Social Justice & Cannabis in RI: Part 1

As the Rhode Island cannabis industry grows, numerous legislative and policy challenges remain. Nearly all of these challenges — which are also opportunities — revolve around fundamental elements of social justice. The term “social justice” means different things to different people. In my view, the central definition is justice in relation to a fair balance in the distribution of wealth, opportunities, access, and privileges in a culture where individuals’ rights are recognized and protected.

The lost cause of the War on Drugs, launched by the Nixon administration in the 1970s, continues today. The demonization of cannabis was a central tactic in the War on Drugs strategy. Millions of people’s lives were needlessly damaged, and trillions of dollars of public treasure were squandered in the pursuit of a colossal public policy failure where cannabinoids were considered in the same legal light as opioids. Minorities, especially in urban areas, were disproportionately incarcerated for even minor cannabis infractions such as possession of a gram of weed. Even today, police make more than 1.5 million drug arrests annually. About a third (550,000) of these arrests are for cannabis offenses alone.

The legalization of recreational cannabis provides a unique opportunity for states to implement legislation and policies that promote social justice for people whose lives have been damaged by the War on Drugs. Whether states are willing or able to implement legislation remains to be seen.

To get a perspective on social justice and cannabis in Rhode Island, I interviewed Zara A. Salmon, founder, and owner of cannabis company CRAVEInfused. The text of the following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lenny Brennan (Motif): Tell me about your company.

Zara A. Salmon (ZS): CRAVEInfused is a plant-based brand lifestyle at the intersection of veganism and cannabis.

LB: Is social justice part of your cannabis business model?

ZS: Yes! The mission of CRAVEInfused has always been to highlight the healing power of plants while destigmatizing cannabis as simply another healing plant. I do this by using my brand as a catalyst for change. In 2023, of the nine events I hosted, seven of them were free and eight were related to cannabis social equity. My business is still a team of one after four years so I had to really remind myself this year, why I got into the cannabis space and it wasn’t to make copious amounts of money, it was because I saw how legalizing this plant could help communities it once devastated. Although I hope to see my business in the black one of these years, I’d rather see low-income communities that are disproportionately Black and brown capitalize off this plant first.

LB: What elements of social justice can be incorporated in the cannabis industry in the next year or two?

ZS: There are four social justice cannabis proposals being presented to the Rhode Island State Legislature:

1. Narrow qualifications for Social Equity Applicants in the cannabis industry;

2. Expand the Social Equity Fund for the cannabis industry with tax revenues;

3. Activate fee waivers and business grants; and,

4. Offer provisional licenses.

Proposals one and two will require legislative action. Proposals three and four are regulatory policy changes. All four proposals are backed by Rhode Island State Legislators Leonela Felix, David Morales, Enrique Sanchez and the Rhode Island Black Business Association.

LB: What elements of social justice will take longer to be incorporated in the cannabis industry over the next two to five years?

ZS: In our policy proposals, proposal number two will take the longest to manifest, if ever. We are trying to redistribute cannabis tax money to serve the community and not just police departments and other government programs which will be a hard feat to accomplish. This is why we are trying to be reasonable and only ask for 50% of the recreational taxes to go into the social equity fund; in addition, we want the cannabis taxes to serve more than just the businesses. We want a separate fund for community reinvestment (i.e. public education and affordable housing). To remedy the harms of the War on Drugs, you have to be intentional on the atonement and not just expect six social equity licenses to be enough for a 40+ year war where hundreds of millions of dollars were put into vulnerable communities to devastate them more than they already are. This is why I speak so much on proposal number two.

There is a real chance to fiscally help communities using cannabis tax money. At present it is going back to law enforcement on grants and whatever else they deem necessary. That’s why I, along with several organizations, drafted these proposals. I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face: real change is economic change. It’s not the symbolism of a War on Drugs Boulevard or a mural with black and brown faces, it’s money being poured into repairing communities just like we poured money into devastating them during the War on Drugs.

LB: The Celebration of Legalization event in Cranston last December contained a strong call for social justice to be part of the cannabis landscape in Rhode Island. To me this is a good thing.

ZS: Another thing I agree with! The reason I go so hard on wanting to push our 2024 Cannabis Policy Proposals forward is because Rhode Island spent upward of $27 million annually to perpetuate a failed War on Drugs, and low-income communities are still feeling the negative ramifications, particularly in public education and housing. If the General Assembly can declare in the RI Cannabis Act “that family members, especially children, and communities of those who have been arrested or incarcerated due to cannabis-related laws, suffer from emotional, psychological, and financial harms as a result of such arrests or incarcerations,” then where are the financial resources to repair that harm? I would love a future where the same $27 million that was put into low-income communities to devastate them, was allocated to communities to atone for the harm, accounting for inflation of course.

LB: Do the new legal cannabis landscapes offer opportunities to incorporate social justice in the business?

ZS: In my opinion, it’s in name only. And with the loopholes that the RI Cannabis Act, it’s blatant. For example, the RI Cannabis Act allocates just six social equity licenses. Most states don’t have caps on social equity licenses, including Massachusetts. As for the loopholes, there are two major ones that we are trying to close with these 2024 policy proposals.

The first loophole is the majority of the money allocated to the cannabis social equity assistance fund (SEAF) will actually end up in the general fund. Here’s why: The SEAF is funded by licensing fees and penalties. However, on pages 87–88 the RI Cannabis Act says that all but $125,000 of the hybrid dispensary licensing fee will remain in the fund. The majority of the hybrid dispensary licensing fees ($500,000 of $625,000) and other licensing fees will be removed from the fund and placed in a restricted receipt account called the Medical Marijuana Licensing Account, which will be under the control of the Department of Business Regulations (DBR) and the Department of Health (DOH). Once it pays all the DBR and DOH’s bills, it will then be placed in the general fund. With this loophole, we can predict about a little over $1,000,000 in the SEAF by 2024. The SEAF is supposed to support six cannabis businesses, yet the average startup costs for just one cannabis dispensary is $2–3 million. If the fund continues to be funded by 20% of just one of the licensing fees, there will never be enough money to support social equity applicants….literally never.

Second, there’s a loophole in the qualifications of social equity that we are hoping to change as well. This loophole currently allows for Jeff Bezos to obtain a social equity license if he or any wealthy individual donated a few thousand dollars to the Southside of Providence. Another qualification would allow for anyone who harbors a majority-minority or impoverished workforce to apply as a social equity applicant. This loophole in qualifications coupled with the fact that the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has not enacted fee waivers (which according to RI Cannabis Act, social equity applicants can get up to 100% of their fees waived) almost guarantees that those social equity licenses designed for people who have survived the worst of the War on Drugs, will go to a wealthy individual, who is probably white and probably male if we examine the current trends of ownership.

LB: Can you comment on aspects of social justice in other states with a legal cannabis industry?

ZS: I wish I had time to do more comparative research on other states. Although I have very limited knowledge on other states, I do know that Massachusetts has a social equity fund that currently has $0; however, they may be on a path towards remedying it. Most states have social equity programs to some extent, but I don’t know if they are truly providing equity. We have a research intern from Rhode Island College who is doing some comparative research on other states, so we should have more information on that by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

LB: Thanks for these insights and perspectives, Zara. I hope both the cannabis industry, along with help from legislators and policy makers, can right at least some of the wrongs wrought by the senseless War on Drugs.