'This was supposed to be reparations': Why is LA's cannabis industry devastating black entrepreneurs?

Black merchants affected by the war on drugs are denied licenses and thrown into debt as white owners thrive
The Guardian (UK)
Monday, February 3, 2020

california cannabis queueA Los Angeles government program set up to provide cannabis licenses to people harmed by the war on drugs has been plagued by delays, scandal and bureaucratic blunders, costing some intended beneficiaries hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. Black entrepreneurs and activists across LA said that the city’s embattled “social equity” program has left aspiring business owners on an indefinite waiting list, causing potentially irreparable damage to their families’ finances and preventing them from opening marijuana shops they have been planning for years. The community most disproportionately targeted by marijuana arrests is again facing discrimination.