The mayor is praising the joint effort.

The Seattle City Council approved a package of cannabis equity legislation Tuesday including a bill that prepares the city for issuing new “social equity licenses” for Seattle’s marijuana industry.

Mayor Bruce Harrell whose administration backed the bills called Tuesday’s votes “historic” and reportedly really said this, according to a press release from the council: “I am very pleased to see that this joint effort between my office, the Council, FAS and community stakeholders has resulted in the passage of this suite of bills.”

Dumb CHS pot jokes aside, Tuesday’s votes followed months of legislative efforts to address cannabis industry inequity and work from the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force to address the lack of diverse ownership and issues with working conditions for frontline employees at the city’s cannabis businesses.

“It’s worth repeating that this is a first – but necessary – step toward equity long overdue in the cannabis industry,” Harrell said Tuesday.

A core element of the new legislation could be a new “social equity license” that would provide a new path to ownership for qualifying entrepreneurs hoped to even the playing field for those seeking the coveted permits.

Under new state rules in the works, businesses would need to have at least “51% ownership” by individuals “who have resided in a disproportionately impacted area” where there have been factors like a high poverty rate or a “high rate of cannabis-related arrest, conviction or incarceration” to qualify for the special licenses. Other restrictions including state laws and city zoning would still apply.

Seattle is now ready to implement the overhaul once Olympia revises its licensing provisions.

The new legislation will also require Seattle marijuana businesses to develop job “retention, security, and stability” within the cannabis industry including programs to “improve workforce training and development, provide employee protections, and remedy the damage caused by cannabis prohibition and the failed War on Drugs to communities of color and marginalized communities.”

HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.