SouthernCaliforniaCoalition

By Betsy Pisik  | July 13, 2020 “I knew Prop 64 would pass, and that was fine with me,” recalls Rev. James K. McKnight, Pastor of the Congregationalist Church of Christian Fellowship in South Central Los Angeles, where low-level cannabis convictions are among the highest in the state. “The law promised social equity, social justice, second chances.” But no one told him it was going to take years to take effect. Californians had high expectations when they overwhelmingly voted in 2016 to...

By Emily Alpert Reyes | July 1, 2020 Los Angeles is revamping its rules for handing out licenses to cannabis businesses, amid anger and disappointment over the tumultuous rollout of a program meant to address the damage done by criminalizing marijuana.   The rules passed unanimously Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council tighten the criteria for new applicants seeking to qualify for the “social equity” program, which is supposed to ensure that people from communities hit hardest by the war on drugs...

By Dean Boerner | April 21, 2020 Between a capital crunch, a vaping controversy and now the coronavirus shutdowns, the cannabis industry is at a juncture that could reshape its property market. Before both “vapegate” and the economic slowdown, the recent series of troubles for cannabis began when valuations entered a steep descent, making capital availability a serious issue. Now, the totality of challenges is “crystallizing a distinction between the haves and have nots,” according to Richard Acosta, CEO of Inception REIT,...

By Emily Alpert Reyes | March 31, 2020   A newly released audit found that although some cannabis entrepreneurs got into Los Angeles’ application system ahead of time, the city took “reasonable and appropriate” steps to prevent them from having any unfair advantage.   An L.A. official is recommending, in light of those findings, that the Department of Cannabis Regulation press forward with processing and awarding licenses for new retailers, which had been suspended last year amid concerns about fairness.   Auditors found that the department...

By Emily Alpert Reyes | January 12, 2020   When Cat Packer was chosen to head a Los Angeles city department that would help usher in the legalization of marijuana, then-Council President Herb Wesson billed her appointment as a bold example of what Los Angeles stood for.   Packer had been an activist with the Drug Policy Alliance who was firmly focused on how the war on drugs had battered communities of color. She was young, black and openly gay, with tailored suits, hair...

By Emily Alpert Reyes | January 12, 2020   When Cat Packer was chosen to head a Los Angeles city department that would help usher in the legalization of marijuana, then-Council President Herb Wesson billed her appointment as a bold example of what Los Angeles stood for.   Packer had been an activist with the Drug Policy Alliance who was firmly focused on how the war on drugs had battered communities of color. She was young, black and openly gay, with tailored suits, hair...