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<![CDATA[Is Arizona doing enough to promote social equity in its adult-use cannabis market?According to plaintiffs in a recently dismissed lawsuit, the answer is no.Proposition 207, the 2020 voter-approved initiative that legalized adult-use cannabis in Arizona, mandates that 26 of 169 total adult-use cannabis retail licenses be awarded to applicants impacted by prohibition, leaving leeway in the actual implementation of a social equity program.The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has since announced that the 26 social equity dispensary licenses will be awarded to applicants who meet three of four qualifying criteria, which focus on household income, adverse impacts from the war on drugs and residency requirements.In October, ADHS announced that applicants who have recently lived within 87 qualifying ZIP codes, which appear heavily focused on or near Native American reservations in the state, would meet the residency criteria for the licenses.More than 1,500 applications were filed ahead of a December 2021 deadline to apply for the 26 social equity licenses.A random selection process to issue the licenses is slated for spring 2022.A lawsuit, filed in part by the Greater Phoenix Urban League, alleged that the state's rules governing the social equity licenses are deficient, lacking provisions such as a prohibition against license transfers and a requirement that licensees' expenditures and profits remain in their communities.Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner dismissed the lawsuit earlier this month, ruling that the regulations published by ADHS satisfy the provisions set forth by Prop. 207.Now, Clark Wu, a business attorney and litigator for Arizona-based law firm Bianchi & Brandt, says it is unlikely that rule changes or further litigation will derail the licensing process, but it is possible that the state could issue new regulations to govern how social equity licenses operate moving forward.Wu says the litigation challenging Arizona's social equity licensing process…

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Source : What's Next for Social Equity in Arizona's Cannabis Market?

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