Social equity in marijuana industry still largely pipe dream

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Social equity in marijuana industry still largely pipe dream

Sarah Woodson poses for a portrait in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Woodson, the executive director of the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, runs a 10-week business course to help students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and to connect them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colo. in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Terrence Hewing poses for a portrait in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Hewing, who was convicted of felony drug possession in suburban Denver in 2008, lost his job and for years struggled to find housing and a stable, well-paying career because of his criminal record. He is now one of only a few Black business owners in Colorado's recreational marijuana industry. He received a social equity license through a state program aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Sarah Woodson, left, teaches a class on social equity in the marijuana industry in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Woodson, the executive director of the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, runs a 10-week business course to help students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and to connect them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Desiree Humphrey attends a marijuana social equity class in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The class, run by the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, helps students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and connects them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities.(AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera poses for a portrait in Denver on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Social equity in marijuana industry still largely pipe dream

Sarah Woodson poses for a portrait in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Woodson, the executive director of the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, runs a 10-week business course to help students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and to connect them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colo. in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Terrence Hewing poses for a portrait in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Hewing, who was convicted of felony drug possession in suburban Denver in 2008, lost his job and for years struggled to find housing and a stable, well-paying career because of his criminal record. He is now one of only a few Black business owners in Colorado's recreational marijuana industry. He received a social equity license through a state program aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Sarah Woodson, left, teaches a class on social equity in the marijuana industry in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Woodson, the executive director of the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, runs a 10-week business course to help students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and to connect them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Desiree Humphrey attends a marijuana social equity class in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The class, run by the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, helps students navigate Colorado's social equity application process and connects them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado's social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities.(AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera plays with his 2-year-old daughter Aria at a Denver park on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Michael Diaz-Rivera poses for a portrait in Denver on Friday, April 23, 2021. Diaz-Rivera was pulled over in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006, and officers found two bags of marijuana in his car. After he was convicted of felony drug possession, he struggled to find housing, ran into hurdles while applying for federal student aid and was denied jobs. Now an elementary school teacher, he sees his future in a pot delivery business made possible by Colorado's marijuana social equity program, which is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs. Diaz-Rivera says he hopes his business will allow him to pass on to his children generational wealth that he did not have growing up. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)