Category: Social Equity
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West Virginia Is Gearing Up For A Medical Cannabis Boom. But Will It Be Equitable?
After more than four years of delay, brick-and-mortar medicinal cannabis dispensaries are beginning to pop up in West Virginia. Earlier this month, Florida-headquartered Trulieve became the first company to launch a medical dispensary in the state since cannabis use was legalized for registered patients in April of 2017. More than 200 people lined up for…
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Biden Admin Insists Public Housing Residents Can’t Use Cannabis, Even For Medical Purposes
Cannabis users still aren’t welcome in public housing, according to the Biden administration. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it will keep denying federally-assisted public housing to those who use weed, whether or not they reside in a state that has legalized the plant. Earlier this year, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton,…
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Maryland Lawmakers Discuss MSOs, Minority Ownership Challenges At House Legalization Hearing
As Maryland looks to at last join its neighbors in legalizing recreational cannabis and supercharge a medical industry that has generated more than half-a-billion dollars this year, concerns loom about how Black entrepreneurs can get in on the green rush before it’s too late. At the fourth meeting of the Maryland House Cannabis Legalization Workgroup…
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Q&A: How Will Virginia Tax Cannabis Sales To Repair The Harms Of Prohibition?
Note: This story was first published by District Fray Magazine as part of a collaboration with The Outlaw Report on Take Me Down to Cannabis City, an insider’s guide to the legalization of cannabis in Virginia. Janice Underwood knows what it’s like to be on the front lines. In 2019, she was appointed by Gov.…
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Maryland: New House Panel On Cannabis Legalization Says It Won’t Introduce Reforms Until After 2022 Referendum
A new panel of Maryland delegates met for the first time on Sept. 8 to start working on a legislative framework for cannabis legalization should voters approve the measure by referendum next year. Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore), who chairs the newly formed House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, said the panel won’t introduce any reforms…
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A New Socialist Coalition Wants To Localize The Fight For Cannabis Equity In Virginia
Cannabis advocates scored a huge win this year when Virginia passed a sweeping set of reforms legalizing the possession, home cultivation, and recreational sales of the plant. But for some, the work is only getting started. A new activist group is gearing up to take the fight for cannabis justice beyond Virginia’s state legislature, and…
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Virginia Gov. Northam Makes Picks For Three New Boards To Oversee Cannabis Legalization
Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday announced appointments to three newly-created boards charged with overseeing the future of recreational cannabis in Virginia in the wake of legalization earlier this month. On July 1, the commonwealth authorized the possession and home cultivation of pot for adult Virginians following the passage of sweeping new cannabis laws by the…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast: Prosecutorial Power in Prince George’s County
This week’s headlines: Washington D.C.’s mayor pushed for social equity, Virginia has stark choices for governor, and and Maryland still requires masks in dispensaries. Then, The Outlaw Report Podcast host Scott Cecil is joined by Prince George’s County public defender Stanford Fraser, who recently announced he was running for for State’s Attorney. Scott and Fraser…