New Yorkers aren’t stupid, but apparently Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes thinks we are.
The architect of the state’s dubious marijuana “social equity program,” is proposing we throw more taxpayer dollars at the pot industry to prop up the insidious lie that commercial weed would be an economic boon to minority communities.
Her “social equity loans” have failed to help minority-owned pot shops sell dangerous, high-potency drugs. Recent reporting has shown the loan scheme to be an albatross around the neck of those trying to compete in the state’s failing marijuana marketplace. Far from addressing inequities, New York’s marijuana legalization boondoggle has disproportionately harmed the very individuals Peoples-Stokes claimed it would help.
It should really come as little surprise. I warned in 2019 that “it’s becoming increasingly clear that legal weed isn’t about social justice. It’s about money, with Big Tobacco investing billions to profit off another harmful substance.” Today, only 21 of the intended 150 social equity pot shops have opened, which follows national trends in which Black entrepreneurs account for less than 2% of marijuana businesses.
Instead, the rich and the well-connected keep coming out on top. A report published in October shows former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson, ex-NBA player Chris Webber, and former sneaker entrepreneur Lavetta Willis received $1.7 (million) in “management fees” over the most recently reported 12-month period with the State’s social equity fund that is doling out these loans.
Now, Peoples-Stokes wants the Cannabis Control Board to bail out struggling businesses to cover for failed public policy. Throwing more money at this will do nothing to fix the fundamental flaws in the state’s legalization framework. It also will do nothing to address minorities who are being harmed by these products that have been medically proven to be addictive and damaging.
New York’s launch of its “legal” pot marketplace has been plagued by incompetence and failure. It has also provided significant cover for illicit market, and false hope for minority entrepreneurs who thought they could compete — mirroring legal marketplaces in California, Oregon and Colorado.
Black New Yorkers also continue to be those most harmed by the predatory industry. They had the higher rate of daily marijuana use compared with white New Yorkers and, despite Black people representing 23% of the state’s population, they accounted for 39% of treatment admissions for marijuana in 2022.
To truly promote equity, New York should impose strict regulations, including a prohibition on advertising and significant limits on potency. The state should also scale up prevention and treatment programs.
Our leaders should not continue to double down on the lie that more weed is social justice.
Kevin Sabet, Ph.D., is the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).
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