Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 On The Record: Q&A By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com A ndrea Comer has a lot of work ahead of her. Comer chairs the 15-member Social Equity Council (SEC), a key regulator of Connecticut's forthcoming recreational cannabis industry. When state legislators were debating the cannabis legalization bill that Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in June, a primary concern among some was social equity. Pro-legalization advocates and some lawmakers highlighted the moral imperative of ensuring the pot industry would benefit marginalized communities that disproportionately bore the brunt of the nation's half- century "war on drugs." That's why the law that went into effect July 1, puts the SEC front and center in licensing prospective cannabis businesses — both those that qualify as social equity applicants as well as general applicants. So far, the council has identified parts of the state that have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs — a key criteria for determining whether a cannabis business applicant is eligible for social equity status, which provides advantages like reduced fees and preferential spots in license lottery drawings. In the months ahead, SEC members must create equity measure standards, after which the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) will start accepting cannabis business license applications, decide how many licenses the state will allow for each of the nine license categories and oversee a lottery process that decides which applicants it will consider. Council members will rule on whether social equity applicants qualify for that status. General applicants also need the council to greenlight their social equity and workforce development plans. In an interview with HBJ, Comer, who is also the deputy DCP commissioner, said the SEC's goal is to make sure everybody, especially marginalized people, get fair access to Connecticut's adult-use cannabis market. She will be working closely with the SEC's newly-named interim Executive Director Ginne-Rae Clay. Here's what else Comer had to say: First-ever Social Equity Council chair Comer wants level playing field in cannabis industry Q: What is the Social Equity Council's top goal, and how will you judge whether it's successful? The recreational cannabis legislation is a multipronged act. The SEC, specifically, is [focused on] making sure the playing field — to the extent that it's possible — is level for folks who come from disproportionately-affected communities; particularly when it comes to the "war on drugs," which has severely impacted those communities beyond just incarceration. That's our overarching goal. We have tasks associated with that, including issuing a [request for proposals] for a social equity study so that we can look at the historic and current consequences of cannabis prohibition and criminalization, looking at the intentional and unintentional racial discrimination and disparity in the development of these policies, and then the long- term social, economic and family consequences of our failure to remedy that discrimination. We also have to inform the industry's workforce development plan. Q: The legalization statute leaves it to the SEC to establish a lot of specific equity-related regulations. What are your priorities in this area? I don't want to speak for the entire council, but I can tell you one of the things I am most focused on is the access to capital for those folks who are looking to get into the market. There's lots of documentation including from the Small Business Administration, which says the share of minority businesses, while they've increased overtime, they tend to be smaller, less profitable and have lower survival rates. And small business owners, particularly those owned by Blacks, Hispanics or Latinos, are Staff members at Rocky Hill medical marijuana grow facility CTPharma trim dried cannabis flower. Andrea Comer is the co-chair of the Social Equity Council. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | YEHYUN KIM/CT MIRROR

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