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Against the backdrop of approving dozens more weed businesses to open at a four-hour long Tuesday meeting, New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission members engaged in a heated discussion over pathways to help diversify the industry — while acknowledging stubborn challenges stifling the growth of the legal market.
CRC Chairwoman Dianna Houenou listed municipal approval, securing real estate and lack of sufficient funding among the largest obstacles delaying permit approval.
“All three of these are outside of the commission’s control,” Houenou said in opening remarks to the board’s monthly meeting, “but these continue to be the top reasons” businesses seek an extension on deadlines for their applications.
And while the CRC granted permission to close to 50 businesses to grow, manufacture and sell cannabis, the conversation among the four commissioners present centered around the state’s lack of Black, Hispanic and Indigenous operators — especially those who were convicted on marijuana charges or whose communities were hurt by the War on Drugs. Since the start of the year, out of nearly 1,000 social equity applicants, less than a quarter have been approved, according to the CRC.
The legislation in New Jersey put forth rules that made those with previous cannabis convictions or live in an economically disadvantaged area — known as social equity applicants — a priority in the application process. Additionally it also prioritized diversely owned businesses.
At its June 1 meeting, the cannabis board rolled out rules that originally gave only social equity businesses the first shot at new licenses — wholesaler, distributor, delivery — for one year starting Sept. 27. The original suggestion was to stagger an exclusivity period of six months involving both social equity and diversely owned categories.
The commission reverted back to that decision today after hearing testimony from several Black business owners during the public comments portion that the one-year exclusivity would hurt Diversely Owned Businesses — a category that includes the Black, Hispanic and Indigenous racial demographics, as well as veterans and women.
The motion passed on on a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Charles Barker voicing the most disagreement.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Wesley McWhite III noted earlier in the meeting that many of the applications had also been delayed over not having an understanding of the two categories.
“Social equity does not mean ‘I am a minority,” McWhite said. “You have certain designations for folks that are of minority status, but may not be social equity. When you hear social equity please double check to make sure you either live in an economically disadvantaged area for five of the last 10 years or have past cannabis criminal convictions.”
The categories themselves — social equity and diversely owned — and their effectiveness at making sure those disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs enter the market has received mixed reception, praise and criticism.
Barker, in repeated statements at public meetings and speeches, noted the largest share of the collateral damage in New Jersey fell upon Black, Hispanic and Indigenous populations as the war came at the intersection of racial and ethnically targeted policing.
“Now, with a new opportunity for new license classes, we’re trying to address that, we’re trying to get those most harmed,” he said.
Houenou, for her part, noted the situation was a complicated one with a difficult set of circumstances, emphasizing that those “who have been entangled in the criminal justice system for marijuana offenses will always have priority.”
“There’s a difference between exclusion of setting up a process to mitigate potential loopholes for instances of operators acting in bad faith and taking advantage of other individuals,” she said. “There’s a difference between that and setting up a process that promotes and fosters inclusion of the communities that we do want to see represented.”
Jelani Gibson is content lead for NJ Cannabis Insider. He may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jelanigibson1 and on LinkedIn.