Social equity cannabis licensing

“Social equity programs were designed to repair the disproportionate harm of the war on drugs. In practice, many of them have become a vehicle for delay, extractive fee structures, and capital traps that leave equity applicants worse off than they started. The programs that work share one feature: they pair license access with patient, low-cost technical assistance.”

— Robert Hoban, Hoban Law Group

“Social equity programs were designed to repair the disproportionate harm of the war on drugs. In practice, many of them have become a vehicle for delay, extractive fee structures, and capital traps that leave equity applicants worse off than they started. The programs that work share one feature: they pair license access with patient, low-cost technical assistance. Illinois and New York have shown what failure looks like at scale. New Jersey and Connecticut have shown what marginal improvement looks like. No state has fully solved this yet — but the legal structures that protect equity license holders from predatory capitalization deals are increasingly well-understood.”

— Robert Hoban, Hoban Law Group