This is what happens when you lock a bunch of marijuana (policy) enthusiasts in a room for hours.
You get a blueprint for the most diverse, equitable and sustainable cannabis industry the country has ever seen.
I’m still on a high from this week’s New York Cannabis Policy Circle — a policy-driven, community-focused event we (The Equity Organization) hosted with the wonderful women behind Humble Bloom at Lucas Lucas NYC. I think I speak for everyone who attended when I say it was one of the most inspiring, inclusive and educational events I’ve attended in quite some time. It was such an honor to have the opportunity to learn from the brilliant people who’ve been working tirelessly to help ensure New York creates the most diverse, equitable and sustainable cannabis industry in the country.
So — what made it so great? The people, of course. We convened ~40 policy-focused leaders from different cannabis & social justice-focused advocacy organizations — including but not limited to Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Cannaclusive, Cannagather, Last Prisoner Project, The People’s Dispensary, High Mi Madre, Restore the Harm, Gossamer, Poplar, and more. We also had quite a few senior industry and industry-adjacent lawyers and executives there (attending in a personal capacity, not as representatives of their employer).
After helping ourselves to falafel and (non-infused) brownies, we went through the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act topic-by-topic and gave feedback on (almost all of) the major issues that touch legalization legislation. We’re talking *everything* — governance, regulations, compliance, social equity, licensing, cultivation standards, business development, policing, health & wellness, etc. etc.
Because the attendees came from such diverse backgrounds (and had so many different areas of expertise), we were able to leverage their unique perspectives to bring new, impactful and often-overlooked ideas, references and recommendations to the table. The best part of all? The suggestions the community shared were not just detailed and nuanced — they were actionable!
I’ll stop teasing you now — you can request notes from the event by clicking this link (they’re free, of course). Heads up — it’s long — but the recap is broken down by topic (in case you want to focus on a specific element of legalization legislation). I’ll also be sharing (bite-sized) versions of the takeaways on The Equity Organization’s Instagram over the next week, so be sure to give us a follow.
And while I want to stress that these are *not* The Equity Organization’s official policy recommendations — I expect I’ll be taking many of these ideas with me when I go to visit New York’s legislators in Albany next week.
As always, I’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, please be sure to check out all the wonderful work happening over at Humble Bloom.
