There is no doubt that there are some people who are underrepresented. The microbusinesses aim to create more equity for those who are underrepresented.
By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
A state official publicly announced that he would push for a survey on the demographics of cannabis business owners. This was in response to a criticism of the medical pot program, which was that the Black community had been left out of this burgeoning industry worth billions of dollars.
Abigail Vivas of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ chief equity officer, Abigail Vivas said that she would support a survey in which license holders can volunteer demographic information.
Vivas, the newly hired chief equity officer in February, said that “considering the spirit of constitution…I believe data is important”.
Vivas organized four events in Missouri last month, to inform people about the microbusiness marijuana program. Proponents of Missouri’s marijuana legalization initiative said that the program was designed to give access to the communities most affected by marijuana criminalization.
Missouri will grant 48 microbusiness permits this fall. The window for submitting applications is from July 27 through August 10. The application can be found on the DHSS website.
The program was designed as a response to the fact that industry leaders knew from the survey results there were very few Black-owned marijuana businesses in Missouri and possibly few women-owned ones as well.
John Payne is a cannabis expert who worked as a consultant to the writers of the constitutional amendment that voters approved in November legalizing recreational marijuana. “And the microbusinesses aim to create some equity for those who are underrepresented,” said John Payne, a cannabis consultant who helped write the constitutional amendment voters passed in November to legalize recreational marijuana.
To ensure that these businesses can compete and be successful, Missouri law has frozen the number of regular licenses until June 8, 2020.
Microbusiness licenses are the only new licenses DHSS will be able to issue.
Payne stated that both state and industry leaders should spend the next 12 months supporting these new companies.
BeLeaf Medical, based in St. Louis, is one of several companies that sponsors accelerator programs for microbusinesses.
Todd Scattini is the founder of Harvest 360. BeLeaf hired them to run their education program. “People get it. They understand. They are trying to help a community that was destroyed by the War on Drugs. By giving them access to technology and networks, they’re helping this community.”
Payne’s consulting company, Amendment 2 Consultants has also partnered up with Show-Me Organics, a cannabis company based in Kansas City, to offer assistance to microbusinesses.
Payne says that larger businesses can benefit from collaborations and branding opportunities allowed by law. Like Scattini, Payne said that it is also important to recognize that Black Missourians are more than 2.6 times as likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than White Missourians.
Payne stated that this should translate into a positive impact on microbusinesses. We don’t have any control over who actually applies. We won’t find out until the award is made.
Vivas has said that she will prepare an annual report which will show how many people have applied for and received microbusiness licenses under each of the seven criteria. The report is required by law to be submitted no later than January 1. A microbusiness license is available to people with a variety of qualifications, from having a low income or living in a region considered to be impoverished, to past arrests and incarcerations for marijuana offenses.
She said that her report would hopefully reveal who is eligible for the microbusiness program and how the department can work with the business community.
The constitution also requires that DHSS prepare a report publicly available for the entire cannabis sector, which provides “aggregated data for each license type.”
Payne stated that this is where the voluntary surveys would come into play.
DHSS sent surveys to the cannabis industry for various topics in the past, including banking status. This has informed policy and partnerships including legislation that was signed by the Governor in this month.
Payne added, “I think it’s useful from a policy perspective if people are willing …,” to anonymously share that information.
This article was originally published by Missouri Independent.
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The post Missouri To Conduct Marijuana Business Demographic Survey In Response To Criticism That Black People Were Left Out Of The Industry first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
