Hoping to help correct this, Illinois became the first state legislature to permit recreational pot sales to adults, in a 2019 bill that made sure that the resulting business opportunities wouldn’t all go to affluent white folks.
After covering the costs of the program, revenue from cannabis taxes will be split, with 40% going toward education, 40% to a community-grants reinvestment fund, and 20% going to a drug-treatment and public-education fund.
Covid-19 budget gaps surely helped get legalization bills across the finish line this year in New York and Virginia.
When Illinois was considering recreational-use sales, Cresco CEO Charlie Bachtell knew that restorative justice had to be part of the plan, he tells Barron’s.
Cresco has funded expungement workshops with Cabrini Green Legal Aid in Chicago, where people learned how to access their rap sheets and have their records cleared.
Retired National Basketball Association all-star Chris Webber says that the industry’s social initiatives are good business, and not handouts.
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