At a recent meeting of the Connecticut Social Equity Council the board voted to approve some of the first applications for social equity cultivation licenses. Out of 41 applications only 16 qualified for social equity status according to a review from CohnReznick, a Boston audit firm. Connecticut law requires that social equity applicants own and control 65 percent of their cultivation license. Eight applicants were disqualified based on their ownership and control agreements. According to Geoffrey Magon, a representative for CohnReznick, some of the ownership and management agreements included clauses that restricted voting power and created other control conflicts.
The Social Equity Council ultimately approved sixteen social equity applications in total. To proceed applicants must pass background checks with the Department of Consumer Protection. Social equity applicants are not subject to the cannabis lottery to encourage more participation by individuals harmed by the war on drugs. At the same time Connecticut law requires applicants to pay a hefty $3 million fee for a provisional license which has been called the highest fee for social equity applicants in the United States.
Find out more from CT Examiner here: https://ctexaminer.com/2022/07/12/first-approvals-for-recreational-marijuana-growers-spark-debate-over-equity-and-ownership/
