{"id":60690,"date":"2023-01-13T09:24:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T17:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/01\/13\/missouri-regulators-say-they-will-soon-hire-a-marijuana-equity-officer-to-implement-a-microlicense-program\/"},"modified":"2023-01-13T17:45:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T01:45:30","slug":"missouri-regulators-say-they-will-soon-hire-a-marijuana-equity-officer-to-implement-a-microlicense-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/01\/13\/missouri-regulators-say-they-will-soon-hire-a-marijuana-equity-officer-to-implement-a-microlicense-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Regulators Say They Will \u2018Soon\u2019 Hire A Marijuana Equity Officer To Implement A Microlicense Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working through our process and an announcement will be coming soon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent<\/strong><\/p>\n

The constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana in Missouri<\/a> won voter approval in November but created a schism among social-justice activists over the question of racial and economic equity.<\/p>\n

Some believe the new law will empower minority marijuana business owners, while others worry it will cement an already distrusted, inequitable business licensing system in place.<\/p>\n

Much rides on who is selected for chief equity officer by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the state agency tasked with overseeing the marijuana program.<\/p>\n

By law, the state must have a chief equity officer for its marijuana program in place by February 6\u2014a position meant to ensure the social and economic equity requirements of Missouri\u2019s new marijuana law are met.<\/p>\n

A DHSS spokeswoman said the department will be announcing the chief equity officer soon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The department posted the position on the state\u2019s job listing website, MO Careers, from November 29 to December 9, according to Lisa Cox, DHSS\u2019s spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur positions post for 10 days externally and internally,\u201d Cox said. \u201cOur jobs are usually picked up and advertised in LinkedIn and Indeed as well. We are working through our process and an announcement will be coming soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the job posting, the chief equity officer is described as a leadership position within Missouri\u2019s Division of Cannabis Regulation.<\/p>\n

The officer will report directly to the division director, and \u201cwill exercise significant independence while also working closely with other teams within the division,\u201d the job posting states.<\/p>\n

The chief equity officer will oversee the equity measure that legalization campaign supporters boast to be the first of its kind in the nation\u2014a microlicense program designed to boost opportunities in the industry for businesses in disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n

The officer\u2019s responsibilities include leading communication about the program and conducting reviews \u201cto certify microbusinesses are eligible applicants and in good standing for licensure.\u201d<\/p>\n

That person will also create and promote educational programming around the licensing process and available support and resources for individuals applying for microbusiness licenses.<\/p>\n

The officer will \u201cestablish targeted technical assistance programming to communities impacted by cannabis prohibition\u201d and compile an annual report on compliance.<\/p>\n

Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP chapter, was among those who pushed for the creation of a chief equity officer position as part of the legalization campaign.<\/p>\n

The NAACP sent out notices about the position, but Pruitt said he was unsure about how many people applied.<\/p>\n

Among the officer\u2019s most important responsibilities, Pruitt said, is contributing to an annual report that provides \u201caggregate data for each type of license.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could be the path forward for minority inclusion goals for Missouri\u2019s marijuana industry, he said.<\/p>\n

The report should include demographic characteristics of business owners, Pruitt says, and their employees\u2014which would put the state one step closer towards weighing racial diversity in the license application process.<\/p>\n

But in order for Missouri to stave off court challenges\u2014often by white-owned businesses\u2014against such a move, the state must conduct a \u201cdisparity study.\u201d Pruitt said the aggregate data would serve the same purpose as a disparity study.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout having data, there ain\u2019t much we can do,\u201d Pruitt told The Independent in November. \u201cIf the state enacts [minority participation] goals without data, they sue and we lose. We\u2019ve been down that road before.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Federal Agency Urges States To Mandate Marijuana-Impaired Driving Warning Labels As National Prohibition Blocks Broader Action\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Max Pixel<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Missouri Regulators Say They Will \u2018Soon\u2019 Hire A Marijuana Equity Officer To Implement A Microlicense Program<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Missouri Regulators Say They Will \u2018Soon\u2019 Hire A Marijuana Equity Officer To Implement A Microlicense Program<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are working through our process and an announcement will be coming soon.\u201d By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana in Missouri won voter approval in November but created a schism among social-justice activists over the question of racial and economic equity. Some believe the newContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60690"}],"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\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60691,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60690\/revisions\/60691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}