10/02/2020
CALL TO ACTION 🚨
Let Gov. Scott know you stand in support of a regulated, adult-use cannabis market in our great state. Call him @ 802 828-3333.
We believe that giving opportunities to people of color is one of the most concrete and actionable ways to combat racial inequity. And while S.54 may not go far enough it is a good place to start. The opposition has labeled this bill as ‘not progressive enough’ when it comes to racial equality, yet when we consider Section 903 that is not entirely accurate.
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S.54 does provide Vermont cultivators and business owners the opportunity to become involved in the cannabis industry. It keeps big cannabis companies out of Vermont by not allowing horizontal integration, and it makes a great start towards prioritizing a role in the industry for people of color, and those historically disadvantaged by the war on cannabis.
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Some of the specific provisions which accomplish these goals are:
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1. The Cannabis Control Board must prioritize applicants who are minority or women-owned as well as have plans to recruit and promote people of color, women, and those impacted by cannabis prohibition.
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2. Each applicant can only hold one of each type of license, at one location. This provision prevents large corporations from taking over our state.
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3. The Board must consider policies to promote small-scale cultivators.
Small cultivator licenses must be prioritized over large cultivators.
These provisions also support small scale cultivators.
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If Gov. Scott is truly concerned about social justice in the Vermont cannabis industry S.54 offers an excellent platform for him to appoint Cannabis Control Board members who will be well versed in and sensitive to these issues.
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To squash, this bill is to eliminate these financial opportunities and to allow unregulated markets to thrive while Vermont’s tax revenue continues to shrink.
-Zenbarn Farms, Caledonia Cannabis, Magic Mann & Bern Gallery
