Fair Play

It’s clear that New Mexicans care about social and economic equity in the cannabis industry, according to a survey on the subject that garnered responses from about 420 people throughout the state, in every county except Harding and Hidalgo.

Emily Kaltenbach, chairwoman of the Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Committee, at a meeting Thursday presented the survey results. It closed this week after circulating for about a month. A subcommittee is expected to share its recommendations on equity—informed in part by the survey—with the full committee on Dec. 16.

Respondents were asked about barriers to entry for both potential business owners and workers, eligibility criteria for those applying for equity assistance and strategies the state should use to assist equity applicants.

Income and access to capital came up again and again.

Asked what criteria should qualify people for the programs, some of the most popular ideas were: a household income below 80% of the average median income in the state for 2019 and residency for the past five years in a census tract where at least 17% of the households have incomes at or below the federal poverty level.

For potential business owners, respondents said the biggest barrier to entry is a lack of access to capital. For workers, a lack of access to training and education were top responses. Wages were also listed as a concern.

Another major theme of the survey results: a need for the state to focus on repairing the impacts of the drug war.

Almost 200 people reported that citations or arrests for a marijuana misdemeanor or felony would stand in the way of entering what is sure to be a multi-billion-dollar industry.

A similar sentiment arose in conversations with community organizers, which took place over the past month, according to Antionette Tellez-Humble, former state director of the national Drug Policy Alliance—a position Kaltenbach currently holds—and Nate Morrison, who the committee contracted to guide conversations centered around equity.

Conversation participants said cannabis legalization has brought relief to their communities, but it “doesn’t erase all of the impacts of the War on Drugs that [they’ve] already suffered,” Tellez-Humble said at the Thursday meeting.

Morrison said many participants think the state should be clear and specific in who exactly qualifies as an equity applicant, rather than only listing more general criteria, like “people of color.”

“Specifically name the communities and groups that have been harmed by criminalization of cannabis,” Morrison said. “Name Black folks, name Indigenous folks. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘We know that there are disproportionately high arrest rates of cannabis users in Black communities, so folks from Black communities should be able to be equity applicants.’”

New Mexico’s legalization scheme requires the state to enact procedures that promote and encourage participation in the industry by people whose communities have been disproportionately harmed by prohibition, no later than Jan. 1, 2022.

The survey drew respondents from a broad demographic and geographic range.

Overall, 66% of respondents were white and 44% non-white, while 55% were men, 43% were women and 3% were nonbinary or gender non-conforming. Over a dozen tribal, pueblo and sovereign nation affiliations were listed, including Tesuque, Jemez, Acoma and Navajo.