In New York, Former Drug Offenders Get First Marijuana Licenses
NDTV
New York state is offering its first 150 licenses for the legal sale of cannabis to people -- and their relatives -- who have been convicted of offenses related to the drug, including selling.
Naiomy Guerrero's brother was stopped by police often and was once convicted on drug charges when marijuana was illegal in New York. Now, she is setting up a legal cannabis business, a promising new market fraught with pitfalls.
New York state is offering its first 150 licenses for the legal sale of cannabis to people -- and their relatives -- who have been convicted of offenses related to the drug, including selling.
The policy, implemented by the state's Democratic leaders, seeks to compensate African-American and Hispanic communities whose members were disproportionately arrested and convicted during the decades weed was illegal.
"It's such an exciting moment for my family," said 31-year-old Guerrero, a PhD art history student whose parents are from the Dominican Republic.
