California’s social equity programs for cannabis companies vary widely in effectiveness by municipality. And even cities that have awarded social equity licenses are still lacking the capital support those businesses need to succeed in a hypercompetitive market. There are only a handful of social equity programs in the entire state – in a tiny fraction of the 100-some cities and counties that have licensed marijuana businesses. #community #team
Law enforcement data released by the California Department of Justice reveals that in 2019 the state recorded the lowest number of felony marijuana arrests since 1954, while showing that the racial disparity at play in such arrests continues to grow. In the department’s latest “Crime in California” report, law enforcement officials reported that 1,181 arrests for marijuana felonies were made in 2019, down 27% from 1,617 in 2018, the first year of legal recreational marijuana