Transcripts For CSPAN Political Leaders Activists Journalists And Industry Stakeholders Speak... 20240707

cannabis policy summit in washington, d.c. during this portion, we will hear from representative barbara lee, ed perlmutter, and nancy mace on why they support cannabis legalization and reform. this is just over three hours. >> good afternoon, everybody. thank you for joining us this afternoon at the reagan building. we are thrilled to be back. it has been an incredible and exciting morning of discussions today. i'm especially excited about our next talk because it features two people i really admire. one is a professor of digital storytelling and interim provost of education at george washington university. she is also a close friend an incredible supporter of cannabis advocacy and also an incredible advocate for the power of storytelling. the second person i'm excited to introduce today is gary chambers, who is running for senate in louisiana. i think if we can talk about the power of storytelling, that mr. chambers experienced and what we are seeing with him as far as he has captured public attention is a testament to the power of storytelling. without further ado, i would love to bring our next two speakers to the stage for what i'm certain will be an interesting discussion. [applause] >> hello. >> good afternoon, everyone. >> hello, hello. >> hi. we get the lovely coveted spot after lunch, which i feel is better than before lunch. >> yeah, nobody is aggravated. >> exactly. hope early, everybody is feeling good, got something to eat and you are ready to dive in with us. it is such an honor to be able to chat with you for a little bit this afternoon. i'm just going to dive right in. for anyone in our audience who might not know who you are and where you are from, can you officially tell us who you are and where you're from? >> my name is gary chambers, and i'm running for the u.s. senate in louisiana. and i'm silly's daddy -- i'm zoe 's daddy. that's my most important title. >> we talked about that. i'm's mom. we talked about how importance he -- i'm isaiah's mom. we talked about how important the legacy we leave for our children is. i want to talk about how we came to public and we just talked about our shared past as a storyteller. how did you get here? >> this year, 10 years ago, i started with two of my friends a company called the roof collection, which was a black-owned media platform -- a company called the rouge collection. in the beginning, we did a bunch of trendy things -- fashion and kind of what was going on in the city. in 2015, a brother named lamar johnson was pulled over by police in baker, louisiana, just a small town in east baton rouge parish where i live. he went to parish prison. a few days later, they said that he hung himself. this was right before sandra bland. i had used my platform to talk about trayvon martin and mike brown, and then something happened in my own backyard, so i wrote a column about it and 40,000 people read it. at that point, it was the biggest column i had ever written. at this point, they opened up a misdemeanor jail. my logic was if you cannot handle the people in parish prison that you run every day, then you cannot handle a misdemeanor jail, so i went to my first city council meeting. when i showed up, two dozen other young black men showed up. we spoke at the microphone and killed it, and i never stopped going. [cheers and applause] >> louisiana might be one of my favorite states in the country because i love essence festival in new orleans, but there's so much rich history, and i love the people of new orleans, and i love the people of louisiana where i have had an amazing opportunity to spend some time. being from baton rouge, we were talking a little earlier about some of the most important issues that are at the forefront of your campaign but also in the forefront of your mind. i love that you share a little bit more about the main issues where louisiana ranks, if it's with education, where louisiana ranks with opportunities, but also where louisiana ranks with the number of people that they imprison for nonviolent offenses. >> i live in the state that ranks 50th in the nation, so no matter how bad you think you've got it where you from, somewhere in louisiana, it is worse. we rank number 50 in crime, 49 in opportunity, 46th in health care, 49 in environmental quality, and we have had republicans running our legislature almost as long as i can remember. people asked me why i'm running for the senate. i live in the worst place in the country and i've got a guy who sounds like foghorn leghorn representing me. what you mean why am i running? when people ask why did you smoke a blunt in your first and, there are people in this country in jail for nonviolent offenses and decriminalizing it ain't enough. and every level, we should be having conversations about some of the immoral decisions we allowed to still remain in this country and i don't really care about being liked. i care about getting stuff done. [cheers and applause] >> i want to talk more about kevin allen and the driving force for you behind the work that you are doing, and i believe you will continue to do because the reality is that louisiana is winnable for you. louisiana is not a staunch red state. >> kevin allen is just one name of many men and women who are incarcerated, not just in louisiana but around this country, and you know, we have a president who has the ability to lead right now. we have a united states senate that has the ability to lead right now. if the feds move to d schedule, then they can create from the federal level what equitable policy looks like in this country which means the state cannot go beyond what the feds deeming legal. i think we need that level of movement so that people like kevin allen can get out of jail and that we pd' to kay ivey in alabama to discern if somebody in jail ought to get free, right? if we've got to wait for brian kemp and kay ivey to let black folks out of jail or ron desantis in florida, we are dam ned, right? this not going to happen -- it is not going to happen. i live in a state with the state takes my tax dollars, grows weed and louisiana state university and southern university to sell to the medical market -- the state takes my money, grow the weed at the educational institutions, sell it to the people in the state and still got people in jail for it. if that isn't hypocrisy and duplicitous, i don't know what is. >> an absolute ludicrous policymaking. >> and we are paying $19,000 a year to jail every one of those people that are in jail rather than $11,000 a year to educate our children. if you want to know why we rank 48 and education, right? let's guess who doesn't rank 48 in education. colorado and weed is legal. they rank number four in education, right? they rank number four in education and it's been hundreds of millions of dollars from the cannabis industry to do it. hundreds of millions of dollars from the cannabis industry to build better schools and better roads. [cheers and applause] >> we can do all the math here. the math seems pretty straightforward and pretty simple. so when you win -- >> i like that. >> when you win -- [cheers and applause] when you win, can you lay out a couple of the top priorities you will focus on. you mentioned earlier you gained national attention for your first and. -- your first ad. the headlines for senate candidate smokes marijuana in ad, but there was a lot of other things you talked about. >> and for me, that is the meat and potatoes of this. i smoked for personal reasons, but the conversation is necessary for everything we have discussed thus far. and furthermore -- and i was with my press secretary. we went to a growth facility in maryland and when we walked out, she said i felt like i went to new jack city on steroids, right? and i'm going to tell you the truth. i have gone to growth facilities of cannabis companies owned by white people, right? i met a young lady named sarah who went to lsu and came to maryland and worked at this facility while black folks still in jail for it at home. as a black man, let me just be real with you -- nothing about this feels good. there's not enough black people in the facility they are building. don't tell me you about equity and there's no black folk when i'm walking through here. if that offends you, then you might be a little racist. and that's something you've got to deal with within yourself because when we talk about equity, if it is just in conversation, if i walk in a building i see one spot, that's your black friend, and that's not acceptable, right? if we are going to be equitable, then there should be representation. >> we look at everything from barriers to entry, we look at the fact that individuals leaving the penitentiary system really never leave because the stain is always with them, if its access to voting, access to capital if they wanted to enter into the cannabis industry, it is practically impossible. >> i did not answer your last question. let me get back to that, two priorities -- one is the economy and how we build an economy that works for everybody. the gas is high, the bread is high, the rent is high -- everything high. >> everything is to dam hi -- too damned high. >> and the minimum wage has not gone up. we won the u.s. congress, but the senate, we have a razor-thin majority that does not allow. that's number one. number two is figuring out how we build equity from the inside. i think there's a lot of folks there who have worked in government their whole life that represent us that have not actually built a business, work through these hurdles to understand that the government process of getting a piece of that pie is way too difficult, and that small minority-owned businesses, black-owned businesses have more of a challenge leveling up to be able to compete in that environment. there are numbers that will come out through the biden administration at some point about how much money is in the real system contracting for black and minority businesses. as a u.s. senator, i want to figure out how to unravel that. what we don't realize is this country talked about being anti-socialism, but corporate socialism exists in this country in every city, town, state, and every government. the government takes your tax dollars and put them into corporate interests that don't look like you, and as a result, they build big businesses and call it capitalism. >> mm, mm, and in. you assume the word socialism is a bad word until you realize what it is and how it actually plays out into our system. >> he said something that i want to make sure is clear. louisiana is winnable. we have a democrat as governor right now. they don't tell you that. he was elected with 536,000 votes. there are 900,000 registered black voters in black voters in the state of louisiana. there is 1.2 million eligible black voters predicted tells you most black folks vote for democrats. here is another thing, the governor of louisiana was elected with 450,000 votes that were black voters. if just black voters in louisiana go vote, we can beat john kennedy. [applause] the value is that the 30% of our state that is white agrees with us on the policies and process of how we build an equitable louisiana. the greatest challenges america has ever faced, many have been rooted in racism. we still deal with those things today. and people want to get beyond that point. when we get beyond that point is making sure there is representation at every level of government possible. we have to ask ourselves, why in the blackest states in america, louisiana and mississippi come has there not been a black as an elected date wide since reconstruction? and in wisconsin you can get a black man to be lieutenant governor and black folks are 12% of the population in wisconsin, 34% in louisiana and mississippi, 34% of the population in georgia. it is absolutely possible for this to be done. what is not happening is, the democratic party and people in the organizations that fund political movements have not taken the south seriously. joe biden would not be president if it wasn't for the south. how did he get there? south carolina. then, he swept through the south, when the party nomination and he became president. if we are forward-thinking people in the country and you are not paying attention real estate in the south, you are tripping. because the place where your money is going to go the furthest is in the south. guess what? we don't have as much traffic as y'all, ok? and our food is better. [applause] our food is better, but number three, that upper -- of the opportunities that exist there to redefine what a country can look like is limitless. and we get to build something there. i am tired of looking at whatever but else built. i want to see what we can build, what the next generation and build. what will be the next great city of america westmark i believe it is going to be in louisiana and i am going to work hard for it. >> we are looking to wrap up, unfortunately. but it is not the end of the conversation, it is really just the beginning. most of the people in the audience right now and many streaming online are not louisiana voters. how can we support you? quacks -- >> if you have already given a contribution, thank you. we have raised 790 $2000 in the first quarter of our fundraising, which is a big deal. we have done that with myla -- with small dollar contributions from all around the country. we have a strategy, raise the money outside and spend the money inside on a grassroots movement to win the election. we are going to organize bus trips over the summer where people can spend a weekend with us and do doorknocking. i know you all like to go to new orleans, but there is other places in louisiana. i need y'all to spread it around a little bit. but those are the things -- volunteer from where you are. if you can't come to louisiana, we are going to have phone banking this summer. and if you say you want me to win, i cannot do this alone. i am one man with a team of people that can only do so much. but we can target voters, call them, agitate the atmosphere, build a ground game. you can help us by phone banking, donating and getting on the bus. those are the three main ways that people can help us. we have been unapologetic of showing people but the behind-the-scenes of this looks like, because most people don't understand what it takes to run a political campaign. for me, we make that available to people so they can see where your money is going. these shirts eight -- aint free these consultants in the room ain't free. consultants we have hired that produce these ads that have been the biggest in the country are black and brown consultants. why does that matter? because in the political world where we have 100 u.s. senators, the majority of people that make the money of those hundreds of millions of dollars invested in politics are not black and brown people. if we wonder why we have inequity, is because all the money is going in one direction. if we want to fix the crime, spread the wealth. crime is a poverty issue. and we need to talk about that. and why black men are smoking weed -- because the government are whooping our ass everyday. you need a blood debt to being a black man in america. [applause] that is the reality that we deal with. and not just blacks. if you are any marginalized group in the country and you walk out your door, you are faced with the reality of an institution of government discriminating against you at some point. that is not acceptable. make it legal so people can ease their minds, if you're not going to ease the regulations that you are stressing us out with. i am sorry, i was on my soapbox. >> you are a natural storyteller, and stories need to be told. as you said, there is so much more to louisiana than new orleans and these other places. i do love louisiana cuisine, i feel like we do crab cakes better here. >> crab cakes. we do everything else. >> we will give them some. but what i think is really powerful is your use of storytelling and the fact you came from a storytelling background, whether it be the first article you wrote that received over 40,000 views, to your use of digital storytelling with your first ad that gained international and national news, and the ability of people, whether it is the shock and awe of lighting up a blunt in your ad, but the reality is, it was a tool to draw people in to hopefully listen to you and the issues and points you are making about the challenges facing louisiana. >> i am a spiritual man. i grew up in the church. and you don't have to be a believer to understand what i am about to say. but there is a scripture that says it takes the foolish things in the world to confound the wise. smoking the blunt made people talk about kevin allen. smoking the blunt is creating this conversation today to talk with you about how we flip that space. it has created an avenue for us to be all over the country, pushing an agenda to talk about louisiana politics. when was the last time you heard anybody talking about louisiana politics? it takes the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. >> i can think of a better way to rock this up. mr. chambers, thank you so much for your time. he is going to be around a little while, you guys. so if you are interested in learning more about his campaign -- >> there is a fundraiser tonight, too. 9:00 p.m. at the eaton hotel. any of the people in these shirts right here can get you the information you need. [applause] and it would be wrong of me not to make sure that you know we have a fundraiser tonight. >> tonight at 9:00 at the eaton hotel if you can make it. if you can't come up one of the other big things is chairing. please -- sharing. please make sure that you share what you heard today, social media platforms and also word-of-mouth. we undervalue word-of-mouth. it is really important. we all know someone impacted by the injustices we have discussed today. we want to make sure we continue this conversation off the stage. thank you, i appreciate you all being here. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> good afternoon, everyone. i am director of government affairs at asa. we represent more than 5 million medical cannabis patients around this country. this is also a big week for asa. on tuesday, we celebrated our 20th anniversary of advocating for cannabis patients. [applause] thank you. this week, i have been doing reflecting on just how far we have come since asa was born. we think back two years ago, i was still very much in school, very much in the dare classes. "reefer madness" was still prevalent. there weren't as many states that had medical cannabis and certainly not recreational cannabis. at asa, we believe medical and recreational cannabis can and should coexist. however, there are special considerations we need to take into account when you think about cannabis patients, when you think about people who have debilitating medical conditions, diseases, disabilities. many protections, housing protections, portability protections for these people, who have to rely on cannabis as a medication and do not have the choice of skipping a house -- do se. every year, we put out a state of the states report and i would be remiss if i did not plug it. you can access the report at safeaccessnow.org/sos. we go through states and base -- and rate their medical cannabis program not based on the law but how it works for patients. affordability, access. spoiler alert -- not a single state got an a. i believe our highest grade was b plus and the average across the country was a b. we still have a long way to go even when we talk about medical cannabis, but we also have a long way to go when we talk about recreational cannabis. another thing that was very obvious in our state of the states report is the fact that federal inaction is arming patients and individuals across this country. not just medical cannabis patients, but individuals who find themselves in the criminal justice system for possession and use of something that is legal for a majority of americans now. that is why i am pleased to introduce a video message from congresswoman nancy mace of south carolina's first district who capitalized on her time in office to be a leader on cannabis issues. what is unique about representative aced from the eyes of americans for safe access is, she is one of a handful of coliseum makers at the federal, state or local level who have shared their story of being a cannabis patient and using medical cannabis. representative mace comes at this from a unique standpoint. she understands what it is like for medical cannabis patients and understands the reality of where we are now. in the words of representative mace, three things can unite americans around the dinner table -- animals, britney spears and cannabis. at asa, we look forward to working with members of congress, advocates in the room and those watching online, advocates doing the work on state grounds as well as cannabis patients to make this a reality. we should live in a world where everyone has access to something that is safe, especially patients who can receive a health benefit from it, including children. there are 5.1 million cannabis patients across this country, and we are past time for regulating it that the these par help, and that's why am excited to represent -- sorry, excited to reduce the representative who is at the forefront in the republican party to lead on cannabis policy issues. thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone, i want to thank you for the opportunity to talk to y'all today. i wish i could be there in person but i just finished, wrapped up a town hall with the business in my district, i represent south carolina's first congressional district. i want to thank them for reaching across on this issue. cannabis is as american as apple pie. both americans and democrats alike have fumbled the ball on this particular issue. this really shouldn't be a partisan issue. republicans, the vast majority of them are just as supportive as democrats on many of these issues. in particular, we are talking about giving states the power to do cannabis reform, and putting in a few regulatory pieces, real low taxes so that businesses can operate, getting micro lending and financing to businesses, putting protections in there for kids, protecting our veterans in very different communities, we need to get three criminalization done at the federal level and we have to get it across the finish line. we have to allow businesses to operate legally the way they have been for almost two decades in some places. in we have to stop the illegal markets and look at the inaction and procrastination. it's not good enough to say you are supportive of cannabis reform and then don't do anything about it. that's not good enough. if i was in d.c., i would be there in person with you all today. i want to thank them for passing the torch, for reaching across and try to get us to work together. i'm proud to be standing with each and everyone of you and i'm proud of the support that we have on the issue all the way around, and we all agree that we should get this done at the federal level, and it's past time to do that and i'm here to work with each and everyone of you to get it done. [applause] >> hi, everyone. i'm so excited to be here today because i believe that no one should be in prison for pot. [applause] >> my name is gracie, i'm this sites policy director at the last prisoner project. lp p is a national nonpartisan -- partisan organization focused on credible -- criminal justice and cannabis reform. our legal and reentry team provides service for our constituents around the country and i run our policy team that provides evidence-based assistance to stakeholders looking to advance just cannabis laws. our philosophy is that smart cannabis reforms build the momentum's and the proof of concept for broader legal system reform. at l pp, we believe that simply legalizing is not enough. true legalization necessitates accountability to the origins of prohibition, which has ravaged poor and minority communities for decades. looking forward by creating new markets is only half the job in a disingenuous one at that. with that, looking back at the prohibition left in its wake. to us, the most urgent component of repealing prohibition is providing retroactive relief to the victims of the classes and races were on cannabis. it is on their backs that cannabis is the lucrative industry it is today. that's why l pp not only supports our constituents with commissary funds, advocacy campaigns and legal services, but runs policy campaigns on state initiated a resentencing and record clearance. it is fundamentally unjust that across the country thousands of people are still serving sentences for activity that just outside the prison gates, now creates enormous profits for others. we are thrilled to see state initiated record clearance, what a lot of you know as automatic expungement, move into the mainstream over the last couple of years, and the understanding in many jurisdictions, that this is a critical component of legalization. at the very least, those who have been struck from the criminal code, so too must be struck from people's criminal history, and they should not have to petition or pay for it. [applause] >> but, expungement does not release people for -- from prison. for that we need resentencing legislation. although still serving jail, prison and community supervision should receive guarantee sentencing reviews in light of legalization. and they should have to petition or pay for it. we agree. sentence reviews must be provided, not just those two relative views serving sentences for the lowest level cannabis offenses now legalized in some states. there is still a lot left on the book. they should be for all those serving sentences related to how cannabis has been violently enforced and prosecuted in this country. state initiated resentencing and record clearance are not blue or red policies, they are human centers data-driven policies supported by a wide evidence-based that shows not only does retroactive relief not threaten public safety, it supports it. these are urgent policies to bring our constituents and loved ones home and ensure full freedom for them. i'm really looking forward to this next conversation from our distinguished speaker. with that, it's my privilege to welcome to the stage your next panel, returning to society, how can cannabis legalization be marginalized previously convicted individuals. thank y'all. [applause] >> hello, welcome, thanks for being here today. i'm a former longtime reporter of the washington post and now i'm an editor at vox.com. reporting on cannabis issues continue to be in this world and i'm excited to be here talking about a subject that has really entered the mainstream. this is very much part of the conversation when state and federal governments are not thinking about policy. i wanted to give you an overview before we get started. you guys already know the landscape. cannabis is illegal or decriminalized in 27 states so far and tens of thousands of americans remain incarcerated on cannabis sentences. in addition, we have hundreds of thousands of americans who continue to carry a criminal record that affects their ability to find housing, to find work, to -- as jeremiah mentioned, even volunteer at their kid's school, which was really striking to me. according to the aclu, what makes this a justice issue as much as a race issue is that marijuana use is roughly equal amongst white and black people, yet, if you are black you are nearly four times likely to be arrested on a marijuana charge. five years ago many americans might not have heard terms like incarceration, expungement, but today, thanks to the efforts and the people -- efforts of the people on the stage, criminal justice reform on cannabis is rapidly becoming central in the national conversation. i would love to introduce everybody here today. this is the d incarceration director of live free. [applause] >> to her left we have jeremiah from americans for prosperity. he has a background and reentry support. [applause] >> and to my right is a senior policy counsel justice division with the aclu and as a former public defender, she has seen the drug war play out in the courtrooms. [applause] >> i want to get started with jeremiah and sort of get a sense of the landscape i was talking about after decades of the drug war. how many americans are in jail or prison on marijuana can -- convictions, and how many for prior convictions on the record? next currently there are 80 million -- >> currently there are 80 million americans, that's one and four, that have a record. 4 million have been arrested just since 2012 when the first states began to legalize adult use cannabis. so even though we are moving forward as a country, we have millions of americans that are being saddled by the lifelong barriers that come with a criminal record. we don't know how many people are incarcerated on the state level because states don't track a lot of data on this. so we know how many people are there in total for drug convictions, but not for each type of drug if they are on this same level. on the federal level there are 3000 people incarcerated for cannabis and the federal prison system. and that's too many, that's 3002 many in our opinion for americans for prosperity so we thickets time to end that. just for those in the audience who may not have been through this experience, a criminal record, even a minor misdemeanor possession charge carries with it lifelong -- lifelong impacts. your ability to secure employment, 50% of people who exit prison cannot secure employment and if they do their lifelong earnings go down by 50%. if it's even a misdemeanor conviction, you never go to prison, you never actually, even under supervision, may be gotten division. earnings go down by 16%. that makes it harder to pay for your rent, take care of your family and deal with the increase of cost-of-living that all of us are facing across the country. there's a lot of barriers to housing. those who leave prison are 10 times more likely to be homeless in this country, and that's not acceptable. even if people are trying to get ahead and get education and move forward with their lives, and try to overcome these barriers that stand in their way, there are so many federal policies to keep them from accessing even basic undergrad education. so, these barriers are lifelong and hold people back from achieving their full potential and that is something we want to see and today, not tomorrow. >> one of the wonderful things that we have is, who has experienced the impact. we would love for you to share your story and experience. >> i'm so grateful to be here because often when we talk about people affected by the criminal legal system, it's often through a male perspective and experience. women are also affected and impacted by the criminal legal system. myself, at the age of 203i was arrested in the state of alabama in a rural county for traffic and marijuana. -- trafficking marijuana. what i remember about that experience is being so completely ignorant about what i didn't know about my rights and their criminal legal system, from how my car was search. how the incestuous rule district attorney office are, having backdoor favors that you have to be in the realm of to even be considered for treatment. and i'm one of the few people who actually made the conscious decision to strike a jury and go to trial. in that experience and going to trial, i was called a menace to society. and that's just did not reflect my dignity or my humanity or my intention on why had become involved in trying turn money that way and witnessing all of the awful impacts of being a woman incarcerated in rural alabama, a place i have never lived, where i didn't have any support system. i came home with a deep sense of urgency just to become engaged in the public arena and make people aware of the process. and coming into the world of community organizing, i have connections with so many people across the country who had similar experiences, and i think of my colleague in illinois who is working on what they call a fully free campaign, which address -- which addresses all of the collateral consequences of people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system that just lived in the illinois legislator. and, the last thing i will say is, having a formally incarcerated identity is a difficult dance because you constantly compete with this caricature of a person that people create in their minds where they feel entitled to the most painful details of your story. and then also trying to use your experience as expertise to push for different policies and how specific they need to be to actually be impactful. the challenge that i will give this room is out policies created for formally incarcerated people should not be created without us at the table. [applause] >> what is often done with good intention often gets lost in translation and execution. so those very specific details that we need in order to make them impactful is essential why we be at the table. >> what types of policies would you like to see? >> definitely rolling back mandatory minimums. i had a three year mandatory minimum. in the state of alabama, so what that meant was, i was a maximum security level for those first three years, not because of my behavior or security risk, but just the fact that i had that mandatory minimum in my paperwork affecting my eligibility to go to a work camp. it affected my eligibility to be able to just have any of the freedoms that are available in prison, and what is so interesting is that trafficking in marijuana in the state of marijuana is a class a felony. another class a felony in the state of alabama is manufacturing meth and both of them have different connotations. in archetypes who is affiliated with committing these. if you manufacture meth there is no mandatory minimum. in most of those white young ladies were able to go to drug rehabilitation programs in lieu of going to prison. so those same opportunities need to be made available for people who have trafficking, especially marijuana charges, in order to give them a pathway home as well. [applause] >> i think five or 10 years ago people would have responded to a story like yours and said, well, you broke the law, and i still continue to hear that sometimes, but the conversation i think around this has shifted. in part because of the work of advocates and activists such as yourself. >> can i respond to that. i don't shy away from people who challenge me that i broke the law, but i would challenge us as a society is how do we care for children. often times there are those who identify as who has the highest propensity to enter our criminal legal system. and if you scale their socioeconomic wellness factors, education systems, food apart, and infrastructure, it is not up to par where we have not figured out how to keep children well before we talk about public safety. so my indictment, i will take my shortcomings, but society also has to be careful and take accountability how we not have care for the lowest in our country and the most impacted. [applause] >> as general as i think we are in this justice focus moment around cannabis that has really shifted in the last few years. a value shift takes work and i would love to hear from you. what is been happening high in the scenes over the past several years to where state legislation now includes expungement provision and federal legislation includes -- has expungement in the name? i see -- i think this is becoming part of the mainstream conversation, how did that happen, what is the history of that? >> marijuana legalization is very much about the war on drugs and racial justice. so with the war on drugs, with the expansion of mass incarceration, we are finding that marijuana laws and other laws are really touching everyone. they are touching more and more people and our family members, our friends, people in our community, because it's just so expansive and touches on so many different facets of a person's life. soy think that that has been a part of the public education and the movement in support of the public for changing some of these laws. the collateral consequences are particularly troubling. i know it's something we are focused on here today. jeremiah mentioned some of the collateral consequences that will impact a person if they have an arrest record or criminal record related to marijuana. even if you don't have a criminal record or an arrest record because of the marijuana, there are collateral consequences. so, a mother who is in public housing, if someone in her residence uses marijuana on the property, she can use her public -- use her public housing. if a disabled person or low income person who gets public benefit is found to have used marijuana, it's possible for them to lose their public benefits. if a parent uses marijuana, that could be evidence that's used in family court to take their child away from them. and, people who are noncitizens, who are immigrants can lose their status in this country, be deported, and be subject to family separation because of marijuana use, without a conviction. so, this is an issue that has just touched so many different groups, and i know that my work with my organization has been hand in hand with groups like the marijuana justice coalition that has worked federally to draft legislation that includes expungement. and that is very much in response to the collateral consequences that we see people facing our communities. it was also inspired by bills like the marijuana justice act, which was introduced by barbara lee in the house, and cory booker in the senate several years ago. and that included expungement provisions. bills like the more act has the word expungement. the ae is for expungement. that building upon the work of past legislators to address collateral consequences and to organizations that help to draft that bill have a very diverse membership, they include legacy drug policy organizations like the drug policy alliance and normal, they include immigrant rights groups, they include incarcerated people groups, they include veterans groups and represent the interests of patients. i think having that diversity of viewpoint and the lowering -- lobbying process in the drafting process has really helped to make sure that collateral consequences and the consequences that result from criminalizing, over criminalizing marijuana are addressed in federal legislation. >> one thing people might be surprised to learn is just how bipartisan support for both legalization, decriminalization, and also some of the justice provisions have become. can you talk about that? >> i think a lot of people are probably shocked if they haven't paid a lot of attention, we are sitting on the stage together today, but we were together a lot, and our local chapters and affiliates on the state levels work together a lot on criminal justice reform and drug policy reform because this is a bipartisan issue. everyone in america believes in the reality of redemption. we can come together to ensure that everyone has that ability to have a second chance. that's the reason why a lot of states -- we are working in america's prosperity hand-in-hand with the aclu and avett diverse coalition to push for criminal justice reform. whether it be police reform or reentry reform. >> who are some of the republicans in the house and the senate who are supporting the legislation? cartridges are representative nancy on the screen. is our representative torres on the screen who has the hope act with aoc, which deals with expungement in a long line of republicans stepping up with other bills like the clean slate act in the beginning again act that provides second chances to people with a criminal record. >> why is it that that shift seems to be happening? i think when we used to think about the drug war on the folks who had the most strict ideas about legislation and three strikes and you're out, that for a lot of people in our minds, it was the gop. >> i think the reality is that people have realized evidence-based policy. we now have so much information showing that helping someone get a second chance is what's good for public safety, it's what's good for companies and of course it's what's good for them and their families. so it's a win-win-win for everyone in our society, and republicans and democrats alike have come to the table to say this is what's best for our country and we will move forward with this issue. >> you mentioned that your record has prevented access to a lot of things. one of the things as part of the equity issue is licensing. is who gets to -- you were talking about going to prison for stealing marijuana, where as now we are seeing folks getting rich. how does that make you feel? what are some of the things that can be done about that? craig said piggyback off of jeremiah's point, when i go to a dispensary across the country it's never empty, it lets me know that there is a large diverse coalition of people who indulge across the country. however, that diverse customer base does not seem to be getting the benefits of entering the industry. in the dispersant -- disproportionate rate of black folks who have been labeled as felons and receive drug trafficking in marijuana charges, when you look at the marijuana industry and who was profiting legitimately, is largely male and white, and it's incestuous because even before states legalize, there is an organized group of people who are ready to come into the state, somehow when the majority of the licensing job, and then to have the liquid wealth to be able to establish the actual dispensaries in many different beneficial ways of the marijuana industry. and i call bullshit. and the reason i call bull shit, is because at the age of 23 when i was trying to have a pathway to my life, i was a menace to society. you as the entrepreneur coming into michigan and illinois who legalize marijuana, you are an economic genius. and i am tired of america continuing to be innovated with ways to great wealth out of black communities. [applause] >> we cannot just come together as a bipartisan coalition and say that we all want to indulge in a healthy way, we have to make that process equitable from top to bottom. so if i decide to get in the marijuana industry, than i should have access. should not be a gatekeeper industry where i have to know this person or that person, why have to jump on a ticket with a veteran in order to be eligible to get this. >> there are efforts going on nationwide to make sure that these licenses are available to formally convicted people. am i correct? >> i would say there's both positive and negative momentum happening right now. for decades, bipartisan have been fighting to remove licensing barriers out of the way. but something we have been tracking is as they establish new markets, we see old mental markets be established by the folks packing these bills. i want to follow up with what she said and pose a challenge to -- to people who may be supporting legalization, make sure is part of your priority list, do not allow them to fall out of the way. we are seeing states reimpose licensing barriers and impose vague legal standards that prohibit people for criminal record from owning and even working at cannabis dispensaries, and that's not acceptable. that's not an acceptable thing for us to do. i will not name names, but i have had multiple executives at cannabis companies tell me we need to keep people with a criminal record out of the company because it hurts its legitimacy, and that's not true. people with a criminal record have something to contribute to the industry. [laughter] >> if i can jump into it, it so important that legislation includes social justice programming, for example, the more act includes a community reinvestment program where there is a tax on marijuana products, and all of those funds go back into communities that are most impacted by marijuana prohibition in the over criminalization, and that those funds go to creating a more inclusive marijuana market and marijuana -- a regulated marijuana market. with job training and with small business administration loans and all of those things, make sure that people who in the past have been excluded can participate. >> this conversation really brings me to my last question, but also one of the most contentious points that i'm realizing over the course of the day. right before the conversation i talked to justin and said, which policy is out there right now, which legislation is going to fix it? and he said there isn't one. and i think that's a really poignant point to make that needs to be communicated to everybody. there are so many things to think about and we are seeing states legalize, and there are separate leaders movement to legalize on a federal level, and i think that there's an argument for both as happening, even among the folks on the stage and i wanted to hear from each of you what is the best strategy to both legalize marijuana and to fix the equity and justice issues that have been baked into the drug war? is it federal legalization a policy or state? >> i think it said to be both because of the criminalization and collateral consequences that exist at both the state level in the federal level. the reason why federal legislation is important is because right now it's standing in the way of state efforts that have tried to legalize, but people who were in the states who want to be consumers have hanging over them the fear of being criminally prosecuted in federal court. people who want to start a business have the fear of losing their business because of federal law. so, the federal prohibition laws that are on the books need to get out of the way so that states can legalize on their own. there should also be support from the federal government, as well as, it's important for the federal government to be involved because they can help noncitizen communities and make sure that barriers that are currently up for them, and also, the consequences that immigrants face because marijuana use can be alleviated. >> i would just echo everything she just said, but to add one final thing. the current situation on the federal level of presidential administrations choosing not to enforce federal law is not a sustainable solution to this problem. we need congress to step in and in this, because what we are actually seeing is the department of justice seizing money that is actually earned through legal cannabis businesses through civil asset forfeiture by getting local law enforcement to do there. they say they are not enforcing the law, but they are imposing harm on people, even when they are following state law. there are doctors and patients that cannot access these products. veterans cannot access it because the veterans affairs and ministration will not talk about medical cannabis. so as long as the federal government has laws in place, there are so money problems i continue to be perpetuated, regardless of if we get all 50 states to legalize it. >> britt made an interesting point when we talked earlier about we know it's happening with our country in terms of the laws that are being passed in the deep south, which is where you live, which is where my family lives. how does that affect your argument living in the deep south? >> i live in dallas, texas and many of you might know our esteemed governor greg abbott. [-- [laughter] and how he has followed suit with governors and how they have passed a slew of policies in the last 18 months. the right to carry a weapon, heavily restricting voting rights, and heavily restricting access to abortions. so in that current climate, i do not want them to have sold jurisdiction about my right to use cannabis. and i am torn, what we think about the country, i always think about the deep south and how it will be executed there. in texas, if it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense. but we have to continue to put fiscal responsibilities and incentives in front of southern states, and that is the only way they are going to be swayed to have any type of equity or access to marijuana in the south. furthermore, i will say that these laws and policies cannot be tasked without bringing home every single individual in this country who has been impacted by a marijuana charge. shout out to my colleague who is over at the clean slate initiative, which is working to clean their records of people who have been impacted by incarceration. we cannot just pass these policies, but if there is going to be any financial incentives for government or for state, it also has to mean the liberation of people who have been impacted by these charges. [applause] >> and that leadership can come to the federal government, do you think? >> to be honest, i will leave it up to policy experts about how we continue with the government. i see my role as using my lived experience to make it make sense. i was incarcerated for five years on a trafficking marijuana charge, i was sentenced to 20 years, which would've been 15 years on probation if i did not go back to my judge and appeal my probation to be overturned. the unfortunate reality is that my experience is not isolated. many people have been sentenced and find up to $150,000. you think you are bitter about your student loans, picture getting a $150,000 fine for having marijuana or a trafficking charge starts with 2.2 pounds of marijuana in the state of marijuana -- in the state of vallow brought -- state of alabama. how any people can actually afford to pay that across their lifetime. so i want these conversations around legalization, implementation also to include the liberation, literally and financially for incarcerated people. quakes do we have time for questions? >> do we have time for questions? >> no one said no. >> you have been working on some work around getting rid of the box. >> i think my answer to people is always it takes all of us. businesses stepping up and decided to take the box out their application and hiring people with a criminal record. bikes have you been convicted or have you been arrested. >> and we see a lot of physicist stepping up and doing that for financial reasons because they see what's best for their community and if you take a look at the second chance coalition.org you will see fortune 500 companies continue to step up and join our call to say we are going to intentionally not only remove the box but recruit these people because this brings innovation and diversity to our workforce and we think that's important. i think it takes us as individual citizens to look beyond their own, regardless of how we interact with others, we all have something that we may not have experienced their experience until we work through those things ourselves and overcome those internal stigmas. there is not just the laws, it -- it's social signal -- social stigma. it takes all of us just one step at a time, and we have a lot to do with the country and a lot of additional steps to go. >> i would say spend some of your social capital. i have been offered about five jobs in the last two months just from people who know me or who have come across me. when you look at your personal circle of influence, how are you leveraging those relationships to change some of the internal protocol where you have autonomy? how have you challenged the update of the 1995 handbook. how have we talked to our apartment complexes about, i don't feel unsafe renting to somebody who has a marijuana policy because every time the dog poops in the wrong place that i have to find some type of initiative to get a policy put into place for that. where are you in charge and have a soap -- have a circle of influence where you are expounding on that capital to be more beneficial for directly impacted people. it is within your own sphere of influence as an organizer that i believe grassroots changes some of the most long term to happen, and we cannot wait on the government to be our savior. >> can i speak to that, please. we have to start within our own neighborhoods and circles of influence are that begin to bring about change. >> i'm john, my son is facing a federal cannabis charge, he's going to trial in federal courts on a conspiracy charge to distribute marijuana, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 to life, still going on, this is still happening. my question is to you, as a group, joe biden made promises to all the american people and he said he was going to release these people. he hasn't done it, its crickets, crickets right now, crickets have been going on for two years. you fight a conspiracy charge, my friend. you don't understand conspiracy. my point is this, how do we get joe biden to act, because all he has to do is sign something. the co-memorandum was a phenomenal document that helped a lot of people. how can we make action and take action to help these people? it's just a signature. it just takes one man to sign this and thousands go home. what is wrong? what is happening in this country? why are people just not aware, what can we do to raise that level and get joe to act? >> one of the unfortunate realities of your situation is that this usually does not become a champion issue for folks until that happens to you or your family member or person that you deeply care about. so the personal investment that you feel in this issue is lost upon other people who that has not been there lived experience. the other reality is, joe biden is the president of the united states. your issue is with congress, and you need a president who has the political will and capital to be able to navigate the senate and the house, and that is what he promised to do. he told us that he was a statesman who could get it done and has yet to be able to do so. >> he is a big disappointment to all of us. >> that is your ideology and your right to feel so. i'm disappointed in that in other areas. but i continue to challenge you that until we get a senate majority that is actually a senate majority to get something passed, we will continue to lose voters rights, we will continue to lose marijuana policies, and without congress, we will all remain disappointed. >> it's unfortunate that people who sit 40,000 still stay in jail longer. because it's going to take years. >> he can pardon them today. >> he has to be convicted to be pardoned. >> thank you for your time. thanks for all of your time. >> thank you for sharing your story, sir. >> any other questions call? >> i have a question, i'm with the national association of black cannabis lawyers and i wanted to get some information, what would you recommend is the best way to reach out to advocates within the states so that we can look at this from a birds eye view, from the federal level. it's important that we do the work in the states, but it's also important that we keep our eye on what's happening at the federal level, especially when it comes to issues of social equity and justice, so that the laws that often times get slipped into the mix while we are distracted with other things don't go interprocess and leave us in a position where we are looking at this 10 years down the line and say, how did we get left out, how is it we are the purchasers of the same plant that we were being incarcerated from four? how do we correct that and was the best way to reach out to advocates such as yourself? >> there are lots of ways to reach out at the state level, to affiliates, there are various organizations, and i think you could get a little bit more information about the work you are doing and i would love to connect personally. >> i would say to her point, get connected to a national network, live free as in about 20 different states. this center for popular democracy just established a national coalition that bank foods the council for women and girls, and a number of other different national networks and organizations. just getting connected to these people who actually have a base across the country. i would love to connect with you after the panel and give you my information. >> that's what i would say, everyone sitting around you. >> thank you for your time. >> any more questions? >> good afternoon. i'm the executive director of an organization in richmond, virginia. we do pretrial support and advocacy. i think a lot is missing from the conversation when we disregard resentencing. when we talk about being harmed by the war on drugs. we are disregarding the process of gentrification and how a lot of people have been pushed out, so how do we support people now before we get into legalization with the business plan, with the resources, with the capital so that we are not depended upon the government, and also bringing people home and making sure that before we enter this legal market, those people who sit in prison today still get the opportunity to build their generational wealth? because the backs of those people help build this industry, and our legislation in virginia, that i vote for a decade for expungement and we got our first bill passed in 2020 one, our legislator said that the people who sat in prison could wait. and this year, again, they left them sitting in prison and said because of the political climate changing that we did not want to bring them home because a lot of those people benefit off of mass incarceration, so how do we start the conversation for getting people prepared while we are having these conversations about getting this great legal market started and knowing that we have all of these issues? i want to know what is our paths -- best path to getting people prepared who we know will be left out of they don't have the resources? >> i would say all organizing is local. particularly in states like mine or you won't get state-level level support. really pushing your county commissioners office. what did you do with those american rescue plan dollars that came down from the federal government? they were very fluid, and that is an opportunity to advocate for those dollars to be used for reentry in different programs that would fit that demographic. right now, just about all of our counties are finalizing their budgets for the next year. so financially, what are the item priorities and how are you organizing other individuals to pull up and say, hey, we want our money or what are you doing with our budget. in addition to that, making sure that these dollars are advocated for nonviolent prevention efforts. it's about to be summer time, a lot of people have been in the house and we want to make sure that we are all able to be well and healthy. just making sure that you are putting financial accountability on your local government, but what they are doing with all of these federal government -- federal dollars and not just giving it all to the police. >> i was just going to add to that. it's my sense that while expungement has moved further along in the conversation, the resentencing is something that -- i was talking about this before we came on, that resentencing is in early stages is in the -- early stages in the conversation. and what are some ways to elevate that aspect of the justice system? >> i think expungement goes hand in hand with resentencing. if you will do expungement, you also need to review and release people who are currently serving sentences for cannabis. >> going to be a journalist and say, i think it's hard for people to fathom the idea of releasing this. we know this during covid. we saw when their efforts that were made to release nonviolent felons and folks who were particularly at risk. people were freaking out about the idea of releasing people from prison. howard does that value of change happen? >> i think it's being proximate with people in prison. i myself have the opportunity to go into many prisons and sit across the table from folks that are in prison and hear their stories and hear their backgrounds, and i could tell you i always leave those moments , of course emotionally drained, but also realizing they're all it would've taken his one different decision in my life and i could have been on the others of the table. i think it's out a lot of people that are not imprisoned is another group that is different from them that they would not be that type of person. but the reality is, the conspiracy charges that were just discussed a second ago. one different decision and we could all be that person. so how do we become more and bring those in our spirit -- fears of influence and for folks to the lies that they are just like us? >> there is a dominant narrative among who is in prison and what they are therefore, in one thing america has done a great job of is sensationalizing crime. we highlight the worst moments in society, and then we uplift them as what everybody needs to be afraid of, and then it repels us against the whole incarcerated community. instead of breaking up that narrative and talking about there are innovative people in prison, there are people who, given the opportunity -- in studies and science have shown that the older a person gets in prison, the longer that they serve time, their propensity to -- significantly drops. just continuing to put that information out there, we have to win the narrative fight to change hearts and minds. >> the last 10 years have shown me that narrative changes are possible. around gay marriage, around marijuana legalization at all, around sexual harassment, we have seen, a part of the last probably 10 years have been for a lot of americans, i think there's real promise in the narrative shifts. >> another question? >> first i want to thank all of you for being on this panel and speaking on this topic, but especially give it up for britney, for sure. [applause] >> thank you so much. >> i know how difficult it is to sit there and tell your stories and decide what part you want us -- want to tell. you got a mandatory minimum, i got a mandatory minimum first-time nonviolent conspiracy to distribute. i just got out in 2019. >> welcome home. [applause] >> but at this time yesterday, i was in miami at an investor conference speaking on this whole topic. the whole vibe, the whole environment is different, they are there to make money off of the cannabis industry, whereas our panel was legacy and legal, like let's make that happen. let's give back to those legacy members. i'm now happy to be home, happy to be working with gracie in the last prisoner project, and i feel your passion for and i just wanted to say, keep it up, keep going, and hopefully i will be looking for a new job at this time next year. >> two we have time for one more, just one more? last one. >> i just want to ask was she able to bond out before you went to trial or if that could've been a problem while you were convicted? >> i was able to bond out six weeks after i was incarcerated. i was held initially at no bond, that i bonded out at $90,000. >> i was able to be my trafficking charges, thank the lord. i want to say to the congresswoman, please have a right to grow somewhere in the law. if i don't sell it or grow it for myself you can't tax me on nothing period same thing with people growing their own beer or liquor. you can't sell it or tax it. that's all i want. >> i was wanting to do something similar, and to thank you for sharing your story, and for shifting that narrative in the recent years and decades of adult use legalization. we primarily see the face of men incarcerated over the war on drugs and the war on humanity, so i just wanted to say a special thank you for the work that you are doing. preservation of indigenous story is super important to the work we are doing. i found the indigenous coalition and in we elevate and uplift what's happening in indigenous communities, as well as to reconnect plant history, a remake trajan of land history. all of this conversation we are talking about, if we dig deeper, beyond the history, and look at her story, we will find that indigenous people have been holding down the sacred in the sacrament. so on many of our issues that we do, we try to elevate what's happening in those communities and we put the jefferson piece of metal, which contains, if you look real closely at the jefferson piece metal, it has peace pipes on the metal. that was used to come out and that bartering and trading land swap that eventually happens. but i also serve as the president of the idaho affiliate of the aclu, so i wanted to say thank you for your representation on behalf of the aclu and the works that you are doing, as well as media. media plays a very important role in that narrative, so to see women of color journalists in this space makes my heart just super happy. so, each and every one of you should give yourself a pat on the back in a big hug and realize that what we are doing now is historic in this space. thank you so much to carolyn phillips, all of the organizations out there. you mentioned earlier legacy to legal, keep on your radar the justice foundation. legacy the legal, the work what -- the work we are doing. i'm on the board of directors for the justice foundation. we are very much in our infancy, but keep your ears to the work that we are going to be doing. we just hired our newest executive director. so we are definitely going to get some good work done. so, just keep up the great work, everybody. >> that's a good way to end it. thank you all for being here and thank you all for your stories, insight, for your real talk about where we are in terms of policy, and moving the needle forward on justice. thank you. [applause] >> greetings to everyone present here today and for those who are watching virtually. i am a senior national policy manager with the just policy alliance. it is a national advocacy organization that promotes just policies grounded in evidence and compassion. we fight every day to end the war on drugs. today i have the utmost honor to introduce a special message coming from an even more special member of congress. oakland's finest, representative barbara lee. representative lee -- give it up for barbara lee. [applause] representative lee has been one of the fiercest champions for marijuana reform. particularly reform grounded in racial justice and equity. for decades the youth, the possession in the cell of this plant, that far too many of us know personally as a healing agent, has been used at the school for state violence disproportionately impacting black and brown individuals, families, communities and folks of low or no income. it's been four years since representative barbara lee introduce the justice marijuana act. it was the very first bill in congress that ended federal marijuana prohibition with the -- it was groundbreaking in its inclusion of reinvestment in communities hardest hit by racist policing. it pioneered efforts to make marijuana justice policy a priority for the congressional black caucus. she sponsored the first ever marijuana justice panel at the 47th annual legislative congress. she actively helped to bring her colleagues along in efforts to connect the dots between marijuana reform and its many intersecting issues related to civil rights, criminal justice reform, immigration, and economic justice. it's hard to believe now but just a few years ago, we were painting the picture that it's not a matter of if but how. representative lee has been committed to seeing through this vital focus on health. the marijuana justice act is the foundation of the more act. representative lee and her leadership have helped us get to the point where we saw two successful passages of comprehensive legislation in the house. we should give it up for them. [applause] as we celebrate our successes in the house and gear up for the fight in the senate, i'm excited to be able to honor a fearless leader and be able to facilitate giving her flowers. thank you to barbara lee for her commitment to marijuana justice and her commitment to equity in the fight. without further ado, let's tune into the remarks that representative barbara lee offered for us today. [applause] >> hello everyone. i'm barbara lee and i proudly represent california's beautiful congressional district which includes oakland. it's an honor to be speaking with you all today and i thank each and everyone of you for fighting for cannabis justice. the diversity of voices here at the national cannabis policy summit will give our movement strength and keep justice rooted at its foundation. as cochair of the cumbers -- congressional congress, i'm aware of how far behind the federal government is on cannabis reform. as more and more states continue to modernize how we regulate and decriminalize cannabis, it's crucial that we catch up and and the war on drugs at a federal level. progress is being made. weeks ago, we passed the more act in the house for the second time, the most comprehensive cannabis legislation to date. it was an incredible step forward in righting the wrongs of the failed and racist war on drugs. we have so much more work to do. we are the closest we've ever been to finally end the failed war on drugs. the consequent is of which have fallen so heavily on black and brown communities. it's the closest we've been to getting mastery sentencing and expungement for those with marijuana convictions. it lays out a new future for the industry, one where those who have suffered most from criminalization have paths for opportunity and ownership in the emerging industry. this is so important. equity on all levels. we never would have gotten it through the house if it weren't for the passion and focus of dedicated activists like yourself. the groups represented here today represent a broad swath of the american political landscape and the issues must have justest rooted at its foundation. you know this and have worked for this. we are together in this fight. thank you all. keep up the great work. [applause] >> thank you everyone. [applause] >> thanks. hello everybody. i'm the associate vice president for public affairs. i can't be more excited to be here, learning from everyone who has spoken today. i couldn't be more excited to hear this next conversation. i couldn't be more proud that you continue to -- research like the two reports we are going to learn about today. we thank you for the opportunity to sponsor. our mission is to power a transparent and inclusive global cannabis economy. the key word here is inclusive. in the vein of what we are about to discussion and what has already been discussed, the industry has to do better. i mean a whole lot better. this is a policy summit and anybody who has worked in public policy circles in d.c., you always hear this and picked out -- anecdote. to be a part of this industry every day, this event and events like it. it's really on inspiring and energizing. no one should stand idly by while this industry -- entire communities continue to be marginalized by a war on drugs. no one should stand by why these communities represent a tiny sliver of the ownership opportunities that come with these opportunities. i don't stand idly by. as i attend industry meeting events and sit around tables, i'm usually the only person who looks like me or one of a couple of people who looks like me. it's disappointing. the question posed to me in this moment is, why does weedmaps support organizations? the answer is that these leaders and organizations have values and efforts that align with our express commitment to strive for equitable marketplaces and restore communities. this event and these organizations we are about to hear from and these reports that are quantifying what's happening and what could be in these marketplaces are sparing change. you could say it's our responsibility but if this industry is going to look like it -- what it should look like and what it's capable of looking like, every single one of us has a part to play. no one is exempt, especially corporations and corporate interests. we use these materials that are created by these advocates to inform our policy positions. the hope is that we go beyond supporting. to actually become corporate social advocates. using what we learn from these efforts and these reports to align with the incredible work that has been undertaking by these incredible individuals and organizations. by lending our platform, time, resources, and brainpower, we accomplished it. we continue to do better. when these two talk, they lit -- i listen. i make sure to tune in and i feel like every time i finished, you can't walk away and not become a better person and consider yourselves more informed than you were before you watch. this next talk will be an excellent one. i will step aside. thank you. [applause] >> hi everyone. so great to see people. i'm really excited to be here today and to be moderating this really awesome panel. the two ambers. put out great reports from their organizations on the need for social equity and how we can improve upon social equity programs that are already in place. with that, i will give you both an opportunity to briefly introduce yourself or the audience. i'm the director of the office of national affairs policy alliance. you heard my colleague earlier. i'm in the federal office so i have the fun job of lobbying congress on all things drugs. it can be fun sometimes but most of the time, it's not. i will toss it over to amber. >> i'm amber littlejohn. the executive director of the minority cannabis business association. former president. we are the largest national trade association serving minority cannabis entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs through both policy advocacy and programming and education. >> my name is amber center. i'm the cofounder and executive director of supernova women. supernova women is a nonprofit, working to create opportunities for black and brown people in cannabis. we were founded in 2015 by a group of black and found -- brown women. we are breaking barriers of entry for black and brown people in underserved communities. i'm also an operator, ceo of maker house, located and headquartered in oakland. >> great. if you could speak about the impetus behind the national cannabis a quality report. you publish that. >> yeah. we put out model ordinances, model state policies. we needed to truly understand the land to land. i was frequent getting asked, how many social equity programs are there? what did they do? it originally started with the mast person of the process. if you haven't taken a look, please do. there's a map that you can use to click on and do the research. we wanted to have a tool that would empower advocates around the country to not have to do a level of research that we have to do and to have access to citations in law. as the project grew and we started to understand how the tool could be utilized, we needed to go beyond the program and actually look at all of the potential provisions of law that were impacting equity. licensing calves to what's happening when medical operators: ok. it grew. one of our member partners saw the report as well. thank you. more like, wow. this is incredible information and we want to put it into a report. that's how we ended up with both the map in the report. they are both living documents. the map will be updated regularly. >> i will ask you a similar question. where did you come up with the idea for your report. by the way, i think it's brilliant. it's a brilliant idea to show that. it does pay dividends. >> yeah. thank you. so, we get asked pretty often, why should equity programs exist? what is the benefit of a social equity program? we understand that we have to offer opportunities to people that have been previously incarcerated or affected by the war on drugs. but, what is the benefit of doing that? we thought about that. we really wanted to quantify what the return of investment is on a social equity program. we wanted to not just tell municipalities and legislators and lawmakers that these programs are necessary and needed. we also wanted to back that up with real data and hard numbers. so that was the reason why we decided to put out our report. >> i would love to hear from each of you. whoever would like to go first. what were the top-level things that the audience should now? >> basically, every dollar that is invested into a social equity program, there's a 20% return on the investment. this makes a few assumptions. that 100% of the tax revenue is going back into the social equity program. the tax revenue or the tax rate is at 5%. in the program consists of four basic kinds of parts to it. real estate assistance, technical assistance, for the equity operators business. a grant program as well as waivers and fees like that. we did also notice one of the things that we notice from the report as well, one of the key factors from the report is that if you create a much more robust program by including things like early education, investing in early education, investing in job training, investing in expungement assistance -- that return on investment goes from $1.20 to $4.56. it increases exponentially when you really invest back into the community in meaningful ways. so i thought that was a really fascinating thing that came back from the report. >> thank you. same question. want to hear more about the barriers that you found that were consistently a problem. >> yeah. you are looking at equity and for buckets. as a trade association, we focus on the industry access. some of the fine things -- there are struggles, especially it's hard to figure out what they are. some of the findings were expected and others were more surprising. there were only 15 social equity programs in the country and that's taking into account that they exist in both medical frameworks. that's disappointing that there are so few. they don't do what we think they do. the programs, only six of the 16 provide funding directly to licensees or applicants. none of them provide them on day one when the market opens. we are expected to participate in the market without the direct financial assistance. another concern is we have this idea that social equity is about race. we need to talk about a race-based war on people, should have race-based solution. but we aren't seeing that. of the 15, only three are actually constitutionally prohibitive at the state level from using race. only three states even mention race. those don't really directly and stringently use race as a criteria. the other finding that is really important because it is in talked about enough is the impact of the medical market in the transition of medical operators. the inequities that exist in the medical market and how that carries over. there are a few ways that that happens. one, almost universally there are five programs that don't expressly preclude people with felony convictions from participating as employees or owners in the medical market. you have pretty broad, almost comprehensive prohibitions there. that means when they coat locate and go adult use, they still can't hire those people. you have early access to markets being given to medical operators. they are getting first mover advantage. we are seeing one year statutory advantages turn into two, going into three. so they have a natural monopoly on the market while everybody else struggles due to lawsuits or funding issues. and then another way that this medical operator is in exemptions. when you have this municipal control, if they are already an existing medical operator in the county or municipality doesn't keep the medical operator from transitioning to adult use. that creates the monopoly that they have. lastly, when states are banning that -- vertical integration, those medical operators have an exemption to that. nobody else but them can vertically integrate and benefit from scale. the medical issues where the most surprising but not surprising. >> can you speak to the product requirements that you printed out in the report? i think that's a big one. >> the premises requirement -- for those of you in states that have them, it can be devastating -- i think this is going to be a good place to join in with my colleagues especially in california. they are going to be devastating. i'm going to stop talking. >> yeah. i partnered with an equity operator in san francisco. this was back in 2018. we applied for two dispensary licenses. it took us three years to get through the licensing process. we had to secure our location prior to submitting an application. we been paying rent to locations for three years which cost us roughly over $400,000. now you know, she's a black woman, i'm a black woman. we have to raise capital. obviously, we had a pandemic that we had to deal with the -- throughout this entire process. that was difficult. we were able to get it done. >> one of the upsetting pieces is that we see them disproportionately applied to social equity programs and applicants. they scarcely exist in the medical market. so we are actually working to remove our premises requirement that one of the committees had stuck in. it was lovely to see that change happen and solidify the idea that we aren't going to carry that over to the federal level. >> building off of that. you talked about the oakland social equity program and how you would think you would be someone who would qualify and yet you didn't. can you talk a little bit about that? >> absolutely. so i'm a black woman, i'm queer, i'm a veteran of the united states coast guard. i don't qualify for social. i think that that is ok. however, i obviously fall into a number of different groups that are underrepresented. whereas -- where is representation for small business? as it stands, the kanas -- cannabis industry wasn't billed for small business at all. it is increasingly really excluding small businesses and operators. how can we really make sure that small business is included? small business is black business, women-owned business, queer, veteran. it's all of these -- if all of these businesses don't so but -- survive, social equity businesses won't survive. really, all these small businesses end up working together. because the structure of bigger mso's can't properly support small business. they are too high. their terms are too big, too burdensome for a business to be able to effectively operate. in creating policy, we also have to make sure that we are creating policy for small business. really, 90% of the cannabis businesses are small business. only 10% are huge guerrillas. if we continue down this path that we are on, it consistently is creating policy for big business. we just won't have equity businesses or small businesses. >> such a good point, especially if we think about bringing wealth back into communities of color who have been most impacted by prohibition. we are talking small businesses, not big corporations. what do you think as far as what this report means? as someone who is on the hill quite often, how do you think this report could help moving things forward in congress? >> so, i really like ncba's report and using it in tandem with supernovas report. you can say, these are the places that have social equity programs. it's obviously not a not -- enough. these are some of the issues we are facing. some of the barriers that currently exist. ncba's program offers a number of different solutions and supernovas report backs it up with the data. another really effective way to use supernovas report is, a lot of the more conservative folks would say, well, this is a burden. this program costs money. we don't want to spend more of our money on building these programs that don't work. really what we can do is show how the program actually creates taxpaying businesses and businesses that contribute back into the community. so it's a great way to show that you get a return on the investment. >> i wholeheartedly agree with amber. one of the challenges is when you are raising issues with policy, you don't want people -- we've seen it happen. it happened in ohio where they ran into legal hurdles with their bad policy around social equity and they got shut down. what was their response? we just won't do it. we don't want to raise problems and have people identify the areas that need work without making it abundantly clear that it's absolutely foundational he necessary to have social equity, not just in a moral imperative level but also on an economic and restorative level. being able to point out some of the challenges in the need for improvement with, you need to do this. framing it in a way that also brings an economic has been an incredibly valuable tool. i feel like i'm the unofficial spokesman of the supernova impact report. i talk about it all the time. >> i think this needs to be the last question from me. i think we have some time from the audience. i wanted to leave on a positive note. i think the audience should hear where they can find that report. also speak about where we go from here now that we've identified the problem. what's next? >> yeah. again, one of the reasons that we did this report was to update our model state policy. shout out to my president there. we needed to have really well-informed policy. we have addressed what is going to start circulating shortly. we will create model policy that we can empower members and people in the community with to be able to go into lawmakers and say, you don't know what to do? great, i have something for you. we are turning this into an important policy developing tool. when we released the report, we gather names of people who committed to the seven principles behind it and so we are building a beautiful coalition of really diverse voices around some of these pressing issues that are truly about the survival of our community within this industry. >> can people find the report online? >> yes. go to our website. it's in our policy section. you can find that. >> so, you can find our report by going to our website. just scroll down and it should be on that. you have to put in your email address but it's very easy to access and download. >> where do we go from here? >> thank you. supernovas report was largely based on a lot of data that we got from a couple of different municipalities that have operating and active social equity programs. but we would really like to drill down and go state-by-state. a lot of the data ended up coming from oakland. oakland is the first municipality that established a equity program back in 2016. so they had the most information. we would really like to now go back and say, ok california, assess all the data there. go to massachusetts, take of all -- all of the info. really start to get more state specific just so that we can help the states create more effective policy. hopefully even allocate more dollars to these programs and add more components to each of the programs. >> great. i think that's time. i feel like we need an audience question. i see a hand up so we are going to go with it. >> [inaudible] >> can you use the microphone please? >> sorry about that. we are based in humboldt, california. i've been in the game for quite some time. thank you for your work. even now with my investment dollars not coming from wall street, i find myself being pushed out by retailers due to slotting fees. i felt that i was pushed out of the denver market as it started to get more mature. we have to a value eight people like we evaluate walmart. i think this had to start at the consumer level. the consumer needs to know to support brands and make sure the dispensaries are also being equitable. even if i have a business and i struggle to do the right thing, i still can end up failing because retailers won't carry my product because the larger companies are essentially gaming the system through taking up all the shelf space and putting me out. i found myself seven years into this, i consider myself a consort -- cornerstone. now i'm struggling because they are literally clogging the shelves with crab products. i come from a wellness world where high for just 10 been colored stuff should not be in our dispensaries and yet that's the majority of the stuff. we see a race to the bottom and distal lit instead of whole plant medicine. how can we start to show consumers that they need their voice? >> yes. that's a great point. it's nice to see somebody from california in the building. good to see you. that's one of my favorite brands. i think here is where we have to start to create the conversation and culminate the conversation around craft cannabis. that has been missing. that's the cornerstone of cannabis. that's the cornerstone of small business. really, that's what the consumers are looking for. i look at beer and the beer industry. they've done it. they figured out how to really carve out a space for their craft, manufacturers, and producers. we have to do the same thing here in cannabis. it's missing. the only way that they are going to hear it as if we start that conversation. we really have got to educate our lawmakers, cut out space for us as craft producers. and then also educate the dispensaries and retailers on why it's important. they already know why it's important. they know because we were there before. back in 2017, 2016, prior to that. we were there. it's been lost because of the capital starting to flood in. the people with the money, the slotting fees, they've been able to capture that shelf space. i think that when we bring that conversation back and show transparency around the products, i think it will happen. it starts with us amplifying that conversation. we need to reduce excise taxes. those set-asides in comparison to the craft beer industry that they have. we should be entitled to those very same things. >> those in emerging states, my company helped the concept become the cornerstone dispensary and easy for new consumers to come in. now $23,000 fee. how can i do that? we helped build this industry. never mind the notion of marginalized communities. as a business person, we are helping build this industry. it started in craft. yet now, we are being pushed out. thank you for those words. i appreciate it. >> this is something that some states tried to address on a policy level. having a requirement that the certain amount of shelf space the net -- designated to social equity operators. i think we need to be attacking the idea of slotting fees being applied. there are organizations that are working to bring visibility to equity operators and certifications. we highlight and support minority grants. i think fundamentally changing this is going to require us attacking what's happening on a policy level. creating space and protecting us in the market where the retailers so competitive like california. >> unfortunately, that's time. we have more big panels coming our way. thank you for attending and thank you both for this really great conversation. >> thank you. [applause] >> hello. how's everyone doing? we are almost at the end of our policy summit. i'd like to thank you all for staying around and thank you to the national cannabis festival for having me. my name is courtney davis. i serve as the executive director director for marijuana manners. it's a social enterprise organization that's based in washington, d.c.. we are a new organization so you may not have heard of us. we are working to ensure that there's a social equity framework at the center of the legalize cannabis conversation. we do this work through retailers, education, under from our ship, and advocacy. and we are here to make sure that the conversation of social equity has had in all conversations about legalizing cannabis. our vision is to repair what has been dismantled, restore what has been destroyed, and reclaim what has been displaced. our organization also believes that there is a shared responsibility between private businesses, public institutions, and communities to create an industry that does no more harm. this setting is the perfect opportunity for these three stakeholder groups to learn from each other and to collaborate on cannabis reforms. our next guest speaker is a large part of this conversation. as a person who spent the past decade working on capitol hill, i understand the important role that elected officials and their staff play in the policymaking process. if we walk away with one message today, it's utter cannabis laws are in desperate need of state and federal reforms. as a former colorado resident, it brings me pleasure to introduce the video message from ed perlmutter. he represents the seventh district in colorado. since colorado legalize cannabis, he's been one of the leading voices in congress on cannabis reform. he's also been on a crusade to legalize cannabis banking in the u.s.. he's been introduced six times. maybe the six time is the charm. the value of the current u.s. cannabis industry is $17.7 billion and yet has less than a percent of banks and credit unions providing limited cannabis banking services. there is no speak -- it's a huge challenge for entrepreneurs of color. our organization has worked alongside other advocacy groups and members like congressman perlmutter to create banking opportunities for minority and women entrepreneurs. the congressman has recently announced that he is retiring after this congress and regardless of how you feel about the bills that have been introduced in congress, the one thing that we can agree on is that we need more members of congress that are willing to make this industry a priority so that we can continue to have these conversations that have taken place today. without further ado, please turn your attention to remarks from the congressman. >> hi. i'm the congressman for the western and northern suburbs of denver, colorado. i want to thank you for inviting me to participate in your summit. let me talk first about the state baking act. that's one that i've been working on for years, since colorado legalized adult use of marijuana back in 2012 by citizens initiative and by amending our constitution. barney frank who is chairing the financial services committee could see a collision between state laws and the federal law, particularly the controlled substance act. that would prevent or limit banks and credit unions financial services from providing any kind of financial assistance to the cannabis industry or anything that had thc. he was right. what we've seen is now 47 states , all the tora terry's in the district of columbia have some level of cannabis use. as a result, we've seen lots of cash being generated from this business and that cash has attracted some violent crimes. colorado has had murders recently. washington, we had a robber killed, a police officer killed, and the owner of a dispensary killed. the other thing that we've seen is that small businesses and minority owned businesses have a really hard time getting access to capital. it's not equitable and how the businesses are developing. banking would provide more opportunities for small businesses, minority owned businesses, women-owned businesses to get capital and be able to provide resources to grow their particular businesses. the safe banking act is part of a much bigger bill called the american peace act. it was passed as an amendment onto america competes. america competes his appeal -- build their link with research and development and manufacturing here in america. its purpose is to make sure the united states remains competitive with the rest of the world, particularly china. hopefully we will be able to keep safe banking and maybe at a research component to assist veterans and keep it moving forward and get it to the white house to get signed. that will be the first big step towards reforming cannabis legislation. if a comprehensive piece by senator schumer or booker could pass, that's great. but something needs to get moving in the senate. i hope your summit goes well. i wish i was there. there's a lot to talk about. i think you've heard from you long enough. i wish you all well. take it easy. goodbye. [applause] >> hi everyone. i'm the deputy director of relations for the national bull -- cannabis industry association. i'm happy to be here today to open our last panel of the summit. banking on incrementalism, how interest congress passed the safe banking act. the national cannabis industry association is the oldest and largest trade association representing the legal cannabis industry. our 1000 members are spread nationwide and are comprised of cultivators, manufacturers, retail operators, service provider, you name it. all that to say that an cia advocates for all businesses small and large involved in cannabis and has a proven track record of doing so. since i started working and lobbying eight years ago, a lot has changed. a lot has stayed the same. millions of voters have gone to the ballot box in favor of legalizing cannabis in some form , legislatures all over the country have implemented regulatory regimes. companies have merged and flourished. all the while, federal prohibition has continued, millions urbane incarcerated, and businesses struggle. while many of these issues could be solved through federal legislation, there's been a lot of disagreement over where to put resources, time, and energy and over what order these bills should be considered in. the next panel is going to tell you all about the safe banking act, how it is passed out of the house six times now. you'll hear about how the bill enjoys more than 40 bipartisan cosponsors in the senate in both broad coalition support ranging from financial institutions to labor unions. you might be getting -- beginning to wonder what the holdup is. the disagreement over incremental reform doesn't have as much to do with substance as it does inside the beltway strategy. some are of the opinion that passing a bill will hurt the chances of passing comprehensive reform or that it doesn't go far enough for the individuals and communities most harmed by the war on drugs. others believe that it will increase political and public support for these, make communities safer, and provide opportunities for small minority businesses. congressional offices, lobbyists, advocates, businesses, and other stakeholders are still divided on whether passing reform helps or hurts legalization efforts. time is of the essence. history and electoral patterns tell us that republicans are likely to regain control of one chamber of congress this november. it doesn't bode well for cannabis reform, incremental or otherwise. real communities, real businesses, real people are bearing the brunt. this is all a mass oversimplification of the topic that you are about to hear about. so soon you will know all the details about banking on incrementalism and whether we should or shouldn't. i will turn it over to our panel. thank you. [applause] >> hi everyone. thank you guys so much for joining us today on this beautiful friday afternoon to listen to this topic. we have a very ideologically diverse panel with us today so i'm really excited to get into it. i would love to start off by having each of the panelists introduce themselves, their organization. tell us a little bit about your stance on safe banking and how it will impact the organization and the members that you guys serve. would you like to start us off? >> thank you. good afternoon. we are the last panel keeping you guys from going home so we will try to keep this lively and fun. my name is tanner daniel. we represent the entirety of the banking industry, whether it's the largest financial institutions on wall street all the way down to the community banks in rural parts of america. it's been a recent journey. only the past couple congresses came out in full sorted support of this incremental approach. we believe that the narrow focus of the state banking act will immediately help communities address safety issues. immediately address the tax collection problem that is being faced in communities that have legalized marijuana. so on and so forth. it's not a perfect solution. if you talk, he just mentioned that this has been a tenure fight that he's been having. from the jump, it had always been a conversation about addressing the problem on the ground today. excited to be on this panel and talking more about banking on a friday afternoon. [laughter] >> yeah. i'm a federal legislative representative. most of you know me through the grocery and food processing industry. we represent 1.3 million essential food workers throughout north america. we also represent over 10,000 cannabis workers and that number is growing every day. the reason why we are so engaged is because of safety for the workers for one. we've all heard stories about incidence of crime and break-ins. unfortunately, murders. they have become very dangerous job sites for our members. the other issue, members don't have access to traditional banking services like home loans . they can't prove their him -- their income when they are applying for these types of banking services because of federal prohibition. we want to make sure that the apparel passes are being taken care of. are they paying the right income tax? are the deductions right? will social security kit -- he could he be there when they retire? will unemployment benefits be there? disability, although sorts of things. that's why we are so engaged in this. >> we try to keep taxes down which requires the government to do fewer stupid things. stupid things cost money. 30 years ago, got involved with two ade as well as the idea of safe banking, allowing banks to deal with products that aren't federally legal but in the state are. one says, in this industry if you are selling schedule one drugs, you will get arrested. then they say, you've made a million dollars and you say, yes but i had to hire my henchmen and stuff like that. these are my but duction's. that was the law up until the early 80's. my parents taught me if you want to become a bank robber, keep the records of the gasoline for the car and all that and take that as a deduction. 21% tax on profits in colorado because you can't take deductions and credit. that makes experimentation at the state level very difficult. all good ideas come from one state doing it, three states doing it, 10 states doing it and then it goes to washington. constructive ideas come from washington because nobody has tried this before, let's enforce it on the whole country. takes a great deal of time to ever undo. for federalism to move an idea forward, the two big problems in cannabis are two ade you can't take normal business deductions and you pay taxes on total sales, not on your profits. and the lack of safe banking. those two reforms would allow more extreme in at the state level and better inform washington and speed up the process. >> i'm the chair of the cannabis regulators of color coalition, relatively new organization of government officials selected to oversee regulatory markets. for a long time, we didn't have enough people of color to actually have a coalition. in 2020, that started to shift. my job as a regulator is in the city of portland. a mature market where i oversee over 400 licenses. most of the businesses that we license have banking. they pay a lot of fees for it. the story around not having banking is on the ground across all of our different markets. not exactly true. i came into the industry as a patient. i'm a patient first. for me, the safe banking bill has been really about telling the real story behind the market plan of the bill. what it actually does, there's a lot of inflation on a bill that's for banking which is why we have so many people here that represent banking and tax. that and telling a story about what it will do for people. i think we know that we have a hope that it will make some improvements. one we fundamentally have a banking system that is inequitable as it stands in 2020 one, having federal reports released were black and latinx business owners are half as likely to get a commercial loan, we have a systemic problem. the real issue -- i will talk more about this in my closing remarks, historically coming -- excluded communities are dying on the hill of political incrementalism. [applause] we have to talk about it. [applause] i'm here to share what's going on on the ground and dispel the myths and talk about what we are working on as a coalition. a number of other organizations have come to the table to start to figure out the amendments. >> thank you. [applause] i want to get into your takes on how much of an impact this legislation would have if it actually passed. as a reporter who covers the cannabis industry, you hear a lot about safe banking. at the same time, i do a lot of hemp and cbd coverage. there are a lot of hemp businesses out there. they still have trouble accessing banks and payment processing. in your view, what kind of impact with this bill have on your licensee's? >> right now, they are hoping that the impact would make their fees go down. to be perfectly honest, whether or not there is cash on hand in stores, that's not what is primarily being stolen. our robberies are up quite significantly. i don't take that lightly at all. we are working on a lot of solutions including a cannabis emergency relief fund specifically for the industry. the merchandise is the thing of value. whether we have an ability to swipe a card as licensees doesn't seem to change things. they do want to have a perceived theory of safety. and of lower cost and opportunity. when we dig into the bill, there are things that are going to give options to banking institutions and make it safe for them to decide how they are going to move. given the fact that there are banks like chase that still won't bank poured because of the risk and liability of all -- their reputation, we don't for see that being a watershed moment for small licensed businesses, let alone black and brown owned small licensed businesses. if they had a regular business, they would still suffer to try to get resources. i will add that right now, post-covid, we are having a banking issue across all of the black and brown communities at this point. most of those branches closed down. in reality, i don't see how that bill will translate to the direct impact on the ground. what will happen is we will have the people most impacted say, you are talking junk and it won't actually do it. that's what we are trying to figure out. how do we get better language that moves the needle towards real impact on the ground? >> do you mind if i respond? i think the work you are doing -- i can't emphasize enough as a former hill staffer, when i first talked to folks, we would get laughed out of the room. the industry has evolved. this is a serious conversation things to the work of folks like the people here, yourself. thank you for that. back to a comment about your question of, what would actually happen? a report recently came out, indicating how many institutions are currently banking based off of what are called suspicious activity reports. they came out saying it's now 755 institutional banks and credit unions. that number has tripled over the past couple months. having talked to folks on the ground who are in states and doing this, they've classified those 755 as people actively in the speech. how many of them are aggressively looking to do loans , to provide services outside of what folks in portland are doing? which is likely to take their money so they don't have money in their short fund. it is much smaller. one investment i was reading about said it was 200 institutions totally. so the question of, what will states to? america has the most competitive banking system in the world. there are 3500 members. the bulk of which are community banks who want to support and help their communities. you have to understand, bankers, the reputational risk associated with getting an examination during from the regulator for helping traffic. they are in violation for money laundering. people like denny heck, lieutenant governor in washington. governor ansley made the announcement along with patty murray. these are the people who have seen the problem on the ground, have full throated come out in support of states to address the safety risk that's on the ground but also to make it an ecosystem where most folks can come out and provide capital to these communities that desperately need the services. this is just such a unique -- me as someone who just recently became a canopies -- cannabis lobbyist, it is such an interesting and unique case study as to what happens to a segment of our economy when our robust, safe, consumer protected -- you talked about addressing lending needs to minority small business owners. let's have a conversation about the bank that has been endorsed to try to get more people into the banking system so that they have a relationship with a banker that they otherwise wouldn't. that's a lot of the >> again, totally respect and appreciate the advocacy, but to your question, there will be a dramatic shift in the level of participation. even with the number, that that number is inflated. >> just to clarify participation of banks and institutions. >> and credit unions. >> how have you guys seen the issue of cannabis more generally evolve over the years, and how does the bipartisan support and help to move the ball forward. -- forward? >> generally people are coming around 10 notches cannabis laws, but is started as the issue that is moving more and more mainstream. i also get the sense, and i'm not saying i support, endorse or don't this notion, but people will see this in three different pieces. i hope that we can get provisions attached with that, even looking at expungement, state-level record expungement, and then there sure federal national expungement piece and what the regulatory and tax structure are going to look like. i feel as we get more serious about what a post-d scheduling world looks like, we are thinking about how complex of an issue this is and that's why we saw the senate bill get postponed. i think that means that people are taking the issue more seriously, and there's a sense of inevitability that we need to prepare folks for. >> can i just asked that the work we are doing, but we did already pass it, and the fact that there was more opposition on the floor this time, more votes against it, and it seems that the opposition is reversing back to what i've been calling a war on drugs 2.0. even the way we describe the businesses that we are talking about are here and that fully needs to change and shift mainly because cannabis is medicine first and always, and we have to start talking about people first. but there were people even from the states that i'm in and the jurisdiction i oversee talking about the industry, the things that happen with dash, which of course are very devastating. they don't even compare to what's happening in philadelphia on a weekend, but they are devastating. we are blowing it out of proportion to tell the story like these things are so unsafe, and that the industry needs more enforcement. the majority of the conversation in the debate on the floor was actually around very remedial, and my feeling, like 1990 new jack city type of discussion around cannabis. that is going backwards. as much as it's becoming mainstream, we have to recognize the timing signals. every time we talk about safe banking, we signal there is some problem still around enforcement at the end of the day. at the end of the day it impacts historically excluded communities the most. so i'm always going to push back against that. that's not what's happening in my market. i could talk about the numbers. we are not going to conflated to a story so that we can revert back. just because something is bipartisan doesn't mean it's good for the people. everything that was said here is talking about institutions and things, but at the end of the day it's the people that we need to free first before we start talking about freeing the money. >> you have anything to add it? just about this evolution in congress? >> what politician wanted know is one, is it a good idea, which is vaguely important, but also, is it safe. can i vote for this and get reelected. >> that's for the safe, not for the people. >> you want an elected official to vote for you on the issue, you need to convince us it's a good idea and won't cost you your job. i was testifying on criminal testifying -- criminal reform in florida and they pass this ya -- law four years ago in texas and people looked up from their iphones because you just told them to election cycles nobody lost their jobs and then all of a sudden they are taking notes and you got through. i think most elected officials recognize the space because they seen we are not losing elections at the state level. why this in washington thinks it's safe to do marijuana. that doesn't measure intensity. they could tell you what people think, but it doesn't tell you whether they vote on it, watching an election or people losing their jobs in colorado state legislator. if not, it's much easier. now we could talk about the merits now that we've handled the important question about getting reelected. we've gotten past the first one, it safe, and i think the argument, if it's a good idea, is easier to make and better to make. and also by the 37 states that moved before and legalize it as medicine as opposed to recreational use, that made people feel more comfortable as well. so, taking some of the steps notched down the arguments that opponents use. we have a collection of arguments. if one doesn't work, we will have another one. assuring people it's safe for reelection, and it's a good idea, you can feel comfortable voting for it. i think we are getting there with more of these projects. why then don't we pass a bill, like the safe act or to ade that have popular support. i was told two years ago that mitch mcconnell and the republicans are ready to go and pass it through the senate and then something happened. they were ready, numbers were there to do it. and hemp legalization moved on a similar pattern. that was also at the federal level. but we put together a meeting of people who work on these things on the guy from hemp would come in and say, here's how it's moving, and he would see this thing completely passed and it did quite well. the challenge there is the bills that everybody likes are often not called laws because they become hostages. a bill that will pass is, can i put my stupid idea and attacher, it's a good idea but it has fewer friends than the original bill and everybody puts 25 things on it and so they take hostage good ideas. not just on cannabis, but on a whole host of issues. everybody agrees it's a good idea, and by the time it's presented to congress, it's got lots of boat anchors attached to it that may get by, that's why people do it. some may even be good ideas that they add on, but it's a new idea as opposed to the old idea you are comfortable with, it slows everything down, so that's a challenge. >> let's talk about was holding this bill up. it's passed on the house already, twice as a standalone bill. four times attached to bigger packages. but you have schumer, booker and biden in the senate who don't want to pass banking legislation without comprehensive marijuana reform. so my question to you is, is there anything that you would like to see changed to safe that would make it more appealing to you? or are, are you also in the same camp of you want to see federal decriminalization? >> i think safe hasn't passed, i will say that was karma, real talk. the reality is that we are literally trying to make access to money available for industries that instill predominantly white and male, why they are out of black and brown people in jail. number one, we need to decriminalize and we don't need that wrapped around in a pill for something of a regulatory structure, you could just stop arresting people and it would save money and jobs at the same time. i get the political game, which is what we talked about. all this dirty jury happening -- the strategy happening, we gotta talk about it. we won't pretend like we could come out with a comprehensive bill that will seek support, but i want people to understand what's actually really happening. we have a bipartisan issue around social justice components of the more active, then weeks of it, a senate bill is passed for extension of cannabis research for the large bars pharmaceutical company, and there was no discussion at all, it passed unanimously. how does that happen? what it tells me is that we are struggling with a fundamental difference on how to approach legalization with the social justice component as first. if that is the issue, then you and i will probably never see eye to eye, like, at all. i think what we work on that we understand the long-term play. we work at the state and local level to make it the concept. to your point the federal government is very risk-averse. that's tells you how many jobs we have. some of us not paid, but we are also working on the potential amendment, a coalition of us have worked together for the better part of the year at this point, talking through how can we add some equitable provisions from things as, some people would say far out there as taking money that was collected and should have been written off if it was a jew to make business and making that into some kind of fund that is a cannabis justice fund or a cannabis economic recovery fund. we've also talked about how do we support the minority institutions. we, at this point, are seeing a deep line and there's definitely more initiative. but right now, we don't explicitly call them out and we don't put in any provisions to ensure that lending rates are anything are going to change from the disparate rates that they currently are. we are looking to see how do we get the right language to not sink the ship. i think we have to ask for what we need and recognize we will be playing this game to figure out what we can get. but it's no longer about what we can get. it's about what we deserve and what we need and we need to start there. [applause] >> tanner, chris, are there amendments you think will move this bill forward in the senate and if so, what are they? >> to her point, i agree with everything you said. we support social equity provisions, we endorse the more addicts. we worked very closely at the state and federal level, so anything we can get, we are fully supportive of. i just want to point out one thing in this disconnect we have between what the people want and what politicians are willing to support and vote for. and to your point, this, driven by fear of not getting elected, there is this very strange political disconnect where the overwhelming majority of the public once one thing, we have a political system that doesn't reflect the overwhelming consensus of the public. so, that ultimately -- excuse me, we need to get into constitutional issues, but as a symptom of a bigger problem that we have politically. [applause] >> i will stop there. >> but we are not looking for a amendments as a safe haven. i'll be honest. but to echo chris's point, i think there is a need to have the discussion, expungement of records, decriminalization. we just view it in the judiciary committee, the banking committee is the discussion for this one. in i think the point we made earlier about what the public wants, i mentioned the name jordan brown. and in the state of washington who was killed recently. i talk about the north of 60 robberies that have happened in the state of washington. that's more than the amount of robberies that have happened the previous two years, and we are in april. so while i recognize there is a need to fight for those bigger issues, and there should be that fight, but let's take it to the judiciary committee, but let's have those discussions. we don't take a position one way or the other on the more act, but the way the debate played out is, there's work to be done. but again, jordan brown, that is the problem that's on the ground right now is people are losing their lives. and to get money out of these shops, yes, i recognize some of the burglaries, the bulk of it, the product is there, but you make these dispensaries a target when you don't have access to banking systems back to the social addressing and capital of small businesses. there's a steady language in the banking act added to acquire the federal regulators for the financial institutions to report to the regulators on what sort of lending they are due to minority businesses that's baked into the safe banking act. and again, there's a myriad of laws that are already on the books that protect against discriminatory behavior in our industry that will continue to be in place. >> in his own words, that's the problem. [applause] >> at interrupt because i want to acknowledge you mentioned things in the justice committee, none of the amendments i suggested had anything to do with that. they were amendments related to the banking institutions in ways that we could fix exactly what you said, is in place. a lot of the work we've done thanks to the fact that the group chat is diversity experience. i'm a former fortune 500 executive, people who come from the banking and compliance world, we identify what we think are things that the banking institutions could do to make this a bit more equitable. and it's something i think you should start to look at and not always assume that the equity is around really restitution. you are expunging stuff now that you are making money on it. it's important for you to recognize at the different element altogether and we are proceeding accordingly. so that's why you didn't hear that as any of my amendments. but where you talk to things that are already in place, unfortunately there in place but we have a 2021 report that says that the process is not working. there isn't enough incentive, i guess, or perhaps a slap on the wrist is only the case when you don't follow these anti-discriminatory policies. but it's happening. in the numbers show that. i think the real challenge i have with so many reports, will whether it's americans with states access, the apl you report, two really great social equity impact reports and supernova, we have a lot of data and tanks use data. so i'm still confused about why we haven't figure out how to solve for the gaps in this data in the report. because that's what the solution is, solving for that. same as we pass as we hope for it is a very different thing. have gotta tell you growing up the way i did, we hope that maybe the plan was for keeping cannabis credible lies in keeping us on the streets is not what happened, so we have to rectify it, fix it and stop telling the story about what we hope will happen in the revised plans of more action for the future. sorry. and i apologize. not really, i don't apologize, this is what it is. but i also feel that there is a bit of an imbalance in that you all are coming from a position where you feel that states by itself will do so much. but again, what constituents are you thinking about? >> we never said it's the silver bullet, it's an incremental. we think it would do a tremendous amount -- no. 755 institutions right now and the entirety are doing this. of those, it's not a lot of them that are aggressive. i recognize important and it may be a different story happening on the ground there, but to deny an opportunity so that there can be this wave of competition that comes into the space at a moment when, again, people are dying from having these cash only businesses, that something that we are generally saying, listen, let's take this step now, and continue to have the conversation. >> i think people are dying as a trigger because people are dying in the hood right now. it's a trigger. and we are talking about on a order of number. you keep dropping your 60. any spend a weekend in philly and you will get a different experience. right here, thank you, appreciate you saying that. again, i want to make sure we are not conflating and making a story. >> hopefully it didn't come off. >> that's how it comes off, unfortunately. not to attack, but just to be aware that the way in which you are even describing what you think you are fixing shows that you are completely unaware of a big sewer that is actually happening right in front of you. >> i want to get into some of the capital action issues. as we know, there's a lot of struggles by entrepreneurs in the industry, a lot of predatory lending, a lot of lending of mso's. getting into predatory relationship with equity advocates. and you know, they have their own struggles and issues with this in lawsuits and all of that stuff. and i have talked to some social equity applicants who say, i don't have a choice, i can't go to the bank to get alone, and have to negotiate with predatory lenders and that's the only way i can start my business. so, in your view, with this legislation help with that issue at all? tanner, do you want to start? >> again, we firmly believe that this would get more folks involved into the space. i think to her point, there is a real question about what our systemic problems in the system that need to be discussed. again, we are open and willing to have those conversations. again, the constructs of what his face, and if other members of congress were here that had helped guide this along and brought the labor unions along to be in support of it, i think the resounding answer would be yes, this is the problem on the ground. ok, there's too much in these instances. here's how we incrementally fix this one little problem in this banking universe to help address that next step. so. >> it's important to think about those sorts of things, but it's also important to remember the workers. this will -- this is a very important step for our folks to be able to access the traditional banking system in ways that they are currently unable to. it's almost like it isn't just the inability to get loans, personal loans, car loans, those sorts of things, but unemployment insurance, all these things that we all take for granted everyday that are part of everyday employment. we are excluding a whole class of workers out of. and i just want to reiterate that that is a very important thing. we want to make sure that this industry -- a mom-and-pop shop has good paying jobs, you provide good paying jobs, you contribute to your community, and that ultimately helping communities that have been the most harmed from the war on drugs. we talk around this a lot, but this country spent a lot of money fighting a war that quite frankly, we lost. and, the fact that there are so may people, folks here that one a foot correcting those harms front and center, as he a very good thing. -- sorry. absolutely. and, it's something that we need to be very conscious of and think about going forward and ensure that these businesses, no matter what their structure is, are providing good paying jobs to their communities. >> completely agree with you. on the ground in my jurisdiction we have the cannabis workers coalition. there are a couple of other jurisdictions that are starting to see the unionization of workers, and that, of the industry is probably the most diverse part of the industry, so that's not something we take lightly. over 350,000 people usually working in the cannabis space right now. 10,000 in your group. and what i will say, even myself having previously worked for it, is, big companies can do payroll taxes without issue. the mso's are handling that without an issue. people employ them and they employ the book of the industry. people who work from them are able to improve their income without an issue. as to struggle in small businesses. i always kind of go back to what's happening for the regular non-cannabis part of the industry. small businesses in general don't do payroll taxes very well. they have a struggle with maintaining minimum wage requirements and often times will push against that because they are worried about maintaining. those are not things that are phenomenon for the cannabis space, that is about how do we protect and build in support small businesses to do that better in general. again, i don't want to conflate the story that if you work in cannabis you will only get paid in cash right now, maybe 2010, maybe in 2015, but you are getting a pay stub, and your company may be paying a lot of fees upwards to $120,000 in a year, but you will get a standard experience. i think we are conflating all stories and real stories with small business as a segment across the board with the challenges of the cannabis space. >> it depends on the maturity of the market. in new and emerging markets in the cannabis space they don't have that infrastructure. it's coming and it will get to them, but ultimately, workers need access to the full spectrum of financial on things that are available to them. >> benefits, insurance and all that. there are definitely still issues, don't get me wrong, but some of the things are almost like, it's not going to work if you are going to get paid and not prove that you are getting paid. and that's not quite what's happening. >> we are just about out of time, but i want to ask you one last question, and that is, how do you guys as advocates, as lobbyist, balance what you want with pragmatism and getting something done? >> justice isn't pragmatic. >> it just isn't. there is a history of injustice in this country that is so pervasive that it will never be just one program or one thing. we literally need to lead in and leaned down and lean hard altogether. what happens with increment is aluminum -- with incrementalism, you're on the wall but not on the wall. and he told a line or the wall. justice is not pragmatic and if you want it, there will be a bit of that thrown out the window to ask what you need, but you have to build strategy. i have gotten a lot of things done at the state and local level with a lot of policy reform. i'm a realist, but i also call it out for what it is. we tend to decide we want to act in a bipartisan way but we say things crazy about the industry and i should not be the case. you can correct people and still collaborate with them. and he can demand it and not be a pragmatic thought around where we are headed and still collaborate with them on going that way. >> sorry to jump in, something interested about this effort, the safe effort, is that the coalition in this space has made it so that we had a conversation about it earlier in it has just really butted heads on the hill as it is today, and i think it will continue to be like that for some time with more work. but through the readership of members, like senator merkley and others, they found an issue that was on the ground in this narrow banking space and said, hey, how can we build this out to have an adult conversation about this issue on this. i think you touch on this, members have pulled a million different ways, so it wasn't until leaders like ed started this having -- started having this conversation where we are now open with this and saying all of the work that we all are doing is making this type of conversation and d.c. more normal. that is a huge step. again, i know the disagreement about incrementalism in full on advocacy, but to me, that little step is a huge deal in the space, and it all started with that idea of, who is the coalition we will build and how will we get members from various parts of the spectrum interested and i think it has been generally successful to this point. >> last odds, keep it brief. >> there's no conflict between incrementalism and moving forward because, can we do everything today, no, votes aren't there, what about speeding up something going forward? it sounds like we could have it all, we decided not to. we are taking this it'll thing. that's not the way the world works. if the votes were there, you would have it. the votes aren't there. the votes are there for two ade, the votes are there for the effort on banking. the votes are there state-by-state. so we are doing that, as much as you can, state-by-state. state-by-state is a mess. the regulations on cannabis are stupider than the regulations on liquor and that's difficult to do. so we have made incredible compromises that are disasters and make all sorts of interesting people rich in order to get to the legalization. then you have to come back and unpack the craft that went into the california bill in washington bill in nevada in order to buy off the votes. the votes of the people, just to get it through. you decide where you want to go. everything they get you there faster is a good idea. it's not instead of the thing you don't have the votes for. this happens all the time. we did the first step act on criminal justice reform and they said, we have to have everything. every day we had to have everything, people rotted in prison. we could've done that during the obama administration that he wanted everything instead of something and thousands of people rotted in prison for years, there is a cost to slowing things down. it's not nothing's going wrong, there's a war on drugs still going on. until we ended own talk about we solve the social justice problem. people are going to jail for non-crimes. in this government has no business telling people how to run their own lives and throw them online. no, i want to do this other thing instead, and you are not counting the dead people in the ruined lives because you couldn't do things faster, sooner. and all the people who moved into the state, that's the state, not the federal government, that's not everything. no, but it was progress. and we will get to everything because we took the baby steps. it's true on marijuana, it's true on every project. if you want to get things done, politics take every step you can because it makes the next steps easier. every time you say we are going away, the problem you thought you resolving takes years longer do and in this case people died in prison in everyday because -- we wait for perfect, let's get what we can take. >> i want to add one thing, and that is, as a union guy, this looks a lot like a negotiation. >> except it doesn't have to be a deal is the problem. >> this is so weird that we are agreeing. >> i'm sorry. [laughter] >> i didn't want to get in the way of that. >> it's a good thing. and that is, when you learn about negotiations, we have what we call a negotiated agreement. and in this circumstance it's the status quo. and who benefits from the status quo? >> i don't think that's the matter. but i think incrementalism is a struggle for the people who are historically excluded and oppressed. so it's easy to say, this is how it's always been done, look at where we are at this point and we have some real disparities. we have to do better and we have to change. >> we are over our time. thank you guys so much for being here with us on a friday afternoon. this was a really enlightening discussion. >> thank you so much to our last panel. just one quick word before we go to the reception where free food and free booze awaits, i would like to thank you all so very much for attending today's national cannabis policy summit. as you saw on the stage, there was such a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and lived experiences, and somehow, someway we are going to bring the all together to get the 60 votes in the united states senator finally end marijuana prohibition at once and for all. on that note, please take with you learn here today, process it, make it your own, added to your power and make it reverberate through the city and through this country until we win. thank you, i will see you at the bar. 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