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CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An advocacy group has called out the Pritzker administration for falling far short of the mark when it comes to minority participation in Illinois’s growing cannabis industry, but a top state official said the picture is a lot brighter than critics say.
Richard St. Paul, with the National Black Empowerment Action Fund (NBEAF), said Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised 63,000 jobs would be generated by the legalization of recreational marijuana — mostly for people in communities that were hurt by the war on drugs. St Paul, though, said that promise wasn’t kept.
“You were supposed to be first in line to be able to get a license, whether it be [for a] dispensary or cultivation,” he said. “Of the 4,000 social equity licenses that were applied for, only 21 were granted.”
But Erin Johnson, Illinois’ cannabis regulation oversight officer, said there are 103 social equity licenses now, and she claimed that Illinois’ legalized pot industry is the nation’s most diverse:
“Of course, that method came with growing pains,” she said. “Everything didn’t roll out perfectly. We had a two-years-long injunction that prevented licenses from going out, but we were able to get those licenses out starting in July and August 2022 — and we have been on a roll ever since.”
Cannabis and equity are the topics on this weekend’s edition of WBBM’s “At Issue” program, which airs on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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“}]] An advocacy group has called out the Pritzker administration for falling far short of the mark when it comes to minority participation in Illinois’s cannabis industry, but a top state official said the picture is a lot brighter than critics say. Read More
