The Greater Phoenix Urban League and a consortium of Black female entrepreneurs have filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona over the proposed marijuana social equity program.
When voters passed Proposition 207 in 2020 legalizing recreational marijuana, it included the creation of 26 social equity licenses designed to be issued to people who had been harmed by enforcement of prior marijuana laws.
But the way the rules and regulations currently are worded, these new marijuana licenses easily could get in the hands of large corporations and not remain with the people they were intended for, said James Cool, attorney with Frazer, Ryan, Goldberg & Arnold LLP, who filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona.
Cool said he is asking the court to delay the acceptance of applications — scheduled for the first half of December — and more importantly, from issuing licenses.
He's hoping the judge will see that the way the Arizona Department of Health Services crafted the rules, the wording contradicts and fails to uphold the mandates from Prop 207.
