![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-11.55.22-1024x843-2.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Just weeks after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill into law<\/a>, the state\u2019s newly formed Social Equity Council met for the first time on Thursday to discuss its approach to fostering a diverse, equitable cannabis industry that benefits those most harmed by the war on drugs.<\/p>\n Among other agenda items, the 15-person group approved a list of geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the drug war, which will be used to determine eligibility for social equity business licenses. Under the state\u2019s new cannabis law, half of all licenses must go to equity applicants, who may also qualify for lower licensing fees, technical assistance, workforce training and funding to cover startup costs.<\/p>\n A portion of tax revenue from the eventual sale of legal cannabis\u2014expected to begin sometime next year\u2014is also set to be reinvested into communities in the affected areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a group of folks who have investment experience, management experience, understanding of the communities and the importance of social justice,\u201d Lamont said at Thursday\u2019s meeting, \u201cand we\u2019re gonna make sure that the revenues from the legalization of cannabis go to the communities hardest hit.\u201d<\/p>\n Connecticut Social Equity Council<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The impacted areas were determined through historical drug-related conviction rates and unemployment rates among U.S. Census tracts in the state. The 200 qualifying Census tracts across the state span 35 cities and towns. Together they account for about 23 percent of the state\u2019s current population, noted<\/a> local reporter John Craven, but are responsible for more than two-thirds of past cannabis convictions.<\/p>\n The tracts include sections of big cities with larger Black and brown populations, who have disproportionately borne the brunt of the war on drugs nationally, as well as towns that have smaller communities of color but higher unemployment rates.<\/p>\n Municipalities with areas included<\/a> in the designation are Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, Derby, East Hartford, East Haven, Enfield, Fairfield, Groton, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Morris, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Plainvill, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Torrington, Vernon, Wallingford, Waterbury, West Hartford, West Haven, Windham and Windsor.<\/p>\n The Social Equity Council was initially supposed to adopt the list of areas over the weekend, but the action didn\u2019t happen until Thursday. At the meeting, the council also pushed back a separate deadline related to selecting an independent third party to prepare a report on the historical and present-day consequences of cannabis policy.<\/p>\n The council was supposed to move forward on that selection process within 45 days of the cannabis legalization bill becoming law, but members delayed that deadline until mid-September.<\/p>\n State Treasurer Shawn Wooden (D) acknowledged at Thursday\u2019s meeting<\/a> that while there\u2019s still controversy around legalization, \u201cwe\u2019re here now, and the objective now is to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s be honest, folks, the war on drugs failed. And it did more than fail: It harmed [and] incarcerated generations of predominantly Black and brown people,\u201d Wooden said. \u201cAs someone\u2026born and raised from a community in which I saw it, and how it ravaged a community, I saw how ineffective the policies the policies of the past were.\u201d<\/p>\n HAPPENING NOW: The Social Equity Council, which was established by the recent enactment of legislation on adult-use cannabis, is holding its first meeting.<\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) August 5, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Jason Ortiz, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a member of a legalization working group assembled by Lamont that last year issued recommendations on social equity, described the meeting as a positive step but stressed that there\u2019s far more work to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see a cannabis equity-focused board form in Connecticut,\u201d Ortiz told Marijuana Moment. \u201cThat alone is a huge step forward and serves as a positive example that public pressure can create structures for justice. Now it\u2019s on all of us to hold their feet to the fire to ensure the implementation matches the stated goals of ensuring our most impacted communities benefit the most from legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Other elements of the Connecticut\u2019s new marijuana system are also coming together. Last month the state launched a website with up-to-date information about what\u2019s legal and what isn\u2019t<\/a>. While retail sales have yet to begin, for instance, other changes took effect immediately. Adults 21 and older, for example, are free to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis. And beginning in July 2022, individuals with past cannabis convictions will be able to ask state courts to erase those convictions.<\/p>\n Homegrow also takes a phased-in approach. Medical patients will be able to cultivate cannabis at home in Connecticut beginning in July 2022, but adults won\u2019t be allowed to grow for personal use until a full year later.<\/p>\n Virginia regulators similarly launched a web page<\/a> in June that breaks down the various provisions of the adult-use legalization law that was enacted in April and also took effect on July 1.\u00a0New Mexico and New York, meanwhile,\u00a0also launched websites<\/a> this year to detail the provisions of their new cannabis programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Connecticut, officials recently updated their revenue projections for the legal marijuana market<\/a> over its first five years. The state Office of Fiscal Analysis said that the state could earn $4.1 million in state and local taxes for the 2022 fiscal year, which would rise to $73.4 million by fiscal 2026.<\/p>\n New Marijuana And CBD Research Amendment Could Be Added To Senate\u2019s Infrastructure Bill This Week<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post New Connecticut Marijuana Equity Council Approves Map Of Drug War-Impacted Areas At First Meeting<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Just weeks after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill into law, the state\u2019s newly formed Social Equity Council met for the first time on Thursday to discuss its approach to fostering a diverse, equitable cannabis industry that benefits those most harmed by the war on drugs.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":49276,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49275"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49277,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49275\/revisions\/49277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Map](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Screen-Shot-2021-08-05-at-11.55.22-1024x843-1.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"📺\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1f4fa.png\")
Watch live: https:\/\/t.co\/CGuYmEVunU<\/a><\/p>\n![\"📰\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1f4f0.png\")
Learn more about the council: https:\/\/t.co\/aqugJLUFMa<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: New Connecticut Marijuana Equity Council Approves Map Of Drug War-Impacted Areas At First Meeting<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"