As the legalization of recreational marijuana approaches in Illinois, both the public and the private sectors are prioritizing how to correct the ills of the war on drugs, and its impact on certain communities in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
In September, the state of Illinois announced the Illinois Social Equity Applicant program, which helps to encourage the participation of marginalized communities in the budding marijuana industry. To be a Social Equity Applicant, a person must be a resident in an area that has been disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests.
In Chicago, most of the neighborhoods designated as disproportionately impacted are on the city’s west and south sides. Specific neighborhoods include Englewood, Chatham, Roseland and Humboldt Park.
Candidates also qualify if they themselves have been arrested for marijuana-related activity that is eligible for expungement under the new law.
To help funnel potential cannabis entrepreneurs into the state’s program, Chicago-based marijuana giant Cresco Labs is launching a new incubator program aimed to help disadvantaged entrepreneurs launch their own marijuana dispensaries.
Cresco announced the details of the new incubator at a press conference in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood Wednesday morning. The program will provide qualifying social equity applicants with the resources, knowledge and guidance needed to successfully apply for the 75 available dispensary licenses in Illinois’ cannabis program.
The program is kicking off with 35 groups of applicants that total 130 participants. Cresco is helping applicants create a dispensary business plan to pitch to the state of Illinois. During this phase, participants receive seminars and one-on-one mentoring sessions to learn best practices from cannabis industry experts.
If the state grants any of the applicants a dispensary license, they will head to the next phase of Cresco’s incubator, which helps get the budding weed businesses off the ground. Cresco says it will help them select growing and retail sites, navigate regulations and provide operational support.
“We want to perpetuate a long-lasting system of change that will result in greater equality and representation through both a macro and micro lens,” said Barrington Rutherford, the senior vice president of Cresco Labs and a board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, in a statement. “Though we hope to have a great impact on the industry, it’s also important to us that program participants have the tools they need to own and operate a successful cannabis business that both flourishes and gives back to the community in the long term.”
The incubator is part of Cresco’s SEED (Social Equity and Educational Development) initiative. Cresco said its Chicago incubator program is just one of many social equity initiatives it is offering nationwide. Other programs also focus on uplifting military veterans.
Besides offering equity initiatives, Cresco is actively investing in tech startups that support the cannabis industry as the space is expected to grow.
