NPR has a good read on the bleak state of blacks and Latinos in the cannabis industry. Largely focusing on Massachusetts and its burgeoning, legal plant-touching industry, the article takes a hard look at how, despite social equity initiatives in the Bay State, practically no minorities are applying for licenses. As we have reviewed, Massachusetts cannabis is doing pretty good for itself with the CCC having doled out their 100th license last month, simultaneously the state must address this issue. The good news? Boston and other municipalities are working to do that.

Just as the case has been in California with its Phase II licensing window, Massachusetts has seen costly financial roadblocks keeping minority businesses from getting into the plant-touching industry. Intriguingly, the NPR article also brings up the invisible barrier to entry of many minority communities in the state being apprehensive and skeptical of applying for licenses due to years of disproportionately high arrest rates for marijuana as well as the larger “War on Drugs”.

Fortunately, the few minority business owners in the industry are stepping up to encourage more to follow suit. Beyond that, and not even mentioned in the article, cities such as Boston are taking matters into their own hands. Earlier this month, Boston councilmember Kim Janey introduced a measure calling for the establishment of a Boston Cannabis Council, in addition to drawing up measures affording minorities far broader opportunities to get into the cannabis game in Massachusetts. Boston applicants with 51% of their ownership meeting the following requirements would be considered minority applicants

1. A person who has resided in an area of disproportionate impact, as defined by the Cannabis
   Control Commission, for at least 5 of the past 10 years
2. A person who has a past conviction for the possession, sale, or trafficking of Marijuana, who
   has been a resident of Boston for the past 12 months; OR a person who is married to or is the
   child of a person with a past conviction for the possession, sale, or trafficking of Marijuana,
   who has been a resident of Boston for the past 12 months
3. A person who has resided in the City of Boston for at least the past 5 years
4. A person who is of Black, African American, Hispanic, or Latino descent
5. A person whose annual household income is below 400% of the federal poverty level

While no one is naive enough to think that these measures will fix issues of inequality overnight, it’s refreshing to see city leaders addressing a matter and working to fix it.