Latest news with #CannabisSocialEquityProgram
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cannabis entrepreneurs urge state lawmakers to enact industry reform
RICHTON PARK, Ill. (WGN) — Cannabis owners and advocates are demanding a change to state laws and regulations that they said are holding them back from staying afloat and making a profit. Several years ago, husband and wife combo Rick and Michelle Ringold got into the cannabis business after state lawmakers passed legislation making recreational cannabis legal. Now, the Ringolds own Galaxy in south suburban Richton Park and hold Cannabis Social Equity Licenses to grow, distribute and transport cannabis, but said strict state regulations, high taxes, and limited capital are making it challenging to stay afloat. 'We really believed in this vision of truly creating economic growth and empowerment within our organizations,' Michelle Ringold said. '[But] nobody sleeps at night when everything you own is tied up into uncertainty, and that's where we are,' Rick Ringold said. On Sunday morning, the Ringolds stood in unity with several other entrepreneurs who have the same cannabis licenses they hold, hoping to pressure state lawmakers into following through on promises those gathered said the state has yet to make good on. Ted Parks, Chairman of the Independent Third Party Carriers Association, told WGN News the Cannabis Social Equity Program (CSEP), adopted by Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020, was meant to right some of the wrongs caused by decades of criminalization and systemic exclusion from the cannabis industry. Ambrose Jackson, CEO of the 1937 Group, said businesses he's worked with have had to throw out various financial projections based on assumptions made before opening due to discrepancies in the CSEP. 'To get into the market craft growing 10 million dollars, we've mortgaged our home. We liquidated our 401k. We have went to family and friends to get money,' Michelle Ringold said. More from Jewell – Fulton Market welcomes SVNGRN: An art center promoting cultural unity for all There are funding mechanisms available through the state, according to State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-8th District), but those levers have yet to be set in motion. He said Illinois promised Social Equity Business Grants to help offset costs as a part of the CSEP, but the state has not awarded those grants to recreational cannabis businesses in Illinois. 'We want to make sure that we pass legislation to provide grants, not loans to these social equity companies,' Ford said. 'We also want to pass legislation to allow these social equity dispensaries to allow medical patients to use their dispensaries at the same rate they are paid at medical dispensaries. That would help out a great deal.' In the days to come, cannabis advocates are headed to Springfield to demand a series of actions they want from state lawmakers: Impose a moratorium on licensing fees and provide a credit for fees paid before businesses were operating. Allow equitable access to capital and grant funding. Amend regulations and reduce taxes. Allow medical patients to use medical cards at any licensed dispensary. 'A lot of things that we thought would happen from a legislative standpoint really didn't happen, and we don't know when it's going to happen,' Rick Ringold said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dispensaries sue city of Grand Rapids over social equity policy
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The owners of six Grand Rapids dispensaries are suing the city, claiming its social equity policies have effectively become a fine. The city in 2018 adopted the Marihuana Industry Voluntary Equitable Development Agreement, and in 2020 adopted the Cannabis Social Equity Program, which required cannabis licensees to adopt a social equity plan, according to the lawsuit. 'Nationwide, significant harm has been caused to communities of color by the War on Drugs and oppressive cannabis regulation,' the . 'Through partnerships with business allies and community we have the ability to be on the right side of history and help make real change – equitably. This Policy is intended to be a step toward helping to support equitable economic initiatives, including job creation, removing barriers to local ownership, and contracting opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged groups within the community.' What W MI communities are doing with $30M in pot funding According to the city's website, participation is voluntary. However, once a plan is submitted to the city, it is legally enforceable. The city also gives priority to applicants based on points earned through the policy, with points awarded in five weighted categories: local ownership, workforce diversity, supplier diversity, new business development (minority business incubator) and cannabis community fund investment. A plan could include things like committing to maintaining a diverse workforce, having diverse suppliers and helping others start a business. The policy says that if a licensee does not meet the requirements, it would face sanctions, like a reduction in how long the license would last or a report to the state. The sanctions listed in the policy originally did not include any monetary fines. In 2022, the City Commission recognized that most dispensaries would not be able to meet the commitments they made, and the city created a point transfer system, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims that in practice, the point transfer system meant that licensees that are not compliant with the city's social equity policies are told to pay up to 3% of their gross revenue, or risk losing their license. The lawsuit says that as far as the dispensaries' attorneys are aware, the funds go into the city's general fund. The point transfer system was not in place when the dispensaries submitted their forms, the lawsuit says. Six dispensaries are involved in the lawsuit: Fluresh, owned by Fluresh LLC; Ascend Cannabis, owned by FPAW Michigan LLC; two High Profile locations, owned by QPS Michigan Holdings LLC and Fish Ladder Holdings LLC; two Skymint locations, owned by The District Park LLC and Green Skies-Healing Tree LLC. Between 2022 and 2024, the six dispensaries involved in the lawsuit have paid a total of $2.2 million, the lawsuit says, paying anywhere between $40,000 to $512,000 a year. 'The City of Grand Rapids has devised a convoluted framework to fine, tax, and/or penalize its cannabis licensees through improper fees, for failing to comply with 'social equity' policies that have been incorporated into the City's cannabis ordinance,' the lawsuit says. 'Substantively, the City has adopted what is really a revenue generating policy under the veil of 'social equity,' as a means of avoiding scrutiny from voters or to circumvent the explicit cannabis fee and fine limitations placed on municipalities under State law.' It claims that the city has put the dispensaries' state license at risk by waiting to file notices of noncompliance until a few weeks before their licenses were set to expire. For example, the city filed a notice of compliance against Fluresh with the state's Cannabis Regulatory Agency in 2024, almost forcing it to close its operations both in Grand Rapids and throughout the state. The CRA ultimately told the city to withdraw the notice, and Fluresh was able to renew its state license on the last possible day, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says factors that made Fluresh no longer compliant included its founder moving from Grand Rapids to Traverse City to be closer to family during the pandemic. It also claims the city has been 'overbearing' while trying to enforce the policy: at one point, it asked for the personal tax returns for the past 10 years for all of Fluresh's employees, the lawsuit says. The dispensaries have requested a preliminary injunction on the matter. The lawsuit is asking, among other things, that the city repay the fees they paid in 2023 and 2024. A spokesperson for the city declined to comment. 'The City does not comment on pending litigation,' the spokesperson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
