California Marijuana

Social equity has become one of the most salient topics within the business community in the past two years—a movement catalyzed by nationwide protests against systemic racism in 2020. Although nearly 70 percent of adult-use states have developed social-equity and reinvestment programs to address the lasting consequences of the war on drugs and the lack of racial diversity in the industry, most of these public programs have been unable to realize the promise of equity. In nearly every market, we’ve seen a vicious cycle of White-owned medical operators backed by wealthy investors—either through family offices, high-net-worth individuals, or generational wealth—obtaining a first-to-market advantage before social-equity entrepreneurs even get licenses. Black, indigenous, and Latinx entrepreneurs  from historically disinvested communities face enormous barriers to obtaining medical licenses, securing suitable real estate, and becoming early stakeholders in the industry due to systemi...