A Cannabis Equity Program will be proposed in San Diego this Spring, with the aim of promoting low-income residents, minorities and areas that experienced higher arrest rates for cannabis related crimes. For many people, this may be their only shot at getting into the booming cannabis industry. San Diego would follow suit after cities like Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, which have all worked to include marginalized communities in the green rush.
The Cannabis Equity Program in San Diego could provide technical support, licensing fee waivers, equipment, and small business mentoring to encourage a more diverse cannabis industry in the Southern California city. There’s great potential for this equity program to benefit the Veterans of San Diego.
Featured Image: Jody Guada, Terrie Best, Barry Harris Jr, Christopher Williams, and Ebonāy Lee (left to right) addressing The Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the City Council of the City of San Diego. Photo by Jarrett Hart.
San Diego Councilmembers Monica Montgomery and Georgette Gomez have unapologetically been on the forefront of this issue for the districts they serve, and their dedication is beginning to inspire their fellow members including the chairman of the San Diego Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
Councilman Chris Ward addressed Prop 64 on KUSI Live, and added, “…since legalization, many of the owners who are creating these small businesses are disproportionately wealthy, they’re white, because they have access to capital, because they have cash, so they are some of the barriers and it’s been a challenge for people in communities of color to access opportunities to be able to grow their small business.”
In order to start a cannabis business in San Diego, Ward says you need upwards of a million dollars in cash.
Councilman Ward issued the following statement to Candid Chronicle, “Following voters’ decision to legalize cannabis use, we are tasked with building a new industry essentially from scratch. I think one of our priorities in that process should be ensuring that the benefits help address the negative community impacts of decades of criminalization, and I hope we can have a robust community-driven conversation about the best way to accomplish that for San Diego.”
The dialogue of a Cannabis Equity Program is a vital step towards equality, and local governments are being asked to treat this with a greater sense of gravity. Last year the California Legislature enacted the California Cannabis Equity Act in a bold move toward restorative social justice, making $10 million in grants available to local governments that adopt social equity policies. Funds received under this grant must be used to assist local equity applicants in gaining entry and operating in the commercial cannabis industry by assisting with startup and ongoing operational costs. This allows cities that have an equity program in place to receive funding for these programs from the state. On March 1, 2019, all the cities and counties in California were notified via press release from the Bureau of Cannabis Control of the April 1, 2019 application deadline.
Chris Williams, a San Diego native and dispensary applicant in Lemon Grove, stressed the importance of speed to the San Diego Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on March 7, 2019. Williams explained that the grant opportunity is a feasible solution for those that are questioning how exactly cannabis equity programs will be funded.
“In business, when people come up with solutions, the next viable question is always, “How do we pay for that? Where do we get the money for it? In this particular case, the state is saying they will pay for it. The grant opportunity offered by the BCC is something that needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency,” says Williams. He encourages local leadership from around the county to approve an emergency ordinance in their city. “It really is an emergency for so many reasons and for so many people, I appreciate Councilmember Ward and Councilmember Montgomery for their willingness to look at this grant and work to with the people who can benefit from it,” Chris Williams.
Williams expanded on his experience and connection to this equity program, “As an applicant, I know firsthand how important the first mover advantage is to be able to participate in this industry. Once these permits are given, unless you have millions of dollars, they’ll be gone forever, and many folks will never get an opportunity for ownership or the generational wealth that may come with it. Without it being owned by members of the actual community that is purchasing the cannabis and/or allowing the business of cannabis, it’s going to be harder and take much longer for that community to achieve its highest return on investment from the emerging industry.”
Local equity programs intend to give a fairer shot to people of color and the disenfranchised who have suffered unbalanced challenges due to the war on drugs. The ripple effect of ownership in this lucrative industry may improve the quality of life for generations in these towns. Local leader, Paving Great Futures, who fosters economic, social and political development in at-risk communities of San Diego, also addressed the committee last week.
“Our leaders have been doing the work you would like to see take place around cannabis equity, and we want a voice in the process,” said Ebonāy Lee of Paving Great Futures. During public comment on the agenda item, Lee introduced the Neighborhood Enrichment Organization (NEO.) “Decisions have been made for our communities for too long without input from the organizations and individuals who are from, apart of and represent the community itself,” said Lee. Because of this, NEO was formed by various San Diego leaders and organizations out of a desire to create equal opportunity for citizens across lines of race, class, and gender in emerging industries like cannabis.
Chris Williams, who is also the co-founder of Neighborhood Enrichment Organization, sent a letter informing various city officials and staff from San Diego, Lemon Grove, National City, Imperial Beach and Chula Vista of the Bureau of Cannabis Control’s equity grant opportunity currently available to them.
NEO believes that establishing local equity programs before the agency’s April 1st deadline is achievable. The programs may not be perfect, but they are a necessity for California cities to be eligible to receive the state grant. Input from local coalitions like NEO may prove to be the golden ticket that helps cities and their elected officials qualify for the state agency’s grant money.
Candid Chronicle reached out to all San Diego Councilmembers for comment; to date of publication, no response has been received from Councilmembers Barbara Bry, Mark Kersey, Chris Cate, Jennifer Campbell, Scott Sherman, or Vivian Moreno. Chris Williams, Co-Founder of NEO, is the Founder of Candid Chronicle.
