Mary & Main, Vireo Health and Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) came together to offer a free expungement clinic at Mary & Main’s dispensary in Capitol Heights, Md., on Sept. 26 to help the local community clear eligible cannabis convictions from their criminal records.

Aisha Braveboy, state’s attorney for Prince George’s County, and Maryland State Delegate and Maryland Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Darryl Barnes (District 25) were also in attendance, as well as 10 local attorneys who were on-site to offer personalized advice to attendees.

In some ways, the event was an extension of M4MM’s Project Clean Slate program, which provides education in various states on how to expunge past convictions for minor cannabis possession offenses.

“It was an idea of wanting to do something to really capitalize on the fact that we’re still seeing more black and brown people being arrested for cannabis,” M4MM Executive Director, CEO and Founder Roz McCarthy said. “Hope Wiseman … [is] our state director for our chapter in Maryland. She has a beautiful space that could accommodate us [during the] COVID-19 [pandemic]. … We just brought our minds together and made it happen.”

Photos courtesy of Mary & Main

In addition to cannabis convictions, attendees could also clear any eligible misdemeanor charge from their records at the event, which was held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET in the upstairs of Mary & Main’s dispensary as part of the company’s two-year anniversary celebration.

The dispensary offered specials and deals during the event, as well as voter registration, free HIV testing, a DJ and more, although, Mary & Main co-owner Hope Wiseman said, “The clinic was definitely the star of the show.”

“This year, we thought it was really important to make sure our two-year anniversary was focused on our local community and the needs of our local community,” she said, adding that Capitol Heights leads Prince George’s County in HIV cases, and many community members have also been impacted by past cannabis convictions, which affect their access to jobs and public assistance.

“For us, as a black- and women-owned business in this local community where we know people have been disproportionately affected, we thought it was very important to … offer these services for free because we know a lot of times, attorneys charge between $1,000 to $3,000 to work on these types of cases,” Wiseman said. “We wanted to be able to offer these services for free to our community. … We wanted to do our part.”

Dr. Paloma Lehfeldt, director of medical education for Vireo Health, one of Mary & Main’s dispensary partners, lent her assistance to the event, which she saw as a way to give back to those most affected by the war on drugs.

“The bottom line with expungement is that we want to right the wrong that was done by the so-called war on drugs,” she said. “We call it the so-called war on drugs because it wasn’t a war on the plant or cannabis. It was a war on black and brown communities. … It’s impossible to be a part of this business without really engaging in the diversity, equity and inclusion aspect of it.”

McCarthy (left) said the expungement clinic was an extension of M4MM's Project Clean Slate program, which provides education in various states on how to expunge past convictions for minor cannabis possession offenses.

About 400 people attended Mary & Main’s anniversary celebration, and the expungement clinic saw more than 30 people, who provided positive feedback on the event.

“We had a lot of people there, [and] we got to speak to a lot more people who may not have been eligible or who may not have been ready that day to engage with one of the attorneys,” Wiseman said. “I think we did a really good job of educating our community on expungement as well as actually completing some.”

“The amount of people I saw beaming while walking out of the clinic was amazing,” Lehfeldt added. “The attorneys that were on site really are passionate about this.”

No one was turned away and wait times were kept to a minimum, McCarthy added, and the attorneys were able to spend the time they needed with each person to go through their specific cases.

“We got to help people who deserved it,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy and Lehfeldt both point to the same young woman as their favorite success story of the day. The woman, now in her early 20s, was charged with possession when she was 16, when law enforcement was called to investigate the smell of cannabis smoke, despite not having any cannabis or paraphernalia on her at the time.

“Sometimes, it’s a shame that you carry,” McCarthy said. “I talked to one gentleman, and he was embarrassed. He was like, ‘I did this 15 years ago and it’s still sitting there. It’s like a scarlet letter.’ … I think the industry has a responsibility … to go back and see these things that happened during the war on drugs era and the communities that were targeted. … I think the industry is really starting to digest the importance of this social give back, and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

From Wiseman’s experience, many people don’t realize that their specific conviction is eligible for expungement, or they might think that charges were dropped and that they are off their record, when that isn’t the case.

The benefits of the expungement clinic were two-fold, then, according to Wiseman—first, it brought overall awareness to the local community, and it also provided access to attorneys for people who might not be able to otherwise afford legal counsel to get their records expunged.

“I think it was just important for us and other businesses to take initiative and do their part to give back,” Wiseman said. “Lending a space to facilitate this clinic is a very small step toward the way we believe we can be helpful in righting the wrongs of the war on drugs.”

“Being able to be in the cannabis business and give back to these communities is invaluable and much needed, and it’s unfortunate that it’s taken this long to bring this forth to the communities, especially black and brown communities,” Lehfeldt added.

McCarthy hopes to use the Maryland event as a model for expungement clinics in other states. M4MM has 27 chapters throughout the country, and many of the directors are looking forward to replicating the event in their own communities.

“This is not our last stop,” McCarthy said. “This is a commitment. We have to continue this, build upon it and take this model … to different states … to support those individuals who basically feel at a loss. We just want to help out and we want to make a difference.”

“People don’t even know that expungement is an option, so this is something we’ll be screaming from the rafters from now on after seeing so many people affected during an event that we had for one day,” Lehfeldt added. “We’re going to continue the momentum. If we can expunge one person’s record, this is worth it."

For the past five years, the Nevada Dispensary Association (NDA) has represented the majority of cannabis dispensaries in the state through its work performing public outreach, assisting with government affairs issues, providing educational resources and generally encouraging a more cohesive industry.

Now, as the state’s cannabis retailers face challenges stemming from constantly evolving regulations and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has appointed a new executive director, Layke Martin, who previously served as the former assistant dean for external relations at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) William S. Boyd School of Law.

“We’re extremely fortunate and excited to work with Ms. Martin, [and] we’re continuing in our upward professional and sophisticated path,” NDA President Tisha Black tells Cannabis Dispensary.

Here, Martin and Black provide insight into the current challenges facing the state’s dispensaries, as well as the organization’s goals following Martin’s recent appointment.

Cannabis Dispensary: Layke, can you describe your background and how this past experience will complement your new role as NDA’s executive director?

Layke Martin: I am a lawyer, as well as a professor. I’ve spent the last decade working in higher education at the law school at UNLV, as well as at the school of public policy. In my role at the law school, I oversaw a lot of our external relationships, managing relationships with donors, alumni, judges and legal employers, as well as overseeing our communications [and] marketing.

I think all of that very much ties into what this organization provides in terms of service to its members, making sure that we’re providing clear communications [and] updated information to our members, as well as developing information resources. I have a lot of background in that, and we’re very much interested in expanding our education and training program for our members. Of course, to tie it all together, the legal background helps because this is a highly regulated industry.

CD: What is the NDA’s role in Nevada’s cannabis industry? How does it help support the state’s dispensaries?

LM: NDA represents most of the dispensaries in Nevada, and we concentrate our main efforts on cannabis industry advocacy, government affairs and education. We coordinate government affairs efforts among our association members and various other stakeholders, and we provide education resources for members [through] online courses [and] policy forums. We aim to be the voice of the industry.

Tisha Black: We were set up over five years ago. We were able to help members of the industry who were just licensed, [who] were within days of just being issued the conditional license awards. We set up the association so that we could all network and collaborate with one another to determine best practices and move forward with transparency as a single voice to the community and the legislative and regulatory bodies that oversee us.

CD: What are some challenges that Nevada’s dispensaries are currently facing, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?

TB: I think the No. 1 issue for everybody in cannabis right now is whether or not this is going to be legitimized at the federal level, where it eases banking and [provides] traditional business practices that aren’t available because we don’t have traditional banking. Certainly, marijuana being pulled off Schedule I is always of paramount importance and I think a continuing goal.

Other than that, I think in light of the pandemic, we’re just making sure that our supply chains are intact, that our product is safe and healthy for the community, and that our business partners are not overly taxed or overly regulated to account for some of those financial deficits that some of the counties and states are in.

CD: Where do you see the state’s cannabis industry headed in 2021?

TB: We think that our market is going to continue to be stable and grow at a reasonable pace. We don’t think we’re going to have trajectory-type spikes in new clients and patients, so that’s good.

In the next legislative session, one of the things we’re trying to work toward is getting clarifications on criminal prosecutions, or charges for driving under the influence or driving while impaired. We also want to work toward alleviating some of the shackles placed on those who were convicted of possession or [other] prior crimes who aren’t allowed to work in the industry. In the last legislative session, [lawmakers passed legislation so] you can get those convictions repealed or you can get them exonerated if they were possession amounts that were under what is presently the legal amount, but you still aren’t allowed to work in the industry. We want to move forward along that same path, making sure we have the ability to hire and diversify the population by including those who may have been convicted of prior crimes relating to marijuana.

The landscape in marijuana still changes quite frequently with laws, regulation [and] taxation, so what we’re really trying to do is let the dust settle. It was hard to get to that point in the first place. First, we had [a medical cannabis program]. Then, we had the referendum that gave us [adult-use]. Then, we’ve had, like most states, ongoing litigation over some of the recipients of the conditional licenses. Then, unlike many other states, we’re going to be on our third regulatory body in five years. So, we don’t want to change much. We just want to let things settle, get a good footing, look around and see what happens when we allow things to settle with the market and with this pandemic, and then move forward from there. We’re just hoping that we don’t have a tumultuous year.

CD: What are some of the NDA’s longer- and shorter-term goals as we head into next year?

LM: Some of the things that I’d like to do in the coming year include strengthening our member services, in addition to expanding our education and training program. [This includes] promoting best practices among our members and continuing our advocacy on behalf of the cannabis industry.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for style, length and clarity.

The West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis has issued 10 medical cannabis cultivation licenses, according to a MetroNews report.

The licensees are Mountaineer Holding LLC in Belle, Harvest Care Medical LLC in Kearneysville, Buckhannon Grow LLC in Buckhannon, Holistic WV Farms I LLC in Beaver, Verano WV LLC in Beaver, Columbia Care WV LLC in Falling Water, Tariff Labs LLC in Left Hand, Armory Pharmaceutical Inc in Buckhannon, Mountaineer Integrated Care Inc. in Fort Ashby and Blue Ridge Botanicals Ltd. in Southside.

“This is an important step in the process to make medical cannabis available to West Virginians with serious medical conditions and will generate economic activity throughout West Virginia,” Office of Medical Cannabis Director Jason Frame said in a public statement. “We continue to work toward a goal of providing eligible West Virginia residents the ability to procure quality-tested medical cannabis.”

Regulators will score processor and dispensary applications next, MetroNews reported, with the goal of launching medical cannabis sales in the spring of 2021.