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.
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.
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