Regulators at the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board have announced the start of the process that will open up new social equity retail marijuana licenses this year.

Classes and webinars to provide technical assistance and business education for potential social equity applicants will begin later this month, the LCB announced. You can sign up for the upcoming webinars here.

The board says the educational outreach comes as it will “soon be opening the application window for a limited number of retail cannabis licenses that have been reserved for social equity purposes.”

CHS reported here a package of legislation signed by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell last year that includes a bill that prepares the city for issuing new “social equity licenses” for Seattle’s marijuana industry, providing a new path to ownership for qualifying entrepreneurs and hoped to even the playing field for those seeking the coveted permits.

CHS reported here on the work of the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force to address the lack of diverse ownership in the industry and working conditions for frontline employees.

The state has set out requirements for potential applicants in the program that will open up about 40 new licenses across the state and Seattle:

In order to qualify for the social equity program, each applicant must have at least a 51 percent majority or controlling interest in the application, must be a person(s) who has or have resided in Washington State for six months prior to applying, and meets at least two of the following qualifications:

1. The social equity applicant(s) have lived in a disproportionately impacted area (DIA) in Washington State for a minimum of five years between 1980 and 2010.
2. The social equity applicant or a family member* of the applicant has been arrested or convicted of a cannabis offense.
3. The social equity applicant’s household income in the year prior to submitting the application was less than the median household income within the state of Washington as calculated by the United States Census Bureau, which is $82,400.

In Seattle, the new license opportunity comes with additional challenges as existing zoning and land use restrictions severely limit where new pot shops can be located. One avenue could be taking over existing shops — though the latest opportunity in the Central District was snapped up last fall by Washington chain Forbidden Cannabis Club.

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