While last weekend was mostly prominently celebrated by cannabis consumers and supporters through the 4/20 holiday, it also marked another major landmark for Colorado’s legal cannabis industry.
The state, which was one of the first in the nation alongside Washington to legalize cannabis for adult use, has continued to make adjustments to its program throughout the years, with Denver launching its cannabis social equity program three years ago last weekend. The program, like many others in the U.S., aims to support residents with previous cannabis convictions and those populations most impacted by the War on Drugs to launch their own cannabis businesses.
Just ahead of that milestone, Denver issued its 50th social equity license, according to spokesperson Eric Escudero from the city’s Department of Excise and Licenses, as reported by Denver 7.
Escudero said that creating more opportunities for those in the state that have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by cannabis criminalization has become “a huge focus for Denver” over the years.
“For them to have the opportunity to benefit financially, economically, and hopefully, it can be a positive change to help them overcome some of the negative things that happened to them,” Escudero said. “So we’re really proud of the fact that we hit a major milestone in the last week. We issued the 50th license from the City and County of Denver to an owner who qualifies as a social equity business person for marijuana. That’s a huge number, and we’re really proud of that.”
Even though the license marks a notable progressive step for Colorado’s legal cannabis industry, Escudero recognized that this is also a unique if not challenging time for the industry, both in Colorado and the country as a whole, as reform measures continue to spread.
“When you look at the marijuana market right now in Denver, it’s really the first marijuana recession in some ways, because we’ve seen legalization spread across the United States,” Escudero said. He also cited that fewer people are coming to visit Colorado, and with more cities opting in to allow for legal recreational cannabis sales, those who do may not immediately choose Denver for their trips and cannabis shopping needs.
Escudero also referenced that these trends have impacted their social equity licensees to some degree.
“But we also recognize there are some folks who have got the license and then closed…so we’ve seen now about 45 total, with 50 now awarded since the beginning of the program,” said Escudero.
Denver’s social equity program reserves store, transporter, cultivation, manufacturing and hospitality licenses for social equity employees through July 1, 2027, and there is no cap on the number of licenses available to social equity applicants.
One of those applicants, and now licensees, is Beatrice Carranza, owner of Bachaz. She recently received her license through the city’s social equity program. Speaking with Denver 7, Carranza explained that her business is a Hispanic brand built around the values of family, authenticity, passion and care.
Bachaz intends to incorporate her culture into the brand and cater products with the Latino community in mind, beginning with the creation of THC Mexican infused gummies, handcrafted, covered with tamarind and with an accent of chili flakes to offer that unique flavor profile. Citing the repetitive nature of the edible products in the market, Carranza said that there is “still a lot of room for growth, innovative products coming into the industry.”
Carranza also noted that Denver’s social equity program has been helpful to bring her ideas and products to life and hopes that taking a unique approach with her product line will help to give her and Bachaz the edge needed to stay competitive in the industry.
“When we started this process two years ago through the social equity program available to the people affected by the War on Drugs,” Carranza said. “Us coming with that background, it was really difficult for us to even get employment, stable housing. So seeing this opportunity now that we are able to come into the cannabis industry, because before we didn’t have it, we were pushed to the back when it’s just started, was great.”
A majority of Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 to legalize cannabis in November 2012, with the market launching in 2014 and marking some of the first recreational cannabis sales in the nation. While the state, along with a number of other regions across the country, has seen some downward sales trends in recent years, Colorado’s total adult-use and medical sales surpassed $15 billion last year.
