Who should run New York’s legal marijuana shops?
According to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, those with a marijuana arrest record will be first in line for retail licenses.
By the end of 2022, New York State will announce plans to usher in its first outlets for retail sales of marijuana. According to regulations adopted by the Cannabis Control Board of New York, the first batch of retail licenses to sell adult-use cannabis will go to people convicted of weed-related crimes before the drug was legalized or to their relatives.
The policy is part of a concerted push to assure that early business owners in the state's projected billion-dollar marijuana industry will be members of communities that have been affected by the nation's decades-long war on drugs.
It appears as if this proposal is a misstep in the state's march to legalization. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep the previous black market as far away as possible and not welcome its participants in with open arms?
Some think it's good business sense and is fair. They may argue that those most affected by the "war on drugs" should get their first shot at profiting from legal marijuana and, since they had prior experience selling weed, would just be transplanting their skills to a now-legal market.
The reality is that former dealers are not interested in setting up legal shops—too much overhead. Also, why would the skills involved in selling drugs illegally apply to a shop regulated by the state? Running a legal business entails tax compliance and navigating the daily tasks of running a retail outlet--and having to deal with constant city and state government oversight in their daily lives. Running drugs in the street generally selects for individuals skilled at dodging the law and extracting profits, often through coercion.
According to this logic, former felons should receive priority when running for elected offices due to their experience in lying, cheating, and stealing. Better yet, when New York adopts universal handgun and assault rifle carry laws, I am sure the first permits will be issued to people with prior firearm-related arrests. After all, they were impacted by the current laws and knew best how to use a weapon.
The historians will add this to their You Can't Make This Stuff Up file.
Clayton is the founder and publisher of the social and political commentary newsletter Think Things Through and host of the Think Things Through Podcast.
Twitter: @claytoncraddock
Since the entire American fiscal way of life is essentially a gargantuan money-laundering plant for the purpose of manipulating tax codes for maximum profitability with minimal scrutiny, it is inevitable that this new type of washing machine will end up in the hands of those forces and factions which have the most experience, resources and volume capabilities to clean their proceeds from other (?;) ventures. I'm not at all clear on why this is not popularly comprehended as its most obvious feature.