a conversation on marijuana legalization regulation and taxation efforts at the impact the walls have had on the criminal justice system. we will hear from members of congress and the naacp in this national summit held last week. if [inaudible conversations] [applause]

>> good morning. my name is caroline phillips and it's my pleasure to welcome all of you today to the national cannabis policy summit. here we are in the theater of the museum and it's hard to believe how far away we've come awe've come as acountry unity iw short years. i'd like to start by thanking the sponsors. it is business as -- [applause] it is business is like this that make it possible for us to gather for conversations like the ones we are going to have today. i also like to thank and acknowledge the 32 nonprofit groups that are part of the national cannabis festival steering committee. for years, they've worked hard, they worked together to educate and inform the general public about better ways to talk about cannabis policy reform.

three years ago, i launched the national cannabis festival alongside a group of activists, business owners and dedicated volunteers. we agreed that it was time to bring the conversation about cannabis legalization and the fight for the rights of patients, business owners and the victims of the field war on drugs to washington, d.c.. as activists, we are accustomed to gathering together to talk about the issues that matter to us the most. but i and many others in the room believe that the message is even stronger when we convene together as unlikely allies. when our group of voices comes together it is even stronger when the decisions are very the end of the opinions are diverse. today we gather because we know it is a time for a new approach to the cannabis policy, an approach that brings together

people from all over the political spectrum who are ready to take action for the sensible cannabis policy reform. the first speaker knows a few things about reform and political action. she also knows a few things about cannabis. it is my great pleasure to welcome to the stage "new york times" best-selling author crooked media contributor and former deputy chief of staff to president obama. [applause] >> hello, everyone. i always come prepared. i'm so excited to be here today because i love pot. [cheering] i recentl had recently read an e entitled successful,

sophisticated and stoned. i do not consider myself sophisticated but i do think that i have been successful. i am more successful when i have some part. i suffer from irritable bowel syndrome for all the years i was able to upgrade it and suffer. i actually didn't even realize i had it. it took the edge off my nerves which triggered my stomach. if i have a stressful off my stomach can react in a minute or two and for all the years bu tht it wasn't an available option because they worked in the white house, i drank wine and took xanax to take the edge off and i also gained weight and had chronic dry mouth syndrome. marijuana has helped my headaches come help me sleepy and keeps me more even. i'm more creative and i only use it at home. i am a small example of the impact of making it available weather for pain management or anti-inflammatory properties it's been used to treat or lessen the side effects of cancer, alzheimer's, hiv,

glaucoma, arthritis and crohn's disease. in a trial account and why you u cannot use of medical marijuana extract showed a 50% reduction in seizures in adults and children diagnosed with epilepsy. the national institute of health says thc may be useful and possible even in trading mental illness and addictions. recreation on marijuana is legal in nine states and medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and the district of columbia. it's considered one of the world's largest cash crops. there is a chance to ease the use of opioids for pain management and to give entrepreneurs a chance to thrive however with that comes the responsibility to force change to imagine a new industry of startups for the look and feel of silicon valley to actively create an industry that looks like america and an industry where women and underrepresented committees can lead and thrive. to date we haven't heard anyone

wants tanyonemore so since we wy state the case then cynthia nixon running for governor of new york. 80% of new yorkers arrested in connection with ethical marijuana use were black or latino despite roughly equal rates of use among white people in the communities of color. cynthia said there are a lot of good reasons for legalizing marijuana but for me it comes down to this. we have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with immunity. she went on, exactly everyone should be following her. she's chained them things up there. she went on to say ending the justice putting them in prison is a start but we have to creatt debate the correct past injustices by expunging convictions for nonviolent offenders whose convictions are only marijuana use. the victory of the criminalizing marijuana and legalizing pot for recreational use, of freeing the weeds won't be a victory at all if the people whof the people we

for using the drug are not redeemed in the process. [applause] so now we move to some videos. the senator was supposed to be here this morning but due to an emergency in her district she sent a video which i will introduce and will be followed by a video from the congress. leading the way to federally decriminalize marijuana last year she introduced a bipartisan bill 1227, the ending federal marijuana prohibition act seeks to reform outdated and problematic laws by federally decriminalize marijuana. she's also been calling on the fda which is classified marijuana as a schedule one drug along with heroine and lsd, to remove it from the list. being on the list means valuable and critical research and health benefits which range from

reducing anxiety to holding the cancer cells will not happen at the pace that should be required. the reforms seeking our common sense, reduce the strain on the criminal justice system, create certainty and reduce contradiction and confusion between state and federal law. [applause] thank you to the national cannabis festival for hosting this weekend's policy summit at events and for your work to organize and advocate for long-overdue reform. i hope to be there with you this weekend but my district has just gone through record-breaking rain falls and landslides that have displaced hundreds of people and wiped out businesses and homes and roads, so i'm going to be back there by the time you see this message where many of my constituents are

still without water and electricity. please keep them in your thoughts this weekend as the new rain storms have moved in and recovery is still underway. in the importance of your participation in this critical discussion cannot be overstated. our archaic and nonsensical laws on cannabis are turning everyday americans into criminals, sending them to jail, were abandoning their lives, turning their families apart, and wasting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate people for marijuana use. a substance that has been proven time and time again to be far less dangerous than alcohol both for consumers and those around them. in my home state of hawaii alone we sent hundreds of inmates out of state every year due to prison overcrowding. the large majority of which are due to nonviolent drug charges. what is at stake is so much more important than what any one

person or politician may think about cannabis or whether or not they choose to use it. the fiscal and social impacts of sending people to jail and turning them into criminals for the use of cannabis are having devastating effects on people and communities all across the country. speaking of the fact research is finding more and more that there are lower incidence of opioids related deaths in states that have legalized marijuana. and congress i've introduced the bipartisan piece of legislation that would and the federal prohibition of marijuana and taken off the federal controlled substances list. we continue to gain support from colleagues in both parties but really what we need is for each of you to keep the pressure on, to share personal stories and experiences about why this is so

important. so call your lawmakers, write them letters, sending an e-mail, send a message on facebook, hold them accountable because we need to make this change now. in the meantime i'm working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to provide certainty for businesses who right now face contradictory regulations in the walls between individual states and federal statute that affect their bottom line and ability to operate for example bankers, insurance companies and others fear the threat of federal prosecution especially under this attorney general in states where it's been legalized either for medical or nonmedical use there's so much more we can and must do to change the policies in a country that the t reflect where the majority of people are and defeat unfounded fears with facts, science and the freedom of choice. thank you for your commitment to making this happen and putting

in work so that we can build a better and a more free future together. [applause] i am congresswoman barbara lee and i'm proud to represent the 13th district in congress. it is my pleasure to welcome you to today's timely discussion on equity and the cannabis industry. first i would like to thank the festival for bringing everyone together. today is an opportunity for all of us to work together to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the cannabis industry. foremost among the challenges is ensuring inclusion and equity were communities of color. we all know that the war on drugs has been a colossal failure that destroys lives and targets communities of color. as we move forward, we need to restore justice to rebuild the

lives that were shattered. i am incredibly proud of my district, california for leading the way by focusing on uplifting black and brown entrepreneurs who are opening legal cannabis businesses, cities like oakland and berkeley. they've come together to become models for equity in the industry. here in washington i'm trying to end the remaining vestiges of the failed war on drugs. my bill and the marijuana justice act would end of the wrongful federal interference in the cannabis industry. together we can and will pass his comprehensive necessary and overdue reforms. thank you for your work and i wish you all a productive and a successful summit. [applause] we are back.

hello, everyone. this is our panel on amplifying equity in the cannabis industry and we have three guests with us today who i will introduce quickly, two plus one that i will get to in a minute. managing director of cfo of amtech acquisition and prior to that of the general manager of marley natural. she has an mba from yale and was named the most powerful woman in cannabis by complex, "fortune magazine" and business insiders. [applause] shonda, did i say that right? also a phd, former biologist at

the owner and general manager of the national holistic healing center for medical marijuana and medical marijuana dispensary which is the number one dispensary in washington, d.c.. [cheering] and she has four kids, so she has a lot happening. [laughter] okay. and then delegate cheryl glenn couldn't be here from maryland who'd been leading the way that she sent a letter i will read a part of that. first she's sorry she can't be here and she says as a legal cannabis arrives i'm committed to ensure communities of color are represented among the new business owners in the cannabis industry and i'm divided to know the conversation is being treated with such seriousness. in august of 2016, the medical cannabis commission issued a 20 cultivation licenses. of the license recipients, not a single one was a person of color, something unfathomable to me in a state with a population that is one third african-american. in september of 2016 the voters

would black caucus of maryland announced the plan to reduce debate code address the lack of diversity in the cannabis license distribution when the sessions reconvene in january. in april a bill to promise seven additional medical marijuana growing licenses with the minority owned firms that were pushed out of the top 15 license winners guide in the final minutes of the general assembly. what happened in the maryland state house that day was a well orchestrated plan to defeat the bill to let it go down at the last minute. for generations, people of color have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition in the country. the dawn of legal cannabis has created millionaires while others have been persecuted. i knew we had to do something so i joined with my colleague joine legislative caucus to say no more. for two years, we spoke out and raised awareness and demand action. finally just a few weeks ago the house and senate reached an agreement approving a measure that would allow maryland to

issue new licenses were growing more processing marijuana in ways that the shorter the racial diversity. despite the roller coaster to get here i'm proud of maryland is finally acknowledging and taking the steps to create a diverse industry. while the signs are positive we must remain vigilant and i'm delighted to know why i cannot be there the conversation is being presented by a knowledgeable and capable group of advocates, so thank you for all of you are doing. [applause] >> baker's question of the cannabis industry is the fastest growing industry in the united stateunitedstates with a capitat despite the vast need according to forbes in north america the industry is expected to grow from 9.2 billion this year to 47.3 billion by 2027. as the managing turnpike or ventures that provides strategic venture capital funding to the emerging businesses in the

cannabis industry, tell us what qualities you are looking for in a business and specifically the women and minorities can do. >> we focus on businesses that are more infrastructure-based and better kind of building the foundation of the industry that we believe will be important now and also as we move into the legalization which i know we are all waiting for. so there are a lot of businesses that are scalable. it's hard because we are combined in the state lines and municipality rules, so we look at the businesses that are able to achieve that a little bit more easily and create more compliance and structures for all businesses. some examples of that or we have a compliance platform we are interesteinvested in that allows businesses that are license holders in the states to stay compliant in their business and can kind of help so we are looking at things like that that can create a foundation now and in the future and create more

transparency around the industry because we believe it is very important and being able to show various levels of government that we can provide this information and a safer industry coming out of the block market that can help people in the future. to the question about the women and minorities, i think a lot of the planes are there is a disproportionate allocation of resources to the various populations and those that have been traditionally disassociated cannabis were kind of shout outs to a certain extent so there's a lot of groups forming now that are focused on social equity and a great example of that is the incubator out of england that is focused on bringing people who traditionally worked in the black market or don't have the resources to necessarily get a license or put up the retail dispensary and give them the resources to move forward in that area and i think organizations like women grow

which are also amazing resources to create this community of groups that are trying to move the needle and bring these populations to the forefront of the industry and we need to focus on not shutting out those communities. i just want to jump in as the chairwoman for women grow, it is our mission to help women get into the industry and to number two can also minorities. when i say that, it is going to be dairies are featured and to put both of them on the public platform so that there is an awareness around the wonderful technologies and innovation in the businesses that they can offer this industry. and often, we have seen the web to be co- women and minorities that have believable ideas that can add to the existing industry but because of the barriers that

they cannot open they don't get access into this industry. so those are the things that have the necessary tools they need to break-in. as you've said, the major barriers that we face our finances because you have to have money to get into this industry. >> when you saw that the former speaker john boehner was added to the board of the cannabis co., was that sort of encouraging like becoming mainstream or were you like are you kidding me? [laughter] i'm so sorry, c-span. [laughter] but it was kind of a mixed bag. so how did you feel about it? >> it's about economic empowerment and so what we see is this disproportion of white men carrying this industry and they know how lucrative this industry will be not only now in

the billions that in the future. so the discouragement of keeping other people out it is very important because this is a play on power and what is power defined by both money. so what i'm doin i'm giving is t there every day and encouraging minorities are planning to go out and give their technologies and businesses so they can have the opportunity to gather data type of empowerment, which is by power and money and then we can truly change the narrative and be on equal footing so we don't need to implement the diversity particles in corporate america or inclusion protocols. [applause] .. bring them forward to

tell those there it is -- narratives that people jump on the bandwagon but there has to be a valid - i definitely have mixed feelings. [laughter] mac according to a study done this year 26% of executives and industry are women. but within the industry. as a culture that is in stereotypes that women play

the role of temptress. so the chairwoman of women grow as to african-american and u.s. to get a dispensary license that she confirmed that and she is also the owner. we could definitely do better to diversify how is the hurdles you have seen for women and effective strategy? - what is interesting is that i talked to him about entering the space but we are not supported financially to enter this space a lot of people are not ready to invest into the cannabis industry and even several that are employed we have the technology to do it we have to go beyond the call of duty for example talking about this industry but in

2012 as a minority woman it was very well known at that time that if somebody is prosecuted it would be somebody who looks like myself. so think about that narrative so that my population is that we are scared of prosecution and afraid of being targeted because we have been historically. what we have to do now is change the narrative to have samples of women and minorities in the industry that is doing phenomenal. we have 13 cases like jesse who was out in oregon and examples of wanted james and seriously those of which i am a part of on the board as a 27 page legislation that is ideal for minority participation.

first we have to start by changing the narrative asking minorities and women to engage with us. we also need to find ways to actually bring these technologies for the four mom -- to the forefront and from there and a mortgage just to support my own business because it will have a one to believe in me and what i wanted to do that first of all i believe in myself so i am asking you to do the same things the 17 b-17s. >> you have examples of current equity programs that are working now? >> are some initiatives in california mentioning the nonprofit itself that has been developed based on the need it was not in legislation are happening across the country but now we see in california

both when prop 64 past part of that is looking at how do we expunge the records now that is legal for a lot of people. seattle is doing something similar i think it is an amazing step forward but at the same time may be dealing with hundreds of thousands of people and we need to hit millions and to see the models come to light we need to replicate them to make them significantly larger and people who have previously been incarcerated with these records don't necessarily have the resources to get the record expunged or understand i don't know if i had a record i would know what to do to go out to get expunged. so to make that information more public for those who are willing to give their time to make this happen it is costly

we cannot always say there isn't money so we can't do that but we have to build that into policy and legislation across the state to make that happen because it's just unfair people who may have been caught for possession decades ago today that would be legal and overwhelmingly those populations are black and brown men and the effect that has on communities is compounding over the years if we don't do something about it. >> i will jump in because i know washington d.c. we had a second realm of accessory applications that opened up. it would allow extra points for those that are minority participants. and as a great way to create equity in our program because there is a difference between different applicants. you do meet different handicaps because of our

challenges now people that qualify being discounted now they established the industry now they are excluded. washington d.c. is a great example to make sure minority ownership is important. i have seen different legislation that the change is with the regulatory board and legislation we have to support and be in those rooms to ensure that our voices are being heard with those policies before there actually but before. >> tell everybody a little bit more about the successes that you have had with the group. >> it has been wonderful. to be chairman of the board since february but i was the leader private to that -- prior to that maryland d.c. and ohio and what i have seen

his three different market one is the statute one is emerging and one hasn't even started. in all three markets the women in those groups who are the caregivers of their household or their community have been able to change the narrative of using medical marijuana in their communities so you empower these women to do these things it is amazing i have seen businesses emerge and advocacy increased significantly among the population and i smile because women in this group is imperative for our children for those that are fighting for autism or their children with epilepsy or cancer, etc.,

appreciate what, appreciate what you're doing because you are saving lives. when i look at what has transpired watching women grow i know we can now change the narrative of what is going on in the united states and i am grateful for that. >> to add onto that talking about children but also with the aging population having a huge impact on those communities and that is something we can't ignore either with the opioid epidemic this is something that can have an impact on that and similar to how we deal with people suffering from cancer or epilepsy that same application comes with these asian communities and this is an area to focus as well. >> a couple weeks ago i was talking to people and i said i thought expunge in records of people who were in prison for marijuana possession or use

letting them out of prison was the same when dna technology became more sophisticated to solve the crimes the technology came and science matured now we know that person did not commit the crime it is the same thing to me. i decided was very interesting how some people had not thought about it in that way. >> just to piggyback on back, also has left that community devastated. the handicapped is there among those that were targeted and how do you help them rebuild their lives after all this time that they had taken away or those opportunities? that is why we try to create the narrative that what do we do now knowing what has been done to our community? >> i had some thoughts about

current affairs but for you guys i don't know the answer is that when attorney general jeff sessions said the federal government will prosecute possession or selling marijuana now trumps that that won't happen but in that moment was there a chilling effect in the industry did you recoil or bouncing back to where they were years ago? >> there is definitely the year remember it very clearly i'm getting messages left and right as panic was setting in once i read his remarks actually i felt great because he was empowering the attorney general to break the rule for your state if you think about all these people say business is usual but that frustrating element is the headline risk

in the fear that it continues to put into the industry as businesses are trying to operate quietly and stay above board and pay taxes that the government makes it very difficult to do. especially with a cash heavy business not allowing them to write off certain costs so there was. over 48 hours were all the people i work with were like oh my god what is happening? could anything worse happen? but then people said business as usual we will operate as we have been and do what we think is right and we will see what happens. but i think it continues to remind us that no matter where you are on any given day my bank account could be shut

down. we put a lot of burden on ourselves anybody in this phase because i kinda laugh at any given day my bank account could be seized but that is the risk that we run but we believe we are doing the right thing so hopefully that is what will keep pushing us forward. >> i could not agree more january 4 the first thing i said is out of all the people who are cultivating the process will come back. [laughter] i was so scared. [laughter] this is not about my children this is about patience and childcare in this is myself and if i'm going to do anything i will stand up for our rights.

but the other side was what it brought was also a positive that was horrifying everybody had conversations about medical marijuana and policies and the use of cannabis really hit mainstream america and brought our issues to light so even though it was a scary feeling inside it was also one i had never paid for that in that community so it is all in that and i can never about it that way. [laughter] >> you did something right. >> what are the biggest personal hurdles? but just to clarify for the audience you make it sound

easy right now but what are some of the hurdles to overcome? >> i have been publicly ostracized at times it is very hurtful i have been called a drug dealer. or told i am a stupid parent i face a lot of scrutiny and it is kind of hard because i consider myself highly educated ime professional working with fortune 500 companies i went to howard university i am very proud of who i am in the professional setting also has a published scientist i hold many patents and bring a lot of validity who i am as a scientist to this phase so to have

something say something derogatory like you are a drug dealer and an unfit parent is hurtful. for my own sake i come back to my community at the healing center i see my patient that held me you have changed my life you have done everything i needed you to do to make my quality of life better and i say you can call me a drug dealer but these patients that i see every day i have made a difference i have made their life better. [applause] >> i don't hold patent that is a hard act to follow but i would joke and say im a drug dealer who would have thought? they just don't like that we

entered the space early were a lot of people were not doing it and it was still taboo so we would joke coming out of the mba program i might as well light my degree on fire almost immediately but that support that i got from professors and even my own family is that there was something there and i was really interested in the medical side of the business i started with cannabis because of something personal when my grandfather had cancer in my second year of business school you go through and find all the different treatments and come across cannabis pretty quickly so she said you know how to get marijuana? [laughter] >> and she said you think this is a test? [laughter]

is like we know where to get it you know where to get it black-market but to get it in a form that somebody who is suffering from cancer could consume and benefit from it so my family had to understand the benefits and i was frustrated you couldn't just get access to something that would help someone the last couple months of his life he just wanted to be comfortable we just wanted to make him comfortable and you could not get it and it was crazy we were told that people who are suffering so severely so my passion i think constantly pushes me through and i'm proud to be able to be a woman in this space is a minority and reach out i'm sure you get this all the time how do i do

this? how can i follow in your footsteps? it is amazing people who want to continue to do this and i am proud to help others and continue to be a voice in the space for others. >> we have people watching so what steps you take to ensure equal access what do they look for on the ballot or their legislators? what can they do? >> i will start with getting involved in your community here are different advocacy groups different marijuana policy projects there is so many ways that we can ensure

with those groups that were currently advocating for a and they can help empower us. and what they are doing to make sure they are in power and that they need more activism in terms of legislation falling back to the website there is 27 pages of legislation if you are a minority we will not implemented but it is like having the power which is money to have our voices heard in the legislative process. we are deficient in those resources to have our voices heard. >> it is important those who are creating this legislation

to start looking like the broader population not just be confined to make sure it is local and that are from those communities and a lot of the legislation we have seen in the past created by those who have no idea and that is a big issue we need to have more people color involve because they understand the issue at a different level and we need to do more sp. >> well canada's policy play a big role in 2020? >> yes. if it doesn't it should. a call to action? >> it definitely will have a place. another is a lot of women who

treat their children with cannabis and presently there is legislation so that the parent don't have to take their children off cannabis to administer medicine because they are in a drug free zone then bring him back so children who are facing different elements like epilepsy or multiple sclerosis or autism they already have a stigma that their mom -- the parent can't work 95 because after taking her children off-site to treat them and bring them home so we need to make it so it is normalized and so we bring into power in 2020 will recognize the need for the community to include minority older population we

are the sandwich generation with the elvis that we are taking care of in her children and we need things to work for us. >> and the last question where do you see the industry in ten years? >> aware do you want to? >> i feel like it will be completely open. i think cannabis will be normalized. that is why am pushing so hard for minority and women participation now because anybody who enters that this realm can learn from their mistakes so in order for that to happen you have to be planning but absolutely it will be a wide-open market. >> in ten years what is

fascinating about cannabis it is all these different industries the elements of alcohol the whole health along the side and the tip of the iceberg to have that federal legalization you cannot put it back in the bottle at this point we will see more and more states we will learn from all these different groups so that will be hard to even imagine at this stage and to be so much more accessible to those communities that need

us. >> questions? >> the cost of participating going up or down or stay the same? >> it's going up is now it is more competitive those that are willing to introduce so to have that application and have somewhere to locate use that between 50 and $150,000 or between 255 and 50000 which is

typically required in most states at the time of application yet to pay will wait for the decisions to be made and entered a few can sustain the business they say 2 million but now it is about 50 million there is a true barrier to enter the industry. not to say it cannot be done to find a solution to get around that area. >> just to add to that on the financing side it is much more competitive there something more businesses operating in the same space so a couple of years ago you could be in engaging japan or --

entrepreneur but now you have to show proof of concept test because there is so much out there people are excited about the industry not to say we are not deterred that more work is going into the foundation that is how you get the syndicate. >> one other point there is a live ancillary businesses to market so what i am encouraging use those businesses to focus on the innovation to bring to the market to have those same hurdles that we would have, so

yes there is a big misconception you make all this money but the truth is we are making very little that we are holding tight until the market opens up. so really the place i would focus hindsight 2020 would be in the ancillary businesses that are doing phenomenal. >> what your thought washington state? >> quiet is interesting recreational and medical, the question was what about washington state used to have recreational and medical now it is just one market.

so for me as a professional in the industry i don't believe there is a different in the two i do feel it is all the medical market access is just recreational so people can get medicine i think medicine is medicine which is all medicinal and when people say recreational they come in because they don't understand they are treating the underlying issue so you are trying to address something you may not be cognizant of what you try to address and that is why it is important in the medical market we have the people that you work with to guide you through the process and to have that alignment to whatever ailment that you have and that is the key so i feel like it is all medicinal it is just medical program walks you through it you can get overall

wellness and health that recreational you treat yourself but not equipped with the education to do so. that is where i see a lot of people who say they have a bad experience comes from because you are treating yourself and you don't know how you know the best method for consumption or the strength of the dosage you just know you want to feel better and you think this one strain well do it for everything and it doesn't. it is very much a medicine. [applause] >> are there things they are doing to prioritize women and minorities?

>> looking at the hyper interest portfolio but all the businesses in the space we tried to get from a hiring perspective into the businesses to work with that capacity they intend to be a partner so to influence on that side of the business but you see more and more there is a desire to coach different groups i could see adventure plan maybe not that what we would invest in and i like to give feedback to say here is how you can move this along or people will pitch to me and i will help them because a lot of people are first-timers and have not gone through venture funding and it isn't fun like 150 times you here know it is difficult so something we really like to do and we hope

the others do as well that is how you raise the population moving forward. >> based on what you said what are the tips can give because those challenges are funding? can you offer? >> sure. a big part is getting the feedback like women grow go to other venture funds not everybody has a responsible give you the time that you have to keep pushing for that and get that feedback i would just reach out to them the number of people that i reached out to early on one out of ten will respond and that is fine when you do get the feedback it is important

and i have been asked people say can you give me feedback? yes. if you are ready constructive criticism that's how we all get better so we need that to his forward but to utilize his groups that we mentioned is a great steppingstone and to be willing to yourself out there and that will be really important. >> dr. what lessons have you learned or what would you do differently? >> my hesitation to answer that truthfully is i had no idea how many barriers i had to overcome whether financial,

real estate, i paid real estate for two years and the landlord said we are taking your lease back. it is the reality of the industry and then and then i only got to strain for my whole business and six others in my market that refused to sell to me. it has been a believable intern to continue to do this that when it is your passion you have no choice. i would not have done anything differently because i had to learn the lesson and in order for me to grow for the future those of the lesson i will know what to do or what not to do in the future.

it is painful to talk about because i know how i ask her to give me the strength to carry on. [applause] >> and what about minorities? as a black woman i also know german-american and jewish american and white people. they have fallen on hard times just like other people see minorities to be a race. don't get me wrong. because you are walking into the room as a white man but

but what is your term or definition? >> so what does the term in this case minority? >> for me from my perspective any population that essentially has been disproportionately impacted or not have access to what the majority does. it often does fall on race unfortunately but to your point there are others population that are impacted so i say anyone who has disproportionate access so i would consider myself as a minority but.

>> but i do think in parts of california it goes by income? that is actually a form of minority protection consideration and i can exactly. i agree completely with you i think not being able to be granted access based on gender or race and social economic levels. >> i'm part of the cannabis coalition.

9b9. [inaudible] [inaudible] >> so she is from the veterans cannabis coalition and is asking and isn't covered by insurance billing networks for

her how you do with the financial impact? >> as a dispensary owner i hear this all the time. i actually fight for my patient i go back to my cultivators and i demand lower pricing based on both purchasing and i pass on the saving it is a real issue and yes you are a better woman that i have seen population with ptsd i have seen so many elements in the veterans population. or that patients that are suicidal and those issues that we face every day to have access to the medicine knowing that you can't pay for and taking it from somewhere else. and then they take on the challenge to address and the

near future to have the nonprofit to have those subsidies. there isn't another way for me to answer that because you don't have that assurance in market what is the impact? >> soccer moms are happy. [laughter] if you get a team sure they put in a water bottle the bonnet while their children are in soccer practice the quality of life. they actually can engage with their children i have seen more bonding with the relationship the same i have seen with the veteran to have meaningful relationships for the people because now all of their anxiety is taken away

and allow that one on one type of interaction so it is so beautiful when you embrace cannabis community and it is an amazing thing. i have seen tremendous effect and i think most women believe it or not is their anxiety that that product releases that now they can engage in life again it is like a renewal. the flipside is that i get what we call to make it simple the patient are remorseful they didn't have access to this they waste five years of their life if they happen medicine the future would have been completely different so i have to deal with one

administering the medicine in dealing with the repercussions that now they are upset because they did not have access before so we tried to keep it into perspective it is an issue we have to deal with and it is a misfortune we have to go through but the success has been so incredible it overshadows that remorse. >> thank you. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning i am the executive director. >> i am thrilled to be here as a national cannabis the civil policy center was welcoming you to washington d.c. and fighting for the rights from district of columbia congress has blocked medicinal loss in their ability to tax and regulate it they even went so far to stop us from counting our own growers.

and we call on the allies to lift us up and with her efforts and with the advocate for statehood serving as the general counsel to mayor and previously held leadership roles with organizations vital to moving cause and as a member of the board of directors former president with the network of centers of law and the public interest. and it is my privilege to introduce to you our next guest. [applause] >> thank you to the organizers of today's policy. good morning i'm filling in for the mayor and welcome to

washington d.c. hope everyone here doesn't already know this great city of 700,000 persons will enjoy our neighborhood and restaurants and parks washington d.c. is a great place to work and play. i would like to make three points in connection with today's events. everyone here should be an advocate for statehood. how does statehood have to do the thing with cannabis? people from all over the country face a complicated legal environment as a controlled substance illegal federally that may be legal under the state regimes under recreational use. because we don't have statehood congress puts extra control on her budget cannabis

is extra complicated here in the district of columbia and further relaxing penalties for marijuana and decriminalization in the initiative with that homegrown use of marijuana and has prevented us from considering that legal regime to regulate tax and to sell marijuana safely and on her own terms. if washington d.c. were a state it would make those intrusions unconstitutional and those to loosen the gun laws or increase barriers to women's access to abortion services or the method to be the hiv-aids epidemic interfering with death with dignity laws and washington

d.c. not having the recreational use cannabis we are in a peculiar situation legally it is legally to grow plants at home in the district illegal to possess quantities in some you can have it and smoke it and grow it you can buy it. because washington d.c. is the favorite chew toy we have a bigger black gray market then we would have if estate. so please join us to call for an end to the subordinate status of washington d.c. we the voters voted overwhelmingly for statehood in 2016 the ball is in congresses court for this reason i hope you will all support washington d.c. with our quest for statehood. you care about autonomy and we do to.

today is 420 and our special number is 51 for the 51st state say 42451. my second point could be a buzz kill but if we had the bill failed regime for marijuana the district support the cannabis users safety no longer does a shady dealer cut marijuana with pcp marijuana advocate thing nobody has died from cannabis that doesn't mean they haven't died from using it when mixed with other substances. also many advocate counts of medical use of marijuana but many benefits can be offset if grown with pesticides is moldy

or if fertilizers are ingested and inhaled a tightly regulated regime would help users have confidence they are not inhaling cannabis with a side of mold or eating organic brownies tainted with fertilizer. third i hope proponents will emphasize when and where it is legal to use to be responsible and fully informed of consequences including legally. thus driving is dangerous and applicants for well-paying jobs such as an electrician will be rejected if can have a noise or in their urine. cannot benoit much of the land is federal there is a handful of law in force agent. we invite the mayor to speak and be safe and please support our quest for statehood. [applause]

>> i am a congressman from colorado welcome to washington d.c. and thank you for letting me participate in your national cannabis policy summit. i wish i could be there with you today but i just want to thank you for organizing and gathering here to help us in congress to roll out the federal laws to align with the state laws. so many states are allowing businesses like yours to properly operate in their state and particularly we see that in the tax code and and working on the law and we want to have credit cards, payroll

account is normal business types of account then we see a lot of conflict. for your policy summit will help to make some sense thanks for being here today bucket your policy conference and enjoy yourself or you are here in d.c. thank you very much p7 not good morning i'm at the national cannabis industry association. seeking to represent a responsible and legitimate cannabis industry leading unified and coordinate a campaign to ensure the

emerging industry is treated fairly under federal law our priorities include reforming federal law for cannabis related businesses to access traditional financial services such as thinking to alleviating the tax penalties which you will hear about today. in addition to these priorities we seek to connect educate and advocate for 1500 member businesses across the country today i'm happy to welcome john to the stage to moderate our panel for washington correspondent for the economist and also the author of two novel one was a new york times bestseller in 2005 and has been translated into more than a dozen languages and the other published in autumn 2008 a finalist new york public library young fiction award please welcome john to the

stage. [applause] met good morning. under washington correspondent for the economist before we start we have supported drug legalization 1988 when it was a french and irresponsible position we are glad to see the world is catching up today's panel is about cannabis this is a subject that had a jolt of good news recently republican senator from colorado said president trump promises to support states that have legalized

marijuana and chuck schumer has announced to decriminalize that the federal level. that puts him at odds with the trump attorney general jeff session the last dedicated drug warrior but we will talk about today what this means for the industry and i have a panel to discuss the we have michelle from the competitive enterprise institute, the executive vice president for industry analytics and frontier data consultancy focused globally yet a senior fellow and government studies from the brookings institute chairman and founder of the new fund that is a 5o1c for focus on state-level cannabis laws in grosvenor? michelle let's start with you very basic most americans

support legalization why is it not? >> if you ask policy support over 60% will say yes recreational 80% medical they will say i will not vote to legalize marijuana but there are a small minority of people on the republican side you have a lot of money to say i will not find you if you support legalization so it is easier for politicians to keep their head down but by number there is at least 50 people in the house of representatives who have already voted for some type of legalization bill that have voted in a way that think should a bill, they are highly likely to vote for in those who have quietly approve

of it in particular on the republican side there a lot of republicans who say they believe in states rights or federalism but those people for example like paul ryan should support the schedule icing mirror marijuana paul ryan has been pretty anti- legalization now he is starting to soften and with the chuck schumer bill it is likely he will go along with the tide. even in the last year we have seen a bill that makes me think the pressure is starting to shift but it is still easier for a politician to keep his head down rather than to have an election problem in it if you are betting the cory gardner bill came to the house

and senate floor would pass? what is what are the chances if it comes to the floor? gardnerville is less it is because schumer's position he is in leadership for the most part they have taken and type role marijuana position and policy had said she might eventually consider legalization she has voted to make it legal for veteran defined the department of justice to go in the states where it is legal so that schumer bill has a good chance in the gardnerville have got a lot of support adjuster left the chance because of his rank but is still a good shot. >> marijuana is still legal -- illegal at the federal level

are you surprised we haven't seen more prosecutions? with an ambitious young da to impress jeff sessions life and somebody going after were it is legal? the consequences are pretty high state up until last year they were handicapped a little bit for going after those offenses but when they do have that happen they open the door for the court to start considering that now the politicians have to do something that the federal department and the department of justice does not interfere and they are fairly content but if they start to prosecute mom and pop pop shops then people start to get angry and

it moves up on their hierarchy of the code courts issue when they go to vote for mike if were to see a crackdown with there be a push toward legalization? >> yes and you play on that idea what he really want is to create a chilling effect to stop other states by threatening to prosecute the state legislatures are very hesitant to do anything if they don't know what the federal government would do that they say now we have to deal with the prosecution maybe we should just wait until there is clarification so basically they just try to not move forward with the legalization effort to make last week you said there is a

case headed to the supreme court what is that? >> now does murphy against the naacp a so new jersey want to start gumbo gambling the law that says sports betting if you did not have it then you cannot do it now ever and they say it is unconstitutional the federal government cannot tell state legislatures what they can or cannot do. they can tell the individual marijuana is illegal in the state should not be able to legalize it because of the pharmacy clause that this is specifically addressed at the state legislatures. this is one of the thing should the supreme court say yes they cannot tell the states what to do that would bolster the case for state legalization of marijuana.

. . . . a business i businesses from clx deductions. >> that is a questio the questil have to ask. tell me where the case lies before the supreme court. they heard arguments in december a surprising number of justices seemed sympathetic to new jersey and aggressive towards the solicitor general that gave arguments in front of the supreme court so we are waiting because any day we could get a decision up until june 25.

>> john, let's turn to you we have a better picture of the landscape what are the trend wed lines that you see? >> the three that are converging that have been why we are seeing this momentum behind legal cannabis when we talked about his support for the legalization and nationally 64% of americans now support the use of legalization between 80 and 90%. it's even more quickly than marriage. so when they thought that gay marriage but have become such an issue. the second is a member of

regular cannabis users are growing very quickly, so currently at least based on the government's most recent national survey and broad use, 22.4 million americans, one in four consumed cannabis regularly and that is since 2009. it's your neighbors and coworkers and friends and once you have that collectivity to somebody that is a consumer it's more difficult to demonize dan to normalizing the communities. and then third they are selling an extraordinarily large volume of cannabis.

they topped $8 billion were costing that they would reach $12 billion but 2020 the number goes up to 17. 2025 just in the states where it is currently legal we are looking at a 25 million-dollar market and that doesn't include any new states being sold its just medical patients and recreational consumers, but it's a huge market that isn't creating new cannabis consumers it's just taking them out of the market. since 2011, interceptions have fallen from 2.5 billion. they've stood up domestically.

it moved and they were preferred from legal channels with better policy and options and you get a great selection of portfolio products and it feels like a regular commercial activity purchasing anything else like you would in the consumer economy. and to your claims abou point at happened if enforcement we actually suspect in the communities people have access, getting that taken away will elicit a stronger reaction because once you've had the chance to not feel like a criminal that a large portion once you accept the fact by

legalizing it you take away the criminal element most people are not going to want to go back to that market which is why the pushback is an aggressive federal action. you mentioned the number of consumers are growing and demographically if it is growing among whom is growing faster, older suburban americans? >> historically men have consumed cannabis about twice the rate as women but a faster growth than among the men. historically you've seen much greater cannabis use among younger age groups so the under 35 and almost twice the rate of those that are 55 but you see much greater rate of adoption among all the populations so one of the reasons for that is the forms that are available so as cannabis has been legalized the

majority in the legalization you have investment and infrastructure development platforms and edibles as the caliber of the foods you would expect to see in whole foods which has happened. you have these paper products for people concerned about smoking you have these forms of the product that addressed that and so with increased forms the decriminalization in the market you have to communities particularly the older populations have been very reserved about the cannabis use saying i can take it in a pill for my arthritis being much more able to entertainment as health-care costs are skyrocketing and people are looking for alternatives.

you mentioned the enormous amount of legal cannabis. can you generalize with the states are doing with the tax revenue? >> absolutely. states like colorado which spent the first 40 million of its tax revenue towards construction and total spending over 60 million in education in general and that's quite compelling when you think about the number of protests that have been held in places like west virginia because there's not enough money to pay teachers or give them raises. there's a lot of capital being invested in health and health-related programs from drug abuse and treatment programs to improving the health of our communities and then a number of states just allocating a lot towards the general fund,

the ways in which the totality of their state budget using it to fill in some of the gaps. the numbers are the second. since 2014, colorado has made $750 million in cannabis taxes and so we've are significant numbers of state budgets at the time that the states are increasingly squeezed on the revenues. >> when you see these initiatives go forward is it sold as a test benefit policy? >> that's been one of the important arguments and the 40 million claws in colorado is one of the ways to get them in so the tax revenues are one of the ways that this has been a legal cannabis has been sold that we think social justice is another critical part of it, but the decriminalization and the

recognition of the social inequity that it's been in force when you are four times as likely to get arrested for cannabis use when you are black even though they are between black-and-white addressing some of that has been really important aspects of this debate. >> let's turn to you. this industry has grown despite the task force. it talked about how it came to be and what it does. >> sure. it's a section of the internal revenue code that most basic terms says if you are engaging in activity that is illegal in the context of drugs coming your not an title to the type of this as deductions you would traditionally be eligible for

and we can do into more detail about it for sure, but there's a sort of irony and american policy that is no matter what illegal activity you are engaging in whether it is a legal cannabis business in colorado, the mafia, running a child prostitution ring, you are supposed to pay your federal taxes. now it may be shocking that most child sex ring leaders don't pay their federal taxes, but if they were willing to go to the irs with a bag of cash from a bunch of perverts, they would pay their taxes but they wouldn't get the type of deductions for instance if they wanted to build an addition onto the house but they are running the ring out of the federal government would say no you are not entitled to those deductions. i don't think, i hope there's no one in this room thinking goes arpedophiles from that terrible tax policy. but for the legal cannabis business it is a serious issue especially at the beginning of the inception of the business

plan you have tremendous capital needs and also tremendous tax burdens because what a business is usually seeking money into thinking that they would get the ability to deduct that come tax time every other legal business in the united states ha have acs to those benefits. cannabis businesses don't and so people who are out there who are fearful of big marijuana, it's a lot easier for a large marijuana for to absorb those costs them for a mom and pop firm to section 280 creates this dynamic where businesses are getting hurt constantly. patients and customers are getting hurt constantly because when you can't do the taxes it increases for the businesses. they are not paying that price, you are paying the price of poinofpoint-of-sale service raie prices across the industry dot

because of anything the industry wants to do that because what the industry cannot do and that has an effect on the ability and wide ranging effects across the industry and across the country. to your question about banking restrictions this all gets tight end. the first panel of the day talked about how difficult it is to pay taxes when you are a cannabis business at the state and federal level. state treasuries do not like you coming in with a big bag of cash or pallet of cash for some companies in order to pay your taxes. in part when a business doesn't have access to banking because a treasury and federal reserve and other regulation they have to become a cash only business. the irony in all of this and this is the killer for me is this all exists because of the fear about money laundering because of the policies in the

united states. there is no bigger facilitator of money laundering in taxes than the united states government because of the regulation that comes out of the fdic, that come out of the treasury, that come ou out out t of places including the federal reserve. if you are cash only, forced to be cash or money is easie only p on your taxes and easier to launder money. while most of this industry is full of good actors well intentioned who want to be honest workers and business owners there are bad people in this industry and every day that the businesses don't have access to banking is another day that they are going to outsmart people in this industry and the government and do a lot with the money that they can stash.

public policy has evolved in dramatic and interesting ways to. medical cannabis is something that is fairly common way how times have changed. and then suddenly marijuana which sounded exotic and dangerous was turned towards another community. then it was a term the movement

was and it wasn't by accident but it tended to exist in new orleans and chicago and harlem and so now it became something the government could use to turn americans against and then it was in the 50s and 60s and when richard nixon became president they were the big users of marijuana. he's on tape saying that so this became a product that was made illegal first in the formally and informally not because of harm or science or because of our understandings of public health but because of politics and racism and the ability to divide so now where we are is the position where states are saying no to this, legislators at the federal level are saying no because they understand the history and the substance and they are looking out at the landscape into saying alcohol

kills more people in the country and cannabis, nicotine kills more people than cannabis. [applause] we as individuals can probably make better choices about this drug than a crazy man named harry at the bureau of narcotics in the 1930s. [applause] he cut his teeth at the bureau of prohibition and then was appointed to head at the bureauf narcotics in the 1930s. he was a peer of j. edgar hoover in fact he ran the bureau of narcotics for almost the same amount of time as j. edgar hoover and the fbi and he was a teetotaler, he was an avowed prohibitionist and he found cannabis to be the product that he could sell i guess you could say she could sell to the american public as something that was a problem so you see him in newspapers and writing in academic journals testifying before congress about all the things cannabis does.

you've created rapes and murders and a psychotic for the white women in the audience you've done a terrible thing of having sex with a man of color if you used cannabis. these are things that this man literally said to congress in newspapers and it scared white america. it scared people about what it meant the fabric of society and he was a master of psychological manipulator who turned the nation against a drug that had been part of society since before the founding. >> thank you. we haven't had a business you out there in the trenches how does it affect you? >> not to disagree with john who i respect greatly but the local taxes can be passed on and 280 k. and whe280can't when you arer more if it isn't any way you cut

it. mom and pop there is no way for them to make anything if they are paying the taxes maybe if you run a smart business and you are able to scale you can put a single digit percentages out but not enough to invest into the business. it is an industry killer. it's there on purpose. the government is using it to keep the industry small and poor. going back to the history of how it began with a drug dealer out of minneapolis by the name of jeffrey edmundson was arrested and he went for some standard business deductions from his cocaine and amphetamines business and he won in tax court so the congress responds in the early '80s saying if you traffic in a schedule on one or schedule two controlled substance which marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine far you may not take a standard deduction by the true cost.

they never envisioned an industry like ours existing when they passed this law and they had been misapplied and targeted to the industry since california passed proposition 215. this has been a bipartisan issue. back then that was originally their policy to use everything in the code they could to try to strangle to the grave and they slowed it down. >> what about the regulations around financial services banking what would you like to do that you can't do? >> we would like to use a bank. >> can you use faith-based credit unions and things like that? >> going back to what you were saying earlier i have some big news i would like to share with everybody. we've been working closely with

the senator in the federalism fund working mostly on tax policy and the banking and such and this was his fourth news that came out last friday. friday. it's huge progress regardless how this goes forward and john said now there's a ton of work to do to get the legislation through the senate and the house and into a position we might be able to significantly change federal law. as an industry, the federalism fund is joining forces with the american trade association for cannabis and hemp and we are going to form a new federation and bring significant resources to the lobbying fight and try to pass the decision to normalize the industry once and for all. [applause] tell us about the new federalism fund, what is it, what is the goal? >> we are a five o. one c. four and coming out of election, we formed because we saw a potential opportunity with complaints of tax reform.

we had a very bad tax issue and so we thought as a part of the package that it was a flip chart and we took a chance because it was the best shot ever had to ho fix this terrible tax problem. we didn't get into the competence of tax reform but obviously from the news we've seen the last week we were able to make a tremendous amount of progress and we were poised on the brink of the federal change and it's going to take a lot of work and resources and we are ready to go. >> tell us about the conversations you had on the hill, how do they differ depending on who you talk to how do you frame this issue? >> it's not really a party issue with more of an age issue. you'd be hard-pressed t hard pra republican on the hill [inaudible] i think that when you take a look at this overall it is a bipartisan issue that touches

each side has a social justice issue is a federalism issue. it is across the board a massive compensation of wealth and personal rights and we are in a state of conflict because the government is executing policies that us and allowing the laboratory of the democracy we have nine states in the district of columbia on prohibition entirely in the 30 states that have medical marijuana laws. this is only going one way the federal government to step back and see the laboratory of democracy the sky isn't falling into this tons of tax revenue. opioid deaths are declining and we determined the federal government should get out of the way. >> if it were rescinded, but with the growth in the business

for quite. who are their best friends on the hill? i don't want to leave anybody out. people from states that have legalized it, where are the most productive conversations and what are the most productive? >> we have had tons of productive conversations. it's a nice try but i'm not going to give it. i want to ask you the same thing that i've asked michelle. the gardener bill or schumer bill if it came to the floor will receive tax? is this a federalism issue were prohibition issue? >> it's both and i think that it's important that people look at it as different audiences

there are others that haven't thought of it as a federalism issue, but it has been approached that way. way. instead of waiting until you have the house members and 60 senators which is a long wait, i think that the weddings have gotten close to the majority in the house and senate if there hadn't been success in the state. it's the fear of the unknown. one of the things that house i worked on justice issues and the fact texas did it first and we are not putting people in prison as long and other states go and nobody lost in texas that's pretty cool. georgia and the one place that came up there was a guy that was very conservative and was attacked by somebody that was more conservative because he was taking too much credit. not because he voted wrong but you're not as important in this

and so when people see that it is safe politically and also if people were piling up cars in denver we will see what that is so the number states do this but also to recognize the concerns and your secret friends this is the law that says the federal government or federal tax says you can't take any ordinary business deductions paying your staff rent by a marijuana.

he used to be a 35% excise tax but a 35% tax on every dollar of sales pitch is pretty rough and then you have to hire people and pay rent and things like this now it's only 21% excise tax so it was painful but the plaintiff at if you care about federalism and the idea that we have 50 states that should compete with each other to provide the best government lowest-cost and change their government if they are not doing very good and millions of people move every year you can see where they moved into and out of so federalism allows the states to decide what works and what doesn't the federal government

interferes with federalism and this iinthis okay, colorado, yot this but we have this massive punitive tax that makes it difficult and when you talk to an audience about it who may not have an interest in or care about the other to say how do you feel if school choice, a scholarship for belcher faces the excise tax because while youyour states that weyou're ste school choice and education, the federal government said we don't like that we will have a massive income tax on your scholarship you would in fact damage the ability to have the states trying back because the we wantm to do different things some of them work and some of them don't. nobody's life is a complete failure of some serve as bad examples and on any given issue

look at that, don't do that or overhear this is really working. >> have any states done it wrong so far? >> there are a lot of ways to do anything wrong. one of my least favorite is in nevada where they said we wanted to the regular like marijuana, liquor, beer. this is the stupidest way to regulate anything in the whole world we take it out of the commerce clause and suggest how to maximize the number of people who extract out of the system. >> to unpack that a little bit where we ended prohibition in te last time on spirits, liquor, beer and wine we said okay states can decide how it's produced, marketed and you are allowed to have three tiers. then these guys all managed to

liquor sales and this is why i can't get a beer on sunday afternoon and they have all sorts of rules nobody else would put up with with any other product. those in nevada that from the wholesale distributors said why don't we run it just like we do with the spirits run it through us so we get to have a monopoly on the distribution. unfortunately they did a few thousand bucks in the campaign and were suddenly able to write the rules and the past. ohio there were fiv five had a h of land that said we are going to legalize marijuana but you have to buy from our land and that was laughed out of court and didn't make it but you have to watch out for people trying to write special interest in the state constitutions as you are changing them. washington state run runs at a little bit too much like throwing stuff out of the post office allowing different private-sector competitors but again you look at that and say don't do that and move that way

so there are some very i iowa to stay away from the way they treat spirits and wine and beer that is a bad model. slightly better than prohibition. [laughter] but it's not what you want to get stuck with. >> who does a 12? >> colorado it's been interesting usually the third adapter gets it right, don't do that, don't do that now we know what we are doing. because the maximum amount of competitions and now they promised it was only 21 level of tax and it went up to 25. that was unfortunate. and if it is kind of a dirty trick because they said they were not going to do that. but you always have to keep an eye on the government.

we have a few minutes left and i would like to open up to questions. i'm wondering what the tax implications are for the third parties trying to assist dispensaries or cultivators if they want legal advice or help with marketing how are those businesses able to navigate the tax code are they able to put money into banks in thi and thod of things? >> if you are not trafficking in the cannabis it does not apply. other questions? >> yes. i think there is a microphone coming to you. i'm the libertarian for congress in a maryland district number

four. curious about the implications of say we were not able to get built through for example. what are the repercussions or the result of simply just trying to get rid of it by itself if we were not able to do more of what we want to do in other areas? for anybody. >> out of what was negotiated, the two pieces the way they are doing it could end up sidetracked with the ability to bank restored because they would take it off of the prohibited list so there's a great deal of respect to put a hold on every single appointment and nomination and the justice

department which got the attention of the number one opponent of modernizing the approach towards marijuana and took him out of the debates and went to directly discussing things with trump and we have an agreement that should move forward. it shows the legislation goes further to sold some of the other challenges. >> one of the reasons why addressing this is becoming more urgent is because of the industry dynamics. look at colorado as an example the average wholesale price used by the estate cultivators the average price has fallen from $2,000 a pound to a thousand dollars in three years. it's one thing when the margins are very high and the market first one should bet you could

bear the tax and still get a little out of the business but once you hit the thousand dollars per pound there's a lot of folks getting squeezed out. it's much less attainable to survive under that environment when a lot of companies are at their breakeven point so you add on top of the fact tha that thet you're hitting the breaking point and have the 7 this 70 or% federal tax if this doesn't get addressed soon you will see a lot of small and medium-sized operators in oregon and colorado struggled to make it through the next couple growing cycles. >> i think one of the benefits of the bill is if you are a cannabis advocate it's not a chance of passage it's not going to pass the congress. pete sessions isn't going to elaborate out of the house rules committee to pass the congress

but here's what it does do. it signals to other democratic colleagues and other house democratic colleagues find the strongest leader in the party right now. you have covered. this is an okay issue for you and in discussing it he said i looked at the numbers on this and this is a no-brainer, i'm paraphrasing essentially that is what he did and that is the benefit of moving forward. chuck schumer isn't looking at his belt, he's looking at the next congress where maybe the house is controlled by democrats. it will definitely be controlled by a different speaker in the next congress we know that. perhaps there's a new rules committee chai chair etc. and tt can move the needle a bit and that is part of the game. in terms of the 280, that is in my conversation with legislators and their staff and these are

just conversations this is an issue they get. talk to an older white men about looking up medical research or let me discuss with you how it actually works they don't know anything about this but they do know about business and they do know about taxes and they understand the introduction of the two, so in my conversations, they get this more than a lot of the other issues in this space. >> i will take the money. anything. [laughter] other questions? yes, right there. >> i was wondering how much support the industry is getting from banks and lenders and regulatory institutions that can't necessarily support it legally get. how much support are you expecting when the federal funding finally changes? >> i think you'll see a lot in the chambers of commerce for example because they recognize they are small businesses and a

lot of you have lawyers who can't insert states and work with businesses because they are professional organizations and it doesn't allow them for providing advice to clients engaging in illicit activities. once the federal law goes away you will start to see certain areas the professional organizations a quick turn towards supporting the organization and the rest of the country will come a bit slower i think john mentioned earlier as they see it cheek and tongue they are nancy down the street or the guy i work wit that i wot shows up at 9 a.m. every day >> we have time for one more. yes, right there. >> let's geescape the microphon. >> with the states that have already been recreationally passed cannabis and medically how do we prevent monopolies from happening across the united

states from the states that have alreadalready have but haven't? >> by not letting the government get in the way of entry. the only monopolies we have in the country are the ones the government created where they have to compete with a lot of other phone companies until they got a law passed that they are a natural monopoly is a natural they didn't have one until they got the law than nobody's computing and now there's a law against it. post office does fairly well in all competitors because he would go to jail trying to do that. get the government out of you can't do this. before they allow occupational licensing you don't want the government telling people they can't go into a business or putting these high barriers for the taxes being high barriers to entry take those taxes down and get the regulatory down and then you just don't end up with that problem because there's so much

entry from the companies that come in and countries that come in and start and stop. whenever you try to fix things by having so many rules, those that are already in decide to use the rules of the wall to keep other competitors out and then you end up with monopolies or question monopolies. >> and i think that he had on it with the industry and i have been hearing from both of the distributors for about seven to ten years. the businesses are kind of declining and the large businesses anyway, crafted beer but up until the last ten years or so useful a huge monopoly in beer there was more being produced than there had bee havn the print edition and the reason is because they decided to go with the distributors. if you produce here and are at retail, we can't talk to each other, you have to go through the distributor indicates an

enormous amount of money because they controlled the entire industry. they keep the competitors locked in and they definitely don't want to see it happening. so hopefully the model will learn a lesson and they see the surrounding states doing much better and change. >> please join me in thanking this great panel. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] i am pleased to be here today on behalf of the cannabis business association the only nationwide a trade organization fighting for the economic empowerment of minority owned businesses and the cannabis industry. the war on drugs is a racist war and it continues to disproportionately impact communities of color devastating entire generations and families. here in the district of columbia prior to legalization despite equal rates of marijuana use

across all races, african-americans were eight times more likely to be stopped, harassed and arrested for marijuana possession than their white neighbors. long before it was founded, the institutions like the naacp leader the groundwork for what we are doing today. ten years ago at the age of 35 come our keynote speaker was elected as the youngest ever president and ceo of the naacp. today he's running for governor asked the state of maryland, a state where despite one of the largest african-american populations in the united states, no entrepreneurs of color received licenses for medical marijuana cultivation. as the speaker once said we do not owe allegiance to any candidate because they share a party or color but because they

share our principles and conscience i would like to borrow those words and caution us today we do not owe allegiance to any industry simply because they share our planet or color but because they share our principles and conscience. with that, it is my distinct honor to welcome up to the stage stage, civi civil rights activi, scholar and 2018 maryland gubernatorial candidate benjamin. [applause] good afternoon. it's great to be here with you. former national president ceo of the naacp and candidate for governor of maryland. i want to thank the host this

morning who hosted a reception for me and also caroline phillips and the festival for the leadership into pulling this event together having me as a speaker. i want to talk today about what we have lived through and how we get to a better place. the war on drugs has failed us and we can do much better as a country. when i was in college i was at a friend's 21st birthday party and around of toasts went up. first was to our friend for turning 21 and the next turned into a memory for all of our friends had been shot and killed or sent to prison before we even got to college.

then we tried to turn the mood around. one more name of color in america but survived to 21. i couldn't raise my glass on the last post. the world's greatest democracy to merely breeds tested 21st birthday. i didn't sleep for days. i ultimately did what i was blessed to be able to do. my grandmother is it 101-year-old social worker. third-generation member of the

naacp. she carries 200 years of stories with her and those she inherited were born slave slaves and thost she's witnessed. i went to my grandmother's table and i said what went wrong you told me to see where the children of the dream and we would be the first generation to be judged purely based on our director knocks on our skin color or gender or public housing projects like my mom who grew up in a covert home housine housing project first after her child. and you said all we have to do is keep our nose clean and walk a straight line and everything would be okay. it's worked okay for me but i don't think it's worked for most of my generation because we have

come in age as the most incarcerated people on the planet and by that iranian americans of all colors cut 25% of the world's prisoners into people we have the most incarcerated in the planet no doubt we also have the most incarcerated white people on the planet. we can't pretend that this isn't an issue that does not affect all of us. what went wrong x. she looked at me and said baby, it's sad but it's simple because what we fought for the pmos 20. every community we could live in but the thousands of acres every

month every decade from the start of world war ii until the end of the cold war. we lost the right to live in safe communities. we lost the right to be welcomed if my mom had been at the public housing project she wrote in as secretary. my grandmother's coleman sends me deep inside myself to find what went wrong and i realized for four generations by

grandmother's grandparents have been born slaves. we understood that it was everybody's obligation to fight for freedom and we have done better and then i got to my generation and it was optional. things have gotten worse and worse so i committed that i would figure out what i would fight for or even understood what has been gained from it and i wrote down a sheet of paper i can only fighcould only fight fd to be focused on some thing.

i had no idea how to do it but it was for all these other things and when you commit yourself to really winning a battle, and life goes on inside of you. when you are preaching at first it's more like the old this little light of mine just bright enough you can see the next step and those of you that are entrepreneurs have experienced this before you you can see what the next step is so i kept following that stat and eventually i would like to play

a role in death penalty working with the governor of georgia to shrink the prison system down more than 25% in the last three years. [applause] as i was preparing to run for governor i was going to rollout of the criminal justice different strategy and apparently i'm the only person in the history of arab and anybody can find who's run for governor and actually put out a strategy to shrink. it was clear with the uprisings and the week of freddy gray, the killing and murder i would put something out there on policing. it wasn't clear how far i was

going to go into whether he would call for legalization of cannabis. but i believe that it's important to listen before you leave. so i went out there and i listened. i listened to the handyman driving me to the airport who was approaching 60-years-old and i said if you are so brilliant and leave your church why are you working as a handyman and she said i spent most of my life working in hospitals and whenever the change emerged to do a back ground check when i was about 22-years-old, police officer arrested me for having one marijuana seed in my vicinity they decided it must be mine. i can't get off my record and they fire me every time a new

company would buy a hostile chain i'm working for so i work as a handyman. one is a former lieutenant. they were spiraling out of control and said there's two things we could agree on no one is sure why they were spiraling survived the last couple of years and now they started to level off of i of the defendants totally out of control. they all agreed.

while violins and the drug trade is about territory and when a drug is easy to source it always gets infringed upon so when i rolled out of my criminal justice strategy i called for the legalization of cannabis in maryland throughout. [applause] if we want to stop the bloodshed we have to regulate by law. if we want to make sure they are not relegated to being a handyman we have to expunge

people's records at once we legalize it we shouldn't carry on the books of something that is now legal. [applause] we have to learn from dc and self cultivation of personal use. [applause] and especially taxes in the process we have to learn from colorado that unless you are willing to reform the police and how it is done simultaneously the disparities and enforcement will continue. [applause] and we have to have the courage to say it's time to take the bias out of how the licenses are issued. and it's time to get serious

about making sure that the communities that have been most negatively impacted by the war on drugs are treated fairly. i don't just believe that we should have the licenses to own and distribute and cultivate, i also think that we should have the micro zip code targeting and you qualify to be an employee we will give you a leg up in the process to become an employee because it simply cannot be a case of the rich get richer. [applause] if you are in maryland, i hope to earn your vote. we've never seen what it's like to have a civil rights leader

become governor if every state. [applause] and i hope to have the opportunity to show you just how transformative that will be. thank you and god bless. [applause] i am an associate of the office here in dc. to advance the policies that end of the races and classes and policies that prepare the generational harms of black and

brown communities have faced in the war on drugs. across the states and even on the federal level is on the horizon get out to b yet how tod in the youth possession and sale even a plant that many of us know personally of the hearing agent that reconciles the prohibition that served as a tool for state violence against black and brown communities and individuals may only have a second to do so as i introduce the next panel and its moderators maybe hold space for the loss because of this lost bs enforcement of the marijuana prohibition. [applause] it is unjust and difficult for the legalization about reforming

or dispensing the criminal justice system without a conversation about policing or reparations is a moral. and also to hear the group unpack what we need as we embrace this industry was that it is my pleasure to introduce the moderator for get up stand up in the criminal justice system. [applause] we have a great panel here. i am a reporter for the magazine in the criminal justice and policy policing ..

a mac we showed up with my family and saw him shackle with a correctional officer and that's when we heard the prosecution say we do accept the 20 year plea and it was mind blowing to think that is when it was real that this is what is happening in the community so three months later he was able to make bail but not tell even at that point he went back to new

jersey waiting years pretrial then finally just wanting to get this behind him he accepted the plea in december 2016 that in januar january 2017 he turned himself in and went back to jail he was only expected to serve six months and a month and a half he was brutally attacked suffering severe injury to this day he is still in the hospital and unable to communicate or do anything for himself he was asking for cannabis also the father of four children. so when you look at how

families are affected when you hear that phrase that is thrown throughout the panel that i really want you to understand with the incarcerated population that it is more than we can imagine and a lot worse than what we think so to think of that understanding how it affects the family through the devastation we have to think a lot more critically of other people that his situation. [applause] >> i am the head of the criminal justice department at the cato institute before that i was from a public instrument

dish address law firm litigating constitutional cases nearly 20 years. the extraordinarily important to understand the constitution of the criminal justice system by enforcing marijuana laws when you talk about violence to do people to put people in cages for no good reason and now people are realizing that is the case that there is no good reason for criminalizing that activity there is no good reason to do violence to people who do not obey the law and no good reason to incarcerate or kill people who violated those laws we now realize that a lot of us have known that all along the 17 mainstream politicians are beginning to acknowledge it because there are number of

very difficult questions and we can talk about those today like how do we go forward? what do we do about peoples whose lives have been ruined by the enforcement of a completely pointless law? how do we begin to repair a justice system or the relationship between law enforcement in the community that it was meant to serve with a devoted so much of their effort and attention to that unmoral law we cannot give up that we have to recognize the path ahead - i am the 2019 candidate for mayor and as a business owner across the spectrum of have 13 covering the face of cannabis and magazine and a bunch of other things third is i cannabis policy reform from 13

years ago how i got involved in the industry in denver that was my entry point into more than just the consumption side as my businesses grew i always had advocates for policy reform and the decriminalization of other public health concerns like homelessness is a bank on further into the cannabis space working with larger companies and more full swing means which we will talk more later the path of cannabis is very unfortunate with the regulation side and lack of for dissipation by full that have been disenfranchised now i'm starting to divest my interest in the business side focusing more on my advocacy. part of that is chairman of the board of the cannabis business association now looking on municipal ordinances to help lawmakers

understand there is a lot we have to do to get participation of people of color and also in support roles of our tax money especially in colorado those dollars that are wasted and spent inappropriately and to positively impact by the war on drugs and that is part of the mayoral campaign to get what we are seeing is a microcosm which is this corporate mentality of money and special interest first and that is a different conversation. [applause] >> i am a commissioner for the

cannabis control commission which is the state regulating agency implementing the marijuana program is somewhat unusual path to get to that point as an activist the past 15 years i started out as a college student in the movement with students for sensible drug policy and so through my math down my degree when i graduated i joined the movement full-time i was lucky enough to work on the colorado campaign for the first time and i also briefly helped with the marijuana business law then to find a new way to help get the marijuana industry more diverse so i cofounded a

diversity and inclusion focus brief and as part of the minority cannabis association to provide process of reconciliation of state policy. part of that was used as an inspiration of the massachusetts salad in 2016 which provided the regulating agency would find a way to promote and include communities disproportionately harm by the war on drugs into the industry but it didn't specify how. so i hope to write that in language because the joke was on me now i am part of that regulating agency so currently i am broadly working how to safely and responsibly to regulate but to turn these concepts that most people

agree on the criminal justice reform to give them a fair shot to be enforced that is logical and transparent. [applause] >> good afternoon. i am the executive director of the criminal justice policy foundation and i was reflecting i and 68 years old so when i first started looking marijuana as a college freshman. [applause] i first testified for decriminalization in 1976 as a lost student so for 42 years of my career as a lawyer lawyer is an advocate for reform one way or another as a

public defender to have a normal chapter in the early 70s then i had the amazing opportunity to be hired by the house judiciary committee 1976 is me 79 to write federal law and became a colonel as a house democrat during the reagan years. my boss reported medical cannabis that was one of my professional responsibilities to learn about medical cannabis i helped bob randall the first legal patient start for the alliance but i left the judiciary and i have to give cato credit cato ran seminars in the 80s in their office across from the library of congress and i would go over my lunch time to get

indoctrinated. [laughter] by working for the congress senate started the criminal justice policy foundation was clear we needed aspect for reform so the families against mandatory minimums i helped start the marijuana policy project and the other groups i have been involved with since 2004. in 2013 governor malley i was such a bureaucrat for those years. but not to say i concern for the heart of the criminal justice system is the offenders so we will talk about what that means i'm just so proud to be at the first

national cannabis policy summit here at the museum 17. >> we heard a little bit with the drug looks like on a personal and family level people think marijuana is not a big deal people are not going to jail for this or prison for a long time but it is still a driver of a massive amount of interactions with the criminal system and before we get into the ways to address that i want to about the bigger picture of what the drug war looks like now and how marijuana is still drug and interactions of criminal justice.

>> to be extraordinarily important issue to focus on because as you may know already there were more marijuana related to less arrested 2016 then all combined so law enforcement dedicating resources to an issue while the national clearance rate is less than 50% national savings rate for homicides is 90% now down 61% baltimore is far below that though the assistance of marijuana laws on the books that you have law enforcement to engage in criminal activity it also increases between law-enforcement and that to be extremely dangerous castile the gentleman killed in minnesota the officer who shot him during a traffic stop

testified he became afraid because he smelled marijuana in his car so he could be a deadly dangerous criminals so it would be impossible to list the existence of marijuana laws fundamentally with the interactions between citizens could be so much better in iq laid that out very clearly. with the resources and the cost to innocent civilians. it is part of the dehumanization and part of the misunderstanding of its moral

authority that the moral authority of the government to take our liberty away only when the conduct is wrongful and it hurts other people. everyone in the audience understands cannabis is not wrongful. and the legislature will authorize the police to take over in april so readily do this the prosecution will so readily do this in the name of the law. that talks about our whole understanding the power of the law so as to reform cannabis law shines a light of the legitimacy. highly destructive because we

all delegitimize law enforcemen enforcement. >> you are both from boston and with massachusetts there was a lot of debating discussion when they were talking about legalization what should be done to restore or how much of the money should go back into the community affected by the drug war. and as you referred to that as a bureaucrat and activists to get your perspective on that debate what solutions have been proposed and what is being done. >> first let me say what is interesting as a side conversation is to have a brand-new agency starting from scratch thinking a policy against he thinking about how we could be more modern in the way we enact policy in terms

of civic engagement when our agency gets feedback, we try to be as modern as possible i am the appointed government official but still an activist and still a millennial i get a lot of information from places like twitter where i know a lot about marijuana but not much of anything else but i absolutely don't know everything so looking at a policy we will get as much feedback as possible certainly want feedback from those who are in the underground market not talking about those communities as though they are not there or part of the conversation very often i get tweets people there in the underground market what it looks like make a decision based on that. so in massachusetts there are three main ways we have chosen to address this.

first to weave into every decision that we make to encourage small business of those on the underground market. so practicing as a business lawyer when a medical program just past people would come into my office today i want to be an entrepreneur tell me how it works and they start with there was a 30,000 dollars nonrefundable application fee they say what you charge for two minutes because we are done you have to think about that because with the program but you charge these application fees and the tracking software you can't find funding in the programs don't mean anything that we work very carefully to encourage small business that is number one. number two step priority program in massachusetts is

the way to ensure the industry that started off on the right foot filling most days existing medical dispensaries are the first to enter the industry because they are already started a know how to grow and self plant but we also want to make sure people get a head start to have the market advantage have demonstrated they work with these communities with good business practices that is something the institute now we are going to these application for priority certification so the businesses can demonstrate they have that experience to go first. third we have a program that is ongoing with the idea that if you are from the community disproportionately harmed by

prohibition in these communities were designated throughout and before decriminalization or to have a drug conviction then want to give you some extra help and have help with technical assistance and ongoing business help as well and the last thing i would say this is a groundbreaking area of policy so i have very open to have dialogue with other activists and other agencies if you want to see massachusetts did we put forward a lot of guidance and summary if you click that you can see the details of all the

programs. >> is doing great and one of the things to highlight the challenges is highlight the gap between the population that is devastated to make sure they have access otherwise it is hard to be a business owner there are two parents in the household with that gap that exists to figure out how we fill those gaps because people are starting from ground zero i definitely want to make sure we are intentional not only as we create legislation getting

people into the business but also look at how do we support these communities? what programs do we put in place with those youth that are affected because they don't have a father in the home or their parents is dealing of another aspect they can be emotionally supportive because a lot of emotional breakdown in the communities are nieces and nephews that have to visit their father in the hospital so what does that look like? suggest to think about those simple things that are a privilege when you can go to summer camp and you can afford to go to summer camp and go to school and have essays can do homework because you can have a house that's big enough for

a quiet phase to have those simple luxuries that we overlook somebody said we can't use these to build a playground. why not? those are things we take for granted when you have the privilege a lot of us say that when you live in these communities they don't exist so you have to have a length just to support the nonprofit that are providing these programs for the or how we can support public schools and i just read the headline 50% budget cuts over the summer so all of the music programs all of those that are outlets for

students affected are now cut and now it is back to the basics and now kids do not want to go to school they had a reason now they don't want to so i know the business side is very important but it is continuously if we don't uplift the community. [applause] >> you were speaking about this earlier just like what yeah nixon is proposing with another bill that went further but with this legalization and how it affects these communities those to get the

record expunged but then you can get them wiped clean because if you seal the record if they do the background check they say what is that there if it is just cannabis it is better to be on your record i have been very disappointed in colorado how we spent tax money first we were swindled into voting verse 43 million going to school construction but now where we need the money right now is school supplies and teacher wages which is not happening 17 the money goes to contractors that are overpaid and second we have lost sight

of all the things that are very much broken after legalization after someone who has been involved as an advocate then entering into the entrepreneurial space so many people that were on the same path forget about the roots of activism and advocacy to know in colorado still we have a racial disparity coming to those with public consumption why are people being arrested inside because we don't have places to consume them wiped primarily people of color because that is where the cops control unfortunately at my office a couple years ago i tried to control that there were requirements from the perimeter of these two schools they thought that was reasonable that the city said parks and rec centers in

treatment centers and playground and on and on until the only places we could open the were in the same poor neighborhoods primarily filled with people of color the city just one year prior said were too concentrated but there is a federal moratorium on license now also on the public consumption. oats one -- h away ownership almost no homeownership people are renting and cannot consume in their home they are getting kicked out even if not criminal because it is an illegal substance they cannot consume cannabis all while the city advocate for us to drink full strength alcohol in our parks which blows my mind and foot has never set foot in a regulated cannabis is so those

that we are not focusing on but then it is 80% people of color and they are ground zero and drug dogs go into public schools and the kids are not just getting a slap on the hand they are getting suspended that is not a way for them to get an education but nobody seems to talk about that and it is incredibly unfortunate. . . . .

after five years a law you have no record and we say that it goes away. what we have is a situation where every sentence is a life sentence and it is absurd. we must have a process that says there is a period at the end of the sentence and as a matter of law you are free of any consequence of having once had a conviction. [applause] have any jurisdictions tried

that? >> we haven't gotten that far yet. it still reflects this fear in the society around who are the offenders and there's nothing in particular about the background of this former offender to stigmatize them for special concern. in maryland if you have a drug conviction you can't work in the industry. these kind of walls reflect the suspicions of the doctors and people going into the industry y so it is way over regulated with

rules involving security and so forth because of the suspicion that there's going to be greater extent than any other industry. >> we've created 30,000 market jobs but he also probably took away 20,000 from those that are relying on the candidates of a small level to make ends meet because they do have issues finding traditional jobs because of these criminal records and that is as someone on the ground floor that have executed these legalization's people are not talking about equity because everyone is reinventing the wheel and what about the packaging and all of the jurisdictions i think we could

actually get somewhere but we are not getting traction. 86% of the arrests were minorities which is a pretty stunning number i think about 16,000 of them. would you mind talking about this? there is a bias in the industry itself and i wonder if you wou would. >> there's no question that they enable if we might call policing by proxy and they suspended a particular person as someone engaged in the activities that they can't prove the marijuana

law prohibition becomes low hanging fruit so they can't get the person for they claimed they did but we can bust them for marijuana. you mentioned the drug-free school zone situation when they are setting somebody up they would propose moving the transaction into a school zone to enhance the penalty that starts to loo to book a boxlike entrapment and it's the kind of species of entrapment so having these on the books facilitates this kind of immortal policing by proxy saying i thin think yoe are a bad person but i can't get you for the thing i think you did so i'm going to jam you up on a marijuana charge is nothing at stake for society.

when they are subpoenaed there is three hours of overtime pay even if they are excused by the prosecutor said every time the case is called they know they are getting overtime pay so you can witness this they all get subpoenaed so that is an extremely probable the only thing important to recognize is the swiss army knife if i have a suspicion or hunch i get out of the car and i find contraband so now how do i justify that this thing that allows the amendments

to the violated is eliminated and allows them to justify a legal searches. we must not talk about this without policing for profit to take the property and phone, cash coming in your house by alleging that it wasn't criminal activity but never proving it so i think this is one of the most corrupt policies in america today and there's no question is a gateway crime for substantial amounts of forfeiture do not take large amounts. you have great questions for the

panelists have microphone we has out here where are they at we have microphones coming around. 13 to 15 years ago before i was even born between 13 to 15 years they are now 27 to 30-years-old so what blueprint has been left, what foundation for anyone to see in order to go back door to door i ask this because the past

31 days we have had a live-in one of the last standing due to gentrification. no one was informed. the general counsel that was just here on behalf of the major they are having a clinic right now and she didn't inform anyone. where is the disconnect and how do we stop it from happening, he is speaking on behalf of the minorities and the people in the communities that we don't know if we don't have social media i wouldn't be here. we don't know. the government does a crappy job of publicizing its own events. i see it all the time in my county. officials even are not well publicized. you have to follow things very closely already to know that

there's going to be a hearing or meeting were from. i personally as somebody that been in the industry for a long time as disappointed in most of the industry that's regulated right now believe it's incumbent on them and they have the opportunity to make money to be in this for profit legally because of folks have done the last few decades to try to turn this around to fight for legalization because of those people they should be educating and going to the city understanding and pushing that up to people. as somebody that's worked in these application processes people promise a lot of stuff when they apply to these licenses and they do not put those on the backend and i think if they did this would be a

different place and people would be far more educated that they are great organizations that we mentioned earlier that he is doing phenomenal jobs with building awareness on college campuses with young people that have been evicted from what's happened to be informed about it i think those are some of the brightest and hardest working minds that we have and they are growing larger every day in their influence. [applause] >> that is such a great question and something i feel extremely passionate about. there is an attitude in spite of the government often that you have something like allowing expungement. and that leads to a snowball that doesn't add up to anything.

established authenticity and credibility so that when people do show up, they get to see their results. we had a workshop for the program last week in roxbury massachusetts and there were three times as many people as could sit in the room that showed up, people in the market exactly the people we were trying to serve, and that could never be done in the months before hand you have to put years into it and at the last thing i will say it struck me earlier when eric said this is on the foundation of dehumanizing people i think when you have these events and no one

in your world intercepts you just imagine something scary so if you can do it, good job having that one-on-one interaction you're not picturing someone scary you were picturing that person that you met and it makes a big difference in the decision-making to set up a form of authenticity that is ongoing. [applause] my question goes out to all of you and your background issue is a.

how do they ge i get over this d bump? we help people that have records get expungement and they can't figurcan'tfigure it out at liket won't guarantee anything. how can i get over the road bump? >> we need people to show up and ask these questions. what are you trying to get passed, i didn't catch that speak to >> for marijuana? there is no road bump. you cannot be excluded you can

apply to get expert technical assistance. we have time for one more question. please use the microphone. i have a question about the new entrepreneurs like myself. what can i do today to help the community not just today that implemenimplement them in my buo help longer to apply. >> i would recommend getting involved in the investigation.

when you go to these events, they don't even show up. so they held a networking event and a weeks notice in a place i've never been to 150 people of color showed up to to help the entrepreneurs and advocate to find their conduit and i think it's a great place to do with other folkdeal withother folks e same issues to find the same value in this industry there are so many ancillary opportunities and it's not just packaging point-of-sale systems and establishments in culture and fashion and music and i think helping people find out that there are other opportunities

that ar are lower capital but sl have a huge upside the art more culturally appropriate to the folks that want to get and that is a wonderful place to start and also to be working folks to understand that this is much better than business and there's an obligation to those that we run into that a is the community we are trying to create a. i think they are heroine and opioids because that is leading to understanding the humanity of people who are suffering and we are now in a cultural moment with the drug problem is being reconfigured around the country because of its tragic extension and once we understand and accept the humanity of people

using drugs and the purpose of the drug laws should be to minimize suffering instead of being around defending then we will have the kind of healing we hope. [applause] people showed up by themselves and are asking how can they get into the industry so this is a time when you have to unite and look for different networks to be a part of to make change and this is the most important time. all these things out here doing the work to show up and help

support the. [applause]

the council on american relations release released thei8 civil rights report that found anti-muslim bias incidents and hate crimes increased in 2017. everything is 20 minutes