WeedWeek biz columnist Dan Mitchell discusses a new equity program at California player Eaze, which does not take an equity stake in the companies it’s supporting.
“Equity” is a somewhat amorphous concept that was introduced well before states started legalizing recreational cannabis in 2012. It aims to recognize the absurdity and unfairness inherent in the creation of a brand-new legal industry dominated by monied white people, selling and using a product that for decades was used to marginalize and punish black and brown people for doing the same thing. Many of those people are still in jail for pot offenses.
Efforts by state and city governments to support equity businesses have largely run aground on red tape, court cases and a raft of other complications. Eaze’s effort suggests corporate equity programs could be more effective.
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