WASHINGTON — A bill designed to add minority-owned businesses into the mix of medical marijuana licensees was the subject of Maryland’s House Health and Government Operations Committee on Monday.
The bill includes measures aimed at getting more minority-owned interests licensed to sell. Maryland first legalized medical marijuana in 2014, but the first dispensaries didn’t begin selling the product until last month.
A number of those testifying before the panel on Martin Luther King Jr. Day referenced the civil rights leader’s efforts to achieve economic justice for African-Americans.
“This is the opportunity, I believe, for all of us to create minority wealth,” said Bruce Branch, who’s on the board of the African-American Medical Cannabis Association. “On the day when we celebrate the words and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I once again admonish this body to do the right thing.”
Photo by Martin Falbisoner/Wikipedia
