Using Law to Create Social Equity in the Cannabis Industry - The High Ground Ep. 25 | Ariel Clark from Clark Howell LLP

The High Ground features talks with the leaders of the Cannabis industry. Farmers, CEOs, public officials, anyone making an impact on the cannabis community and beyond.

The Cannabis industry has a diversity problem. In many states, the owners of cannabis businesses are disproportionately white, affluent, and male. Take Illinois, despite specific policies that were intended to bring equity to communities that were disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs. Six months later, the city of Chicago still doesn’t have a single black-owned dispensary.

Ariel Clark is an attorney in California who focuses on the Cannabis industry. She got her start back in 2008 when she co-founded her Law Firm, Clark and Howell, and since then she served as the chair of the Los Angeles cannabis task force. She's represented many people seeking cannabis licenses both inside and outside of the social equity label in California. Jesse and Ariel talk about some of the recent changes to California’s social equity program, some of the stuff that's been going on in Illinois, and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted efforts across the country.