Oakland: priority given to people convicted of cannabis-related offences when allocating licenses

When the city of Oakland, California, decided in May on a new licensing program that would give priority to people convicted of a cannabis-related offense, or people who have long lived in neighborhoods where weed-related arrests are legion, no one could have guessed how many people would apply.

At the end of July, the figures were in. Of the 81 people who applied for a license (excluding dispensaries), 35 were part of this «fair trade» panel, with only 10 already having a location in mind. Of the remaining 46, all but 7 had a location in mind. The granting of a license can only be triggered when the applicant has a location in mind.

Darlene Flynn, Director Department of Race and Equity of Oakland explains this initiative: «We wanted to open up a way for us to recruit more people to work for us, and give them an opportunity to enter this industry».

The criteria for entering the «fair» program are as follows: to have been arrested after November 5, 1996 and convicted of a cannabis-related offense, or to have lived in 1 of the 21 neighborhoods in East and West Oakland where cannabis-related arrests had the highest statistics. You must also earn less than 80% of the city's median income, or 52,650$ for a single individual.

People who don't fit these criteria can team up with a validated applicant. These partnerships are called incubators, and 9 teams have applied so far.

«When you look at it from a distance, it's a very new approach and it's probably not natural for people to create these kinds of partnerships between socio-economic groups,» notes Greg Minor, who oversees the program. «We've organized networking to help applicants work out their business model, obtain loans and prepare their license application».

The good news at this stage of the program is that many people have applied for the equity program. However, a number of obstacles remain. Firstly, the ability to prove one's situation, which is not as simple as in France. And finding the final location, which is the key to obtaining the license, in addition to having the funds.

Applicants have until January 1, 2018 to be awarded their license, date when the recreational market will open.