'This was supposed to be reparations' Why is LA's cannabis industry devastating black entrepreneurs?

Black merchants affected by the war on drugs are denied licenses and thrown into debt as white owners thrive

Sam Levin in Los Angeles
@SamTLevin
Mon 3 Feb 2020 11.00 GMT
Last modified on Mon 3 Feb 2020 11.01 GMT

A Los Angeles government program set up to provide cannabis licenses to people harmed by the war on drugs has been plagued by delays, scandal and bureaucratic blunders, costing some intended beneficiaries hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Black entrepreneurs and activists across LA told the Guardian that the city’s embattled “social equity” program has left aspiring business owners on an indefinite waiting list, causing potentially irreparable damage to their families’ finances and preventing them from opening marijuana shops they have been planning for years.

Fewer than 20 of the 100 businesses on track to receive a license through the program appear to be black-owned, according to estimates from advocates, who say the community most disproportionately targeted by marijuana arrests is again facing discrimination. And even some of those applicants now face precarious futures.

Meanwhile, the existing LA industry is thriving – with many white business owners at the helm.

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