In March of 2017, the City Council of Oakland implemented a program known as the Equity Permit Program for cannabis businesses. The City Council approved this program in an attempt to provide reparations to the city’s residents that were jailed for cannabis-related offenses in the last ten years. According to the city, this is a groundbreaking equity program that aims to correct past disparities and remove barriers to legal weed business. The program will enable convicted drug felons to penetrate the legal marijuana industry.
The Equity Permit Program
This equity program has been in the works since May of 2016. With the launch of this innovative program, Oakland is attempting to make reparations for individuals and neighborhoods that were adversely affected by the marijuana crackdown. Research conducted by council members revealed that in the past 20 years, the Black community was significantly targeted in cannabis-related arrests. At one time, arrests of black people reached over 90% of all arrests.
Applicants qualify for the program if they are Oakland residents with an annual income that is less than 80% of the city’s average annual income. Applicants also need to be resident in one of the six East Oakland police beats within the program for the past two years. They need to maintain a 50% ownership of the business. Prior marijuana conviction will not affect the application.
Opposition to the Program
While this program has provided a welcome alternative and opportunity to victims of the marijuana crackdown, it has received some criticism and opposition. Take, for instance, the qualifying districts. Observers claim that most of the police beat districts are in Delsey Brooke’s council area. It is Desley who came up with the idea for the program, and some think he is benefitting directly from it.
Nevertheless, successful applications will not be required to pay the permit application fee. The issue of rental space also comes up. Rental space is a huge issue when putting up a business. This is why there is another program known as the Equity Incubator Program. Under this program, applicants enjoy preferential treatment if they can provide Equity applicants with free rental space measuring at least 1,000 square feet to operate the business.
Oakland is now addressing the issue of discrimination within the marijuana industry that had badly affected the city for way too long. While the program is in no way perfect, it has set a great example of how to start addressing weed-related oppression that has impacted a lot of marginalized groups.
Featured photo: James Tensuan
