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Redemption at Last

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]O[/dropcap]akland City Hall was full to the brim with hopeful dispensary permit holders on Jan. 31. Most were left disappointed, but four lucky people were awarded with the city’s first equity permits. Oakland’s equity permit program was created due to multiple ongoing studies that indicate that people of color are much more likely to be arrested in Oakland for cannabis-related offenses.

According to public city data from 2015, African-Americans in Oakland accounted for 77 percent of all cannabis arrests. Latinos accounted for 15 percent and Asian Americans accounted for four percent. All of this happened despite similar consumption rates to white people.

The program is designed to force the city to offset the blatant racial disparity found in cannabis arrest data. “The data shows that for over two decades, black and brown residents were arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses at disparately high rates, while largely white cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors, who were not operating entirely above board either, flourished under changing laws designed to accommodate the burgeoning industry,” said City of Oakland Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn.

Using a lottery-style cage hopper full of ping pong balls, Oakland’s first cannabis dispensary permits were randomly selected. Only four individuals were chosen for the equity permit program, while the others lost out on the opportunity. In addition, four permits were awarded to general applicants, or those who didn’t qualify for the equity permit program.

General applicants were chosen based on a complicated point system and were awarded points for plans that included security, odor mitigation and neighborhood beautification, as well as for hiring local workers.

In total, 115 total dispensary permit applications were submitted, with 46 equity applications and 69 general applications. The eight new dispensaries will join Oakland’s eight existing dispensaries for a total of 16 dispensaries.

In order to qualify for the equity permit program, an applicant’s income must fall within a specific threshold. Applicants must be Oakland residents who earn equal or less than 80 percent of Oakland’s average median income which is $56,300 for a one-person home, or $64,350 for a two-person household in 2017. They also must have lived in disadvantaged neighborhoods for 10 of the last 20 years or have been convicted of a cannabis-related crime in Oakland.

Also included within the program is the Equity Incubator, which allows entrepreneurs to sponsor businesses run by equity permit applicants.

“The data shows that for over two decades, black and brown residents were arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses at disparately high rates, while largely white cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors, who were not operating entirely above board either, flourished under changing laws designed to accommodate the burgeoning industry.”

The equity and general application winner names were released on Jan. 31 and Karen Boyd, citywide communications director for the city of Oakland confirmed the winning names with CULTURE.

Equity-qualifying applicant winners:

  • Alphonso T. Blunt Jr.
  • Marshall Crosby
  • Rickey McCullough
  • Zhongzhang Yan

General application winners:

  • Kanna Inc.
  • Have a Heart
  • Ron Leggett
  • Three Turkeys Management LLC

Now, all eight finalists have 90 days to lock down a location site and undergo a public hearing prior to opening up.

The Equity Permit Program is just a drop in the bucket for the grievances that people of color in Oakland have endured under the unjust “War on Drugs.” It won’t give the years back to the people who have spent hard time behind bars for a substance that is now recreationally legal. But the gesture provides at least an acknowledgement that we need to strive for diversity and equal rights.

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