Cannabis Czar Dasheeda Dawson Puts Social Equity, Restorative Justice In Perspective: ‘It’s Part Of My Life’s Work’
Dasheeda Dawson keeps busy by ensuring the implementation of equitable and effective cannabis rules and regulations.
Before she became New York’s “Canabis Czar,” Dawson made her mark in Oregon. She developed Portland’s legal cannabis businesses, including its regulatory licensing, compliance, education, and equity initiatives.
“Believe it or not my last day in Oregon was my first day in New York,” Dawson told Benzinga. “I think I was one of the first to move jurisdictions as far as regulation goes.”
How has it been? “Portland was like riding a bike with training wheels,” she says. “But New York is like a motorcycle with no brakes and no helmet — luckily, I’m from Brooklyn.”
Dawson — who is also an accomplished author and entrepreneur in her own right — has been instrumental in shaping cannabis policy and business practices to be more inclusive and equitable. She focuses on opportunities for communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.
Dawson chatted with us at the recent Benzinga Cannabis Market Spotlight event in New Jersey. Here’s what she had to say about creating a fair cannabis market in New York City. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.
BZ: What are your thoughts on New York’s legal cannabis rollout versus New Jersey’s?
New Jersey legalized by way of ballot initiative, versus New York where it was legislation that got passed by both the Senate and the Assembly and then signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo. I also think it was interesting to see how legislators in New Jersey were defining social equity; New Jersey actually didn’t include that language in the legislation — the Cannabis Regulatory Commission has tried to retrofit it regulatory wise.
New York’s program had restorative justice and social equity as tenants. And it was on the regulatory body here in New York to then create a framework that was meant to follow that law, which is a little bit different, I think, when you’re kind of compelled by law to do it, versus the wiggle room of being able to do something from a regulatory standpoint. The energy behind how cannabis was legalized in both states is very different.
New Jersey also went the traditional route that other legalized states had taken, where the medical operators that existed in the market had first access to adult use. New York didn’t necessarily follow the traditional model. It worked very hard to create a program that would essentially set up market access for family farms, small businesses, and those who are justice-involved. And so, to date, New York is tracking where there’s a lot more diversity in the market, even with the challenges of injunction.
BZ: Could New Jersey and New York be the forerunners of interstate cannabis commerce?
I think it’s worthwhile. But I think it’s bigger than New York and New Jersey. We have this whole Northeast Corridor, stemming from Massachusetts down to Connecticut and Pennsylvania. We have this group of states that are already adjacent to each other in a way that could radically establish what “interstate commerce” looks like. California, Washington and Oregon have been engaging in the same conversations. When I was a czar for the Portland, Oregon office, it was a lot of that conversation. But rescheduling isn’t going to change that. It’s important for people to know that.
BZ: Why not?
Rescheduling is not for the industry that exists today. There are still stipulations where, if it’s not done through the DEA license, it’s still federally illegal. It also won’t change any of the banking prospects in that regard. And it doesn’t change the federal illegalities of interstate commerce either — except if you are licensed by the DEA, which right now, only a pharmaceutical company or a hospital would be. These are just some examples. And of course, the expectation is maybe there will be …