs, however. Seven sentences. It addressed mass shootings in the United States and it was uncharacteristically short because King concluded that the problem, though

washington social equity in cannabis

Washington’s Social Equity in Cannabis License Application Window Extended

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) voted on Wednesday, March 29, approving an emergency rule proposal to extend the application window for social equity in cannabis (SEIC) retail licenses. The application window has been extended from March 30, 2023, to 5:00 p.m. April 27, 2023. The rule will have the effect of amending

washington cannabis dia map

Washington LCB Updates DIA Map for Social Equity Cannabis Licensees

On February 2, 2023, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“LCB”) released an update regarding the interactive mapping tool for determining whether people meet have lived in Disproportionately Impacted Areas (“DIA”). As we wrote about here, having lived in a DIA for at least five years between 1980 and 2010 is one of three