The Sacramento City Council will Tuesday consider allowing 10 new storefront pot dispensaries to open in the city in an effort to address longstanding equity issues in the retail pot market. Reports the Sacramento Bee
None of the city’s current 30 dispensaries are owned by Black men or women – a population disproportionately arrested during the War on Drugs, Malaki Amen, executive director of the California Urban Partnership, has been telling the council for years.
When recreational pot became legal in marijuana, the city allowed the dispensaries that were already selling medical pot to start selling recreational pot as well. While city manufacturing, delivery, distribution and cultivation permits have been available, no new businesses have been able to apply for storefront dispensary permits, which are the most desirable, a city staff report said.
If the council approves the plan Tuesday, the city plans to hold a lottery Oct. 12 to select the owners for five new permits. The city will hold another lottery in 2021 to select the owners of the next five permits. The winners of the lottery will need to open shops within three years or they will lose their permit and another lottery will be held, said Davina Smith, the city cannabis manager.
To qualify for the lottery, city residents must meet certain requirements, such as earning a low income, living in certain zip codes most impacted by the War on Drugs, or having a prior arrest for a cannabis-related charge.
Read the full report at Sacramento Bee https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article245328270.html
