As you may know, state law requires the Commission to include people from communities disproportionately harmed by prohibition in the legal cannabis industry. One of the ways we do this is through the Social Equity Program, which provides technical assistance, training, fee waivers, and more to people from disproportionately harmed communities. You can find eligibility requirements and the application on the Cannabis Control Commission’s equity page. The program has four tracks, based on an applicant’s specific interests in the cannabis industry, their current skills, and the outcomes they are seeking to gain from the program.

The four tracks are:

  1. Entrepreneur
    • Those seeking licensure and ownership
  2. Core
    • Those interested in cannabis careers at marijuana businesses at the managerial and executive level
  3. Re-Entry & Entry
    • Those interested in entry-level positions within marijuana businesses
  4. Ancillary
    • Those with existing skills that are directly transferable to working with or supporting cannabis businesses. Inventors and developers of new cannabis accessories and tools.

Note that there is no end date to apply for the social equity program. This program is different from Economic Empowerment Certification, which is a type of priority review that under state law was granted in 2018 to 123 applicants who demonstrated that their businesses promote economic empowerment in disproportionately harmed communities. These applicants will receive prioritized review of their business applications. Certified economic empowerment applicants are separate and distinct from Social Equity Program participants, although you could potentially be both.