WHEN: Tuesday, April 16th, 2025 | 8:30AM – 11:00 AM
WHERE: Los Angeles City Hall Steps | 200 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Enough Is Enough: 7 Years Of Injustice Ends Now
For SEVEN LONG YEARS, the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) has mismanaged funds, created endless delays, and failed the very communities it was meant to support. After years of broken promises and systemic failures, Black and Brown Social Equity cannabis entrepreneurs are rising up to say: THIS IS THE END OF THE INJUSTICE.
Why We’re Rallying
The Social Equity Program was created to address the disproportionate impacts of cannabis criminalization and create economic opportunities for communities most harmed by the War on Drugs. Instead, for SEVEN YEARS, the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) has:
- MISMANAGED millions in funds that were specifically allocated to support social equity entrepreneurs
- Created bureaucratic obstacles that have DELAYED licensing for years with no end in sight
- Implemented policies that favor non-minority businesses while BLOCKING social equity access to the market
- FAILED to provide promised technical assistance, business support, and financial resources
- Allowed the illegal market to flourish while legal social equity businesses STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
- Imposed crushing tax burdens on the very entrepreneurs the program was designed to help
Speakers Include
- Social Equity applicants sharing their personal stories of hardship
- Community leaders from neighborhoods impacted by failed cannabis policies
- Small business advocates fighting for economic justice
- Legal experts who will explain the systemic failures of the program
Our Demands
We call on the Los Angeles City Council to HOLD THE DCR ACCOUNTABLE and adopt the Tax Forgiveness Motion authored by Councilwoman Imelda Padilla and seconded by Councilmember Curren Price, which will:
- Reform the Social Equity Program to finally fulfill its intended purpose
- Provides retroactive tax credits to Social Equity operators harmed by systemic delays.
- Creates an equitable tiered tax plan so we can survive and grow.
- Reinstitute the Cannabis Enforcement Task Force to protect legal operators
- Hold landlords accountable who knowingly rent to illegal operators.
Join Us In Solidarity
We invite ALL who have experienced the hardship caused by the DCR’s mismanagement and delays – social equity applicants, licensees, cannabis advocates, community organizations, and supporters of economic and racial justice – to stand with us. Your presence matters in showing City Council that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THIS IS THE END OF THE INJUSTICE.
BRING: Signs, personal stories, and your commitment to justice
WEAR: Green to show solidarity with the cannabis community
Contanct
For more information or to get involved, contact:
Sheila Borrome
347.901.8744
Sheila@lifedevelopmentgroup.org
Sponsored by the Black Los Angeles Cannabis Council (BLACC) and allied community organizations.
