Many of these social equity groups will not exist in a year, and we can’t go home until they are addressed.
Kevin Bessler is the Center Square
Illinois, which has one of the nation’s largest cannabis markets with cannabis sales in excess of $2 billion for the past year, is a controversial market. Left by the side.
Black Cannabis Operators, a group of cannabis operators in Illinois, called for more funding from the state and loosened regulations during a press conference on Wednesday. Patricia Van Pelt Scott said that without state intervention, businesses are doomed.
Van Pelt Scott, Black Cannabis Operators co-chair said: “We will not survive here. It would be a shame for all social equity groups to disappear at a moment when the State is telling you that we want to really help you.”
Her group also calls for a ban on license fees, and allows medical patients to buy cannabis at licensed dispensaries.
Van Pelt Scott said, “The Illinois Cannabis Industry may limp along for some time, but I see that many social equity groups will not even exist in a year’s time. We cannot leave without addressing these issues, and we must do so now.”
Illinois is set to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2020. The state The Cannabis Social Equity Forgivable loan program was established to provide financial assistance for minority applicants. Officials stated that they are committed to providing opportunities for people from historically affected communities to be involved in the legal cannabis sector.
SEquity Ventures, a socially-owned cannabis dispensary that opened in Champaign last July, became Illinois’ 100th marijuana dispensary.
Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) said: “From the first day of Illinois legalizing cannabis, my administration was committed to ensuring that we didn’t compromise a fair and equitable chance to enter the industry while undoing the wrongs of decades in the failed drug war just to reap economic benefits.” J.B. Pritzker (D).
The Center Square published this article first.
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