Business and Finance

Does legalizing marijuana help Black communities?

Published

7 months ago

April 21, 2024

IAM

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) – When Washington state opened among the nation’s first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. he was under electronic house arrest in Spokane, where he faced federal drug charges. He would soon be sent to prison to serve the lion’s share of his four-year sentence.

Ten years later, Ward, who’s black, recently posed on a blue and gold throne used for photos at his recent cannabis store, Cloud 9 Cannabis. He welcomed customers coming in for the early 4/20 deal. He also thought of being one in every of the primary beneficiaries of a Washington program to make the mostly white industry more accessible to those harmed by the war on drugs.

“It’s great to know that I’m the general manager of the store and the employees, the people, rely on me,” Ward said. “Just being a part of something makes you feel good.”

Operations manager Willie Morrow stockes shelves at Cloud 9 Cannabis as the shop prepares to open, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The essential argument for legalizing adult use of cannabis was to stem the harm attributable to disproportionate enforcement of drug laws, which has thrown hundreds of thousands of black, Latino, and other minority Americans into prison and perpetuated cycles of violence and poverty. Studies have shown that minorities were more more likely to be incarcerated than whites, despite similar rates of cannabis use.

However, efforts to help those most affected take part in and make the most of the legal marijuana industry have been stalled.

Since 2012, when voters in Washington and Colorado approved the primary ballot measures legalizing recreational marijuana, legal adult use has spread to 24 states and the District of Columbia. Almost all have “social equity” laws geared toward undoing the harm attributable to the drug war.

These provisions include expungement of criminal records for certain marijuana convictions, granting cannabis business licenses and financial assistance to those convicted of cannabis crimes, and directing marijuana tax revenues to impacted communities.

“Social equity programs are an attempt to reverse the harm done to Black and Brown communities that are over-policed and disproportionately impacted,” said Kaliko Castille, former president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association.

States have alternative ways of defining who can apply for marijuana licenses on a social equity basis, and so they will not be necessarily based on race.

In Washington, an applicant must own greater than half of the business and meet other criteria, resembling having lived for at the very least five years between 1980 and 2010 in an area with high rates of poverty, unemployment or cannabis arrests; you will have been arrested for a cannabis offense; or whose household income is below average.

Legal challenges to the permitting process in states like New York have slowed implementation.

With other cases resolved, New York — which regulators say issued 60% of all cannabis licenses to social equity applicants — faces one other lawsuit. Last month, the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation alleged that it favored women- and minority-owned candidates along with those that could show the harm attributable to the drug war.

“These are the kinds of general racial and gender preferences that the Constitution prohibits,” said Pacific Legal attorney David Hoffa.

CEO and co-owner of Cloud 9 Cannabis Sam Ward Jr. she smiles as she poses for a photograph during a photograph session on a throne for clients, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

In other countries, deep-pocketed corporations operating in multiple states have obtained equity licenses, which can defeat the intent of the regulations. This 12 months, Arizona lawmakers expressed concern that predatory corporations were pressuring licensees to relinquish control.

Difficulty finding locations because of local prohibitions on cannabis businesses or obtaining bank loans because of ongoing federal prohibition also prevents applicants from opening stores. In some cases, the very aspects that qualified them for licenses – living in poor neighborhoods, criminal records and lack of assets – made it difficult to secure the cash needed to open cannabis businesses.

The framers of Washington’s pioneering law were busy stopping the U.S. Department of Justice from shutting down the market. They required background checks to maintain criminals away.

“In many early states, social equity was simply not an issue,” said Jana Hrdinova, administrative director of the Center for Law Enforcement and Drug Policy at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.

Many states which have legalized recently – including Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland and Missouri – have had social equity initiatives from the start.

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Washington launched its program in 2020. However, it was only in the previous couple of months that it issued its first social equity retail licenses. Only two have been opened, including Ward’s.

Washington Liquor and Cannabis board member Ollie Garrett called progress up to now disappointing, but said officials are working with applicants and calling on some cities to waive zoning bans so social cannabis businesses can open.

The state, which collects about half a billion dollars a 12 months from marijuana taxes, is making $8 million in grants available to social equity licensees to help cover expenses resembling security systems and renovations, in addition to business coaching.

It also directs $250 million to communities harmed by the drug war – including housing assistance, small business loans, job training and violence prevention programs.

Ward’s turnaround is one officials hope to repeat.

He testified that he began dealing marijuana as an adolescent. In 2006, a customer pulled a gun on him and Ward was shot within the hand.

Marijuana plants seen in a secured grow facility in Washington County, New York, May 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

He claims to be a single father of seven children and continued to deal drugs to support them until he was charged in 2014 – together with 30 others – in an oxycodone distribution conspiracy. He served almost three years in prison.

Ward, now 39, spent that point taking classes, exercising and training other inmates. After his release, he began a private training business, got a job at a restaurant and joined the semi-professional Spokane Wolfpack football team.

There he met Dennis Turner, a black entrepreneur who briefly owned the team. Turner worked as a restaurant manager on cruise ships, on the post office and as a corrections officer before investing his savings – $6,000 – into growing a friend’s medical marijuana. They used the proceeds to open a medical dispensary in Cheney, a small college town southwest of Spokane, that eventually became an adult-use marijuana retailer.

In Washington’s social equity program, Turner saw a possibility to make Ward a business executive. The two joined Rashel Palmer, whose husband co-owns the soccer team, in launching Cloud 9 for about $400,000. They selected Arlington, Washington – 515 kilometers away – because they are saying it’s a fast-growing city with limited competition in cannabis.

Ward “saw me as a guy he admired, who was in good business, self-made and out of the trenches, and he just wanted to beat my brains out,” Turner said.

Turner is working to open cannabis stores in New Mexico and Ohio as a part of social equity programs in those states. He hopes to sell them in the future for tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the meantime, he plans to make use of his business to support local charities resembling the Boys and Girls Club of Arlington and the Carl Maxey Center, which give services to Spokane’s black community.

Another recent social equity licensee is David Penn Jr., 47, who helped persuade Pasco in South Central Washington to rescind its ban. Penn, who’s black, was arrested as an adolescent on crack charges. In 2011, he was kicked out of his apartment after stealing marijuana.

A friend who owns two other cannabis stores is financing the Penna store. Its location – a grimy constructing next to a gas station – still needs work. State subsidies will help, but they may not be enough.

“It’s like giving you a carriage, but you need horses to move it,” Penn said.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Business and Finance

Black Men Buy Homes aims to increase black home ownership

Published

8 hours ago

November 24, 2024

IAM

Kevan and Ayesha Shelton took off Black men are buying houses to help reduce the black home ownership gap between men and girls.

The growth rate of Black women homebuyers has reached 7.3% since 2017. Growth from 2018 to 2020 exceeded doubled rate of three.4% amongst black men, BLACK ENTERPRISES reported.

The Sheltons are concerned concerning the gap between men and girls. This is a way for them to start buying homes for black men provide information directly to Black men. According to Shelton, the ignorance creates significant barriers for black men Atlanti.

“Black men often face challenges when purchasing homes due to limited information about the process and financial resources, which can hamper their ability to secure funds for down payments, credit and closing costs. The goal of our initiative is to break down these barriers so that more Black men can achieve the dream of home ownership,” the Sheltons said.

On October 12, the Sheltons hosted the inauguration Black men are buying houses event in Atlanta. The event was held in cooperation with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Operation HOPE. Operation HOPE founder John Hope Bryant was available to impart knowledge on the importance of Black financial literacy and wealth.

While Black women are outpacing men in homeownership, additionally they face barriers. TO BE reported on the barriers women encounter of their pursuit of ownership. Debt, access to mortgages, student loans and low wages are cited. It appears that Black women have access to the precise home buying resources and tools, but they lack the power to use these tools to their advantage.

“…If you are a black woman in America, you will likely have difficulty purchasing a home in many circumstances,” said Jacob Channel, an economist at LendingTree. Channel pointed to “social obstacles that… shouldn’t exist” that make things “unnecessarily difficult” despite the growing variety of black women who own homes.

Black women don’t face these obstacles alone. As organizations, e.g Black men are buying houses, help close the gap between Black men and Black women, the complete community will need to consider how to overcome structural biases and inequalities.

This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com

Business and Finance

Crypto surges after Trump’s election – but is it a good ethical investment?

Published

4 days ago

November 21, 2024

IAM

Estimated 18 million Americans are invested cryptocurrency– says the Federal Reserve. And the United States has just chosen pro-crypto-president.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have change into trendy digital resource. Supporters say crypto undermines capitalism because it bypasses traditional bankers. Crypto perhaps offer quick riches together with an environment of high-tech sophistication.

Early adopters reaped enormous advantages, and plenty of of them became millionaires and billionaires.

Currently, there are approx 100,000 cryptocurrency millionaires. Moreover, cryptocurrency wealth has been built Fairshake, the most important political lobbying group within the US During the last election, it helped elect 253 pro-crypto candidates.

But is cryptocurrency a good ethical investment?

as business professor who studies the technology and its implications, I even have identified three ethical harms related to cryptocurrency which will give investors pause.

Three wrongs

The first harm is excessive energy consumptionparticularly Bitcoin, the primary decentralized cryptocurrency.

Bitcoins are created or “mined” by tens of hundreds of computers in huge data centers, which contributes significantly to carbon emissions and environmental degradation. Bitcoin mining, which accounts for the lion’s share of cryptocurrency’s energy consumption, uses as much as 0.9% of worldwide electricity demand – near Australia’s annual energy demand.

Secondly, unregulated and anonymous cryptocurrencies are the payment system of alternative for criminals fraud, tax evasion, human trafficking AND ransomware – the latter cost victims an estimated $1 billion in fraudulent cryptocurrency payments.

Until about a decade ago, these bad actors generally moved and laundered money through money and shell corporations. However, around 2015, many individuals switched to cryptocurrency, which is a much less cumbersome type of service dirty money anonymously.

The bank cannot store or transfer money anonymously. By law it is a bank passively complicit in money laundering if not enforced get to know your customer measures to curb bad actors resembling money launderers.

However, within the case of cryptocurrency, legal and ethical responsibility can’t be transferred to the bank – the bank doesn’t exist. So who is complicit? Any member of the cryptocurrency ecosystem will be seen as ethically complicit in enabling illegal activities.

Enegix employees work at a data center in Ekibastus, Kazakhstan, certainly one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mines, January 3, 2023.
Meiramgul Kussainova/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

I find these first two harms to be probably the most ethically troubling. The first harms the Earth, the second undermines global systems of trust – the interplay of institutions that underpin economic activity and social order.

The third problem of cryptocurrency is its predatory culture.

A predatory system, especially without regulatory oversight, exploits small investors. And some cryptocurrencies have enriched their founders by reaping the advantages lack of investor knowledge about virtual currency.

Some cryptocurrencies, especially smaller coins and initial coin offerings, do Characteristics of Ponzi schemes.

For example, the now defunct Bitconnect promised investors big profits who exchanged their Bitcoins for Bitconnect tokens. New investors’ money paid out “profits” to the primary layer of investors with later investors’ money.

Ultimately, Satish Kumbhani, founding father of Bitconnect, decided to achieve this indicted by a federal grand juryand from 2024 his whereabouts are unknown.

A pernicious myth

In addition to the ethical harms of cryptocurrency, there is a pernicious myth surrounding digital coin. The myth of inclusion is the idea that cryptocurrency has the facility to profit especially socially disadvantaged people without a checking account.

The world’s poor who wouldn’t have bank accounts and who could use cryptocurrency for international money transfers to family back home don’t necessarily enjoy the advantages of cryptocurrencies. It’s for this reason need pay conversion and transfer feessay, dollars to cryptocurrency, after which from cryptocurrency to the local currency of the person receiving the cash transfer.

In fact, the distribution of crypto assets is largely concentrated among the many wealthy. A 2021 study found that simply 0.01% of Bitcoin owners controls 27% of its value.

The democratization of finance is often presented as a move geared toward breaking the dominance of traditional financial institutions – private banks and government central banks. However, this narrative didn’t prove true.

Instead, a latest elite emerged: cryptocurrency creatorsearly supporters of i conservatorswho modify the cryptocurrency’s software code and influence its future direction. This group exercises disproportionate control, including over cryptocurrency management. All of this reflects the concentration of power that cryptocurrency was intended to dismantle.

Just a little more ethical?

To be fair, the cryptocurrency community has not ignored the criticism, including calls for greater environmental awareness.

In early 2021, community members founded Cryptocurrency Agreement. The group has recruited around 250 crypto corporations to cut back environmental damage.

The following 12 months, Ethereum took its most important step with its Ether coin. It has reduced its size energy consumption by over 99% by migrating to a coin mining mechanism called “proof of stake”, which doesn’t require miners to unravel complex, energy-intensive puzzles to validate transactions.

It was a daring move. However, Bitcoin, the most important cryptocurrency, has not followed in Ethereum’s footsteps. Bitcoin stands out in that its energy consumption exceeds that of another cryptocurrency.

A worker stands between two rows of bitcoin mining machines along a wall. — A employee installs a latest row of bitcoin mining machines on the Whinstone US bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, October 9, 2021.
Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

To address other harms of cryptocurrency, some Regulatory authorities began to regulate the cryptocurrency market in 2023, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have launched efforts to curb criminality and protect investors.

In January 2024, US regulators listed funds allowedthat are popular investment funds for investing in cryptocurrencies. The move was intended to assist small investors trade in a safer market.

However, normalizing cryptocurrency trading could have perverse ethical consequences.

For example, probably the most successful ‘ethical’ fund in 2023, Nikko Ark Positive Change Innovation Fundwas successful with a 68% return because he bet on cryptocurrencies. Its manager rationalized this investment by repeating the parable that cryptocurrency allows “providing financial services to underbanked people“

Where does all this leave the ethical investor?

I consider that investors have two clear ethical options regarding cryptocurrencies: they will abandon Bitcoin or no less than put money into other cryptocurrencies that minimize harm, especially environmental harm.

However, even so-called ethical investments raise hidden ethical issues.

Many ethical investors put money into the so-called ESG funds that emphasize social or environmental impact. Some of those ESG funds may avoid holdings in oil corporations by investing directly or not directly in cryptocurrencies.

This doesn’t seem ethically coherent.

While cryptocurrency offers exciting opportunities and the potential for prime returns, its environmental impact, links to criminality and predatory nature pose significant ethical challenges.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com

Business and Finance

Daymond John celebrates the fifth annual Black Entrepreneurs Day

Published

5 days ago

November 20, 2024

IAM

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Daymond John will have a good time the fifth anniversary of Black Entrepreneurs Day in Atlanta for the first time.

November 22, John’s signature Black Entrepreneur Day (BED) will take over Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater to have a good time Black Excellence and Opportunity. This 12 months’s event is free for all to attend and includes brand activations that enable participants to reinforce their business and brand for the foreseeable future.

From insightful discussions with inspiring guests to the NAACP Small Business Powershift Grant Program, which can award over $1 million in grants to over 40 Black-owned businesses, Black Entrepreneurs Day offers the whole lot a Black business owner needs to raise take your corporation to the next level the next level. This 12 months’s event is special for John; In addition to hosting BED in Atlanta for the first time, the event shall be streamed live for all to enjoy.

“We’re doing it live this year and we’re always trying to improve what we have,” John says BLACK ENTERPRISES.

“I think we added another element to it called ‘Entrepreneur Square,’ where if you want to come early, you can come in and a company like Constant Contact takes photos. Hilton for Business, Chase, Chase Wealth Management is there, US Navy. You add a lot of different things to it.”

It shall be a star-studded event featuring Grammy-winning artist and philanthropist Kelly Rowland, iconic artist Flavor Flav, influential media personality Charlamagne tha God, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles (presented by JP Morgan Wealth Management), financial educators Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings with “Earn Your Leisure” and a live performance by multi-platinum Atlanta rapper 2Chainz presented by Raising Cane’s.

Through the NAACP small business Powershift grant program, entrepreneurs can do exactly that use to the Powershift Grant program and grow to be one in every of 40 firms awarded a share of grants value over $1 million. This 12 months, partners including JPMorgan Chase, Hilton, T-Mobile for Business and Constant Contact will contribute a complete of $100,000 in grants, with each grant valued at $25,000.

“We are very passionate about what we do,” John says of the Black community. “I think we can now gain more power by democratizing the retail space with solutions like artificial intelligence and social media. Let’s support each other and support each other.”

Given the strong sponsorship support for BED 2024, John sees it as clear evidence that giant corporations recognize the value of investing in the Black community, even in the face of opposition from anti-DEI efforts.

“There are many other cultures that love to support us as well. They love our music, they love our food, they love everything about us and they just want to know how they can support us,” notes John.

“I think if we look at it this way, it means we can never gain or thrive on our shortcomings, but we can always find those gems and ways to grow from what we are. We are a resilient nation loved by all.”

Launched in 2020 to handle the challenges facing the community in the wake of the events surrounding George Floyd, Black Entrepreneurs Day was established to shift the focus from hardship to empowerment. Designed to uplift Black entrepreneurs, the event goals to teach and encourage through conversations with iconic Black leaders and celebrity guests, features celebrity musical performances and offers key financial support through the NAACP Powershift Grant program.

Tickets for Black Entrepreneurs Day 2024 are free and may be purchased at: BlackEntrepreneursDay.com Now. Press play to learn more about this 12 months’s event.