David Robinson and Joseph Spector, New York State Team
Watch: Lawmakers vow no marijuana deal without revenue plan
Politicians, regulators and advocates nationally have so far failed to deliver on lofty promises that legalized recreational marijuana would benefit victims of the racially biased war on drugs.
Communities of color devastated by disproportionate marijuana arrests have, in many ways, been excluded from the green rush, which is generating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal weed sales in 11 states across the country.
© Joseph Spector Assemblyman Mark Weprin, D-Queens, spoke at a rally in January 2020 at the state Capitol on the need to make sure revenue from marijuana sales goes back into communities of color.
The social equity struggles elsewhere have loomed large over the push this year to legalize marijuana use for adults over 21 in New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic lawmakers have pledged to find a way to make amends for the decades-long injustice done to black, Latino and Hispanic Americans.
Still, how much of the revenue from marijuana sales goes back into communities of color is the key issue as the sides look to have a deal as part of the state budget for the fiscal year that starts April 1.
"We’re not moving forward unless we get the commitment on how the revenue needs to be spent," Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, the bill's sponsor, said last month.
How much legal marijuana money is at stake in New York
Advocates are demanding large portions of the projected $300 million per year in pot tax collections go to benefit communities hit hardest by the historic injustice of marijuana policing.
Civil rights leaders also urged lawmakers to prevent big cannabis companies from excluding people of color from New York’s legal weed industry, which is expected to hit sales of between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion per year.
Efforts to legalize marijuana last year failed -- first in the state budget and then again at the end of the legislative session in June.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he is hopeful a deal is reached in the budget, saying it likely would not pass as a standalone bill.
"Marijuana, I believe if we do not get it done in the budget then we do not get it done," Cuomo said on WAMC, a public radio station based in Albany.
"I believe we need to get it done, and it is a major priority for me. I said it in the State of the State."
He announced Thursday he would travel to states that have legalized marijuana, including Massachusetts, Illinois, California and Colorado.
"One of those issues that everybody has goals. We want a goal of social equity; we want to make sure young people can't get it, et cetera," he said.
"We want to make sure there are advantages to communities that have been oppressed. But, then you look at the aftermath and many of those goals haven't been met, right?"
More: 7 things to know about Gov. Cuomo’s bill to legalize recreational pot
What are the legal marijuana jobs numbers
As New York debates legalizing cannabis, politically charged efforts across the country seek to create more marijuana jobs for illicit pot dealers, chefs, immigrants and entrepreneurs alike.
Despite the threat of federal authorities cracking down, the marijuana industry already has more than 120,000 workers and is poised to add 500,000 more over the next decade.
To grasp the stakes in New York, consider that legalizing recreational pot could create about 30,700 jobs, according to a Rockefeller Institute of Government study.
That would surpass the 13,000 workers in craft brewing, but fall below the 62,000 in the state’s thriving wine industry led by the Finger Lakes, the study noted.
More: Legalizing marijuana in New York: How it hinges on how money goes to communities of color
How many minority-owned marijuana businesses in other states
Click to expand
Video: Cuomo announces tour of states with legal weed
In Massachusetts, which legalized recreational pot in 2016, only about 6% of roughly 700 marijuana business licenses have gone to minority-owned applicants, prompting protests from civil rights advocates and minority business leaders.
Everything from financing hurdles to business training gaps have kept it beyond the reach of many people of color, according to aspiring cannabis entrepreneur Richard Harding.
“Massachusetts cannabis business is very dominated by large companies that are often owned by rich white males, and there are plenty of people out in the state who we believe ought to have an opportunity,” said Harding.
To understand the inequity, consider the state's population is 22% Latino or African-American. And that same demographic makes up 75% of people imprisoned under mandatory minimums for drug crimes.
© Submitted Richard Harding, part owner of Green Soul Organics, which is seeking to open cannabis businesses in Massachusetts.
Harding is a part owner in Green Soul Organics, a 100% minority owned startup seeking to open several cannabis businesses in Massachusetts. He is also an organizer behind the advocacy group Real Action for Cannabis Equity, or RACE.
Similarly, Illinois recently became the 11th state in the nation to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. But when stores opened in Chicago on Jan. 1, white men were the ones raking in profits, city officials said.
More: New York marijuana: What to know about decriminalization, criminal records, pot possession
The social equity struggles elsewhere have loomed large over the push this year to legalize marijuana use for adults over 21 in New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic lawmakers have pledged to find a way to make amends for the decades-long injustice done to black, Latino and Hispanic Americans.
Still, how much of the revenue from marijuana sales goes back into communities of color is the key issue as the sides look to have a deal as part of the state budget for the fiscal year that starts April 1.
"We’re not moving forward unless we get the commitment on how the revenue needs to be spent," Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, the bill's sponsor, said last month.
How much legal marijuana money is at stake in New York
Advocates are demanding large portions of the projected $300 million per year in pot tax collections go to benefit communities hit hardest by the historic injustice of marijuana policing.
Civil rights leaders also urged lawmakers to prevent big cannabis companies from excluding people of color from New York’s legal weed industry, which is expected to hit sales of between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion per year.
Efforts to legalize marijuana last year failed -- first in the state budget and then again at the end of the legislative session in June.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he is hopeful a deal is reached in the budget, saying it likely would not pass as a standalone bill.
"Marijuana, I believe if we do not get it done in the budget then we do not get it done," Cuomo said on WAMC, a public radio station based in Albany.
"I believe we need to get it done, and it is a major priority for me. I said it in the State of the State."
He announced Thursday he would travel to states that have legalized marijuana, including Massachusetts, Illinois, California and Colorado.
"One of those issues that everybody has goals. We want a goal of social equity; we want to make sure young people can't get it, et cetera," he said.
"We want to make sure there are advantages to communities that have been oppressed. But, then you look at the aftermath and many of those goals haven't been met, right?"
More: 7 things to know about Gov. Cuomo’s bill to legalize recreational pot
What are the legal marijuana jobs numbers
As New York debates legalizing cannabis, politically charged efforts across the country seek to create more marijuana jobs for illicit pot dealers, chefs, immigrants and entrepreneurs alike.
Despite the threat of federal authorities cracking down, the marijuana industry already has more than 120,000 workers and is poised to add 500,000 more over the next decade.
To grasp the stakes in New York, consider that legalizing recreational pot could create about 30,700 jobs, according to a Rockefeller Institute of Government study.
That would surpass the 13,000 workers in craft brewing, but fall below the 62,000 in the state’s thriving wine industry led by the Finger Lakes, the study noted.
More: Legalizing marijuana in New York: How it hinges on how money goes to communities of color
How many minority-owned marijuana businesses in other states
Click to expand
Video: Cuomo announces tour of states with legal weed
In Massachusetts, which legalized recreational pot in 2016, only about 6% of roughly 700 marijuana business licenses have gone to minority-owned applicants, prompting protests from civil rights advocates and minority business leaders.
Everything from financing hurdles to business training gaps have kept it beyond the reach of many people of color, according to aspiring cannabis entrepreneur Richard Harding.
“Massachusetts cannabis business is very dominated by large companies that are often owned by rich white males, and there are plenty of people out in the state who we believe ought to have an opportunity,” said Harding.
To understand the inequity, consider the state's population is 22% Latino or African-American. And that same demographic makes up 75% of people imprisoned under mandatory minimums for drug crimes.
© Submitted Richard Harding, part owner of Green Soul Organics, which is seeking to open cannabis businesses in Massachusetts.Harding is a part owner in Green Soul Organics, a 100% minority owned startup seeking to open several cannabis businesses in Massachusetts. He is also an organizer behind the advocacy group Real Action for Cannabis Equity, or RACE.
Similarly, Illinois recently became the 11th state in the nation to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. But when stores opened in Chicago on Jan. 1, white men were the ones raking in profits, city officials said.
More: New York marijuana: What to know about decriminalization, criminal records, pot possession
What are the plans to promote social equity in legal marijuana industry
© Bebeto Matthews, AP Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, second from left, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, second from right, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, far right, co-host a regional summit on public health issues around cannabis and vaping, Thursday Oct. 17, 2019, in New York.
In New York, Cuomo’s cannabis bill includes a variety of social equity measures, such as small business incubators and low- to no-interest loan programs catering to those affected by marijuana prohibition.
There are also measures to spend New York pot tax revenue on local community impact grants outside of the cannabis industry.
"Because these communities need help and they need investment and need resources, and not all of them want to engage in the cannabis industry, which can be a volatile industry," said Norman Birenbaum, the director of cannabis programs for Cuomo’s administration.
Cuomo’s plan also encourages giving priority to granting business licenses to minorities, women and other disadvantaged groups, although many specific rules would be set by a commission tapped to oversee the cannabis industry.
Other states are also using policies that incentivize hiring of minority and economically disadvantaged workers in the cannabis industry.
How New York plans to spend legal marijuana tax money
In New York, Cuomo’s cannabis bill includes a variety of social equity measures, such as small business incubators and low- to no-interest loan programs catering to those affected by marijuana prohibition.
There are also measures to spend New York pot tax revenue on local community impact grants outside of the cannabis industry.
"Because these communities need help and they need investment and need resources, and not all of them want to engage in the cannabis industry, which can be a volatile industry," said Norman Birenbaum, the director of cannabis programs for Cuomo’s administration.
Cuomo’s plan also encourages giving priority to granting business licenses to minorities, women and other disadvantaged groups, although many specific rules would be set by a commission tapped to oversee the cannabis industry.
Other states are also using policies that incentivize hiring of minority and economically disadvantaged workers in the cannabis industry.
How New York plans to spend legal marijuana tax money
© Hans Pennink, AP Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, D- Buffalo, walks outside the Assembly Chamber after legislators completed the state budget in the early morning hours at the state Capitol Monday, April 1, 2019, in Albany, N.Y.
So far, Cuomo has offered indistinct measures for spending marijuana tax money on social equity, a stance that many advocates blamed for killing legal weed legislation last year.
The debate over including specific pot tax spending rules instead of more flexible ones remains the most substantial legislative sticking point.
“We’re narrowing that gap, and there are a few details that we look forward to ironing out with them,” Birenbaum said in an interview with USA TODAY Network.
Some advocates, however, are skeptical of Cuomo's plan to keep the money in the state budget's general fund — instead of one exclusively dedicated to social equity and other marijuana-related programs focused on public health, safety and education.
The difference is key to ensuring the money doesn't go to unintended purposes, such as plans to repair New York City's subways discussed last year, advocates and lawmakers said.
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples Stokes, D-Buffalo, said she's hopeful a deal will be reached in New York in the budget.
"I think it’s very likely," she told reporters early this month. "I believe that the administration and many people around here believe that if it’s not in the budget, it won’t get passed."
Support local journalism
We cover the stories from the New York State Capitol and across New York that matter most to you and your family. Please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription to the New York publication nearest you. Check out the latest offer.
David Robinson is the state health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network New York. He can be reached at drobinson@gannett.com and followed on Twitter: @DrobinsonLoHud
This article originally appeared on New York State Team: New York marijuana: 5 reasons why the legal weed industry is excluding communities of color
So far, Cuomo has offered indistinct measures for spending marijuana tax money on social equity, a stance that many advocates blamed for killing legal weed legislation last year.
The debate over including specific pot tax spending rules instead of more flexible ones remains the most substantial legislative sticking point.
“We’re narrowing that gap, and there are a few details that we look forward to ironing out with them,” Birenbaum said in an interview with USA TODAY Network.
Some advocates, however, are skeptical of Cuomo's plan to keep the money in the state budget's general fund — instead of one exclusively dedicated to social equity and other marijuana-related programs focused on public health, safety and education.
The difference is key to ensuring the money doesn't go to unintended purposes, such as plans to repair New York City's subways discussed last year, advocates and lawmakers said.
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples Stokes, D-Buffalo, said she's hopeful a deal will be reached in New York in the budget.
"I think it’s very likely," she told reporters early this month. "I believe that the administration and many people around here believe that if it’s not in the budget, it won’t get passed."
Support local journalism
We cover the stories from the New York State Capitol and across New York that matter most to you and your family. Please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription to the New York publication nearest you. Check out the latest offer.
David Robinson is the state health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network New York. He can be reached at drobinson@gannett.com and followed on Twitter: @DrobinsonLoHud
This article originally appeared on New York State Team: New York marijuana: 5 reasons why the legal weed industry is excluding communities of color
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