MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Who should be entitled to a leg up in Vermont’s budding cannabis industry? State lawmakers created a program offering financial help to those harmed by cannabis policies of the past. But a new state Supreme Court ruling is highlighting the nuanced nature of what equity means.
Dan Pomerantz owns Rebel East, a sprawling outdoor organic cannabis growing operation in Craftsbury.
Twelve years ago, he was arrested and charged with possession of pot.
“I was arrested in Washoe County, Nevada, for a few grams of cannabis and having some cash on me, but what I went through was a very traumatic life experience,” Pomerantz said.
He was bailed out pretrial and after many twists and turns, his sentencing was deferred.
A decade later, while setting up his legal cannabis farm, Pomerantz applied to Vermont’s Social Equity program, which would waive his licensing fees and give him access to a special fund to help grow his business. However, the regulatory Cannabis Control Board rejected his application.
“We are looking at people who were ripped from their communities and the bonds of their social connections have been severed by this incarcerative sentence,” said James Pepper, the chair of the Cannabis Control Board.
Pomerantz appealed all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court. But last week, in a 10-page ruling, the court sided with regulators ruling that Pomerantz is not eligible for a Social Equity license because he was never officially sentenced and because, according to the court, he did not experience long-term personal harm as a result of the war on drugs.
Pomerantz contends the Cannabis Control Board is wrong and points to other people in the industry he says are now better off.
“I could name 100 people who are licensed operators in Vermont that have more wealth and financial backing,” Pomerantz said.
According to state data, 88 licensees, or about 16% of Vermont’s cannabis marketplace, have Social Equity status.
The program was originally created by state legislators to help give a leg up to people who have been harmed by the war on drugs, particularly for Black and Hispanic communities.
But Pepper acknowledges that being “harmed” by cannabis prohibition is difficult to define.
“If we were to give a Social Equity statute to anyone who’s ever been arrested and even detained for a cannabis conviction, it dilutes the program to the point where there is no equity anymore,” he said.
It comes as the state of Vermont in recent years has expunged hundreds of cannabis charges.
A study committee is examining whether the state should put more money into the $500,000 Cannabis Equity Fund to help people launch their businesses.
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A program created for Vermont’s cannabis industry offers financial help to those harmed by past policies. But a new court ruling highlights the nuanced nature of what equity means. Our Calvin Cutler reports. Read More