大麻项目中对社会公平的需求
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 even been discreetly purchased by multi-state operators (MSOs) in some cases, or other entities that should not qualify as social equity applicants. Regulators are getting wise. One such example is Missouri, where concerns have been raised about the authenticity of social equity applications, leading to the revocation of several licenses. This highlights the need for robust oversight and accountability to ensure that social equity programs fulfill their intended purpose of fostering diversity and economic empowerment within the cannabis industry.
Missouri's social equity initiatives: a closer look
密苏里州是最近将大麻合法化的州之一，该州监管机构不得不撤销大量社会公平许可证，便是其中一个例子。从销售数据来看，密苏里州的大麻产业已取得巨大成功，首年销售额就超过14亿美元。此外，密苏里州卫生与老年人服务部还推出了一项创新性的微型许可证计划，旨在为社会公平企业提供一种规模较小但审批流程更快捷的经营许可途径。 未来三年内，将保证发放近150份微型企业许可证。
不过，密苏里州部分立法者对此表示了担忧，其中最引人注目的是州参议员卡拉·梅。 2023年10月，梅致函密苏里州大麻监管局局长，正式要求监管机构对社会公平计划的真实性展开调查。梅的担忧确有依据，因为首席公平官发布的2023年活动报告证实，数量惊人的社会公平申请与跨州运营商或其他州外商业实体或有限责任公司有关联。
应对剥削问题：密苏里州的经验教训
The widespread ramifications of Missouri's damning report are coming to fruition, as the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation recently announced that 9 of the initial 48 social equity applications would be unconditionally revoked. Not too surprisingly, the series of licenses that were ultimately revoked were due to the exact, defined list of issues documented by the 2023 Chief Equity Officer report. In December, the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation also issued eleven Notices of Pending Revocations (NOPR) to social equity licensees.
In total, eight of the revoked licenses were originally in possession of out-of-state entities. As the social equity program heavily focused on Missouri-based residents and aspiring business owners, all the out-of-state entities were excluded and licenses revoked. The startling number of applications that these groups were connected to was troubling. Notably, 118 of the 1,625 total applicants were entities from California, while another 110 social equity applications were filed from operators hundreds of miles north, in Michigan-- a state with an a robust program.
Most egregious of all, an Arizona-based entity called Cannabis Business Advisors filed 400 social equity applications in Missouri. All six licenses that the group received have been revoked. Apparently, the application listed majority business owners that had little knowledge of who was operating these licenses, and who couldn’t recall the true applicants' names who applied on their purported behalves. The Director of Division of Cannabis Regulation, Amy Moore, explained in a March 27, 2024 press release:
“虽然持有并经营许可证可能包括委托管理服务或咨询服务，但那些信息被用于满足资格要求的个人所表现出的缺乏知识、控制权、代理权或决策权的情况，即使按照最宽泛的解释，也不符合‘持有并经营企业’的定义。这些情况不符合第十四条中关于微型企业必须由符合资格的个人经营这一要求的立法意图或含义。”
推动大麻行业的社会公平
各州大麻产业中社会公平计划的实施，是纠正历史不公的关键一步。然而，正如密苏里州及其他各州面临的挑战所表明的那样，这些计划往往容易遭到滥用，且存在漏洞。 密苏里州的案例凸显了加强严格监督和问责机制的必要性，以确保社会公平计划真正惠及目标受助群体。尽管前路可能充满挑战，但解决这些问题对于确保大麻产业成为推动积极变革的力量、促进多样性并赋予所有人经济自主权至关重要。
