Woke Up In Smoke: This Washington State Initiative Is Simply Affirmative Action For Weed Sellers

By Eliana Regev | Friday, 19 August 2022 02:10 PM
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Woke Up In Smoke: This Washington State Initiative Is Simply Affirmative Action For Weed Sellers

Washington state is considering the establishment of the Social Equity in Cannabis Program, which would enable the state to choose retail cannabis license approvals through the lens of "equity" factors like race and drug convictions.

In a document suggesting the rule, it states that "in the interest of remedying harms resulting from the enforcement of cannabis-related laws in disproportionately impacted areas, creating a Social Equity in Cannabis Program would further an equitable cannabis industry by promoting business ownership among individuals who have resided in areas of high poverty and high enforcement of cannabis-related laws."

A business or individual applying for a social equity license must be at least 51 percent minority-owned and meet the following two of three qualifications: having lived in a "disproportionately impacted area" in the state for no less than five years between 1980 and 2010, the applicant or a family member must have a previous cannabis-related arrest or conviction, and the applicants household income the previous year was less than the median household income for the state.

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A disproportionately impacted region is defined by "a census tract within Washington state where community members were more likely to be impacted by the war on drugs."

These area are defined by areas of high unemployment, low income, and "demographic indicators consistent with populations most impacted by the war on drugs, including areas with higher rates of arrest for drug charges," according to an August 3 filing.

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Applicants will further be assigned points based on a rubric, where similar requirements are listed. The more points a person or entity makes, the better their chance of getting a license.

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The proposal arrives almost two years after lawmakers in the state created the Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis to make recommendations to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board in regards to the limited number of retail cannabis licenses they have to issue to the public, and how to address the past war on drugs.

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Of these limited licenses, Fox 13 states there are 40 that are being set aside for the LCB for social equity purposes.

"We intend to be able to reach applicants that were disproportionally harmed by the war on drugs," announced Brian Smith, Director of Communications for the Liquor Cannabis Board.

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In response to a listen and learn session held in March, some public members issued remarks of concern regarding the program and the rubric used to assign points to applicants.

"I feel that the current scoring rubric that the LCB plans to use to see who qualifies for the social equality program is unfair and unjust to any person of any race.I feel that the current scoring rubric that the LCB plans to use to see who qualifies for the social equality program is unfair and unjust to any person of any race," Latisha Ellery wrote in an email.

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