Cannabis Social Equity Council In Connecticut as of July 2021

Cannabis Social Equity Council In Connecticut as of July 2021

Professor DeBacco


Connecticut Example
https://portal.ct.gov/cannabis/Knowle...
All Information presented is based of Cannabis Information provided by the State of Connecticut on July 1st-July 28th, 2021
This is only applicable for Connecticut and is subject to change at anytime, so please check your local and current regulations this is only intended to be used as a point in time general example.



How is which neighborhoods were most impacted by the War on Drugs determined?
The law looks at past drug convictions and current unemployment rates to determine which areas were disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs (called “disproportionately impacted areas” or DIAs).
The law requires the Social Equity Council to release a final list of qualifying census tracts.



How will the Social Equity Council hold itself accountable to promoting equity?
The council will oversee a third-party study to provide detailed findings on — or including — the historical and present-day consequences of cannabis prohibition, criminalization and stigmatization, as well as the consequences of racial discrimination in cannabis prohibition.
They will then make recommendations regarding:
Creating programs to ensure that individuals from communities that have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition and enforcement are provided equal access to licenses for cannabis establishments
Specifying additional qualifications for social equity applicants
Providing expedited or priority license processing for social equity applicants

How will the law promote social equity?
The law takes a comprehensive approach to promoting social equity, focused on the neighborhoods most impacted by the War on Drugs.
It provides for expungement of past cannabis-related crimes and reserves half of all cannabis business licenses for people from impacted neighborhoods.
In addition, more than half of the revenue from cannabis sales will be dedicated to a new equity fund which will be invested in those neighborhoods.



What is the Social Equity Council?
A new Social Equity Council will oversee the verification of equity applicants, create new programs to support cannabis businesses and businesses in other industries, and manage the more general community investments derived from the cannabis tax revenue.



When will retail sales begin?
Sales could begin in late 2022.
First, the state needs to form the new Social Equity Council, which will set guidelines for adhering to the social equity provisions.
The state will also need to hire new staff, issue new regulations, and oversee an application and licensing process for new cannabis businesses.
Further, those businesses need time to secure funding, physical locations, local zoning approval and all the other elements needed to start a new business in a highly regulated market.
The supply chain must be entirely licensed before sales can begin, including stores, testing labs, and growers, and there must be enough growing capacity to supply the retail market.

The Governor has directed each state agency to work to implement the law quickly and responsibly.


Link to Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nnAh...

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