Minority Business Opportunities Sought If Pot Is Legalized
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston city councilor wants to make sure minority-owned businesses get a fair shot if retail marijuana sales become legal in Massachusetts.
Councilor Ayanna Pressley has scheduled a hearing for Monday evening at Boston City Hall to discuss ways of providing equitable access to licensing opportunities and jobs in the commercial marijuana industry.
Question 4 on the November ballot would legalize recreational pot in Massachusetts.
It includes a unique provision that would require marijuana regulators to develop policies aimed to help "communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement."
Pressley says in the 25 U.S. states where recreational or medical marijuana has been legalized so far, less than 1 percent of pot dispensaries or retail stores are owned and operated by people of color.
