In response to the substantial injustices faced by the Black community during the war on drugs, Jim Buchanan of the Washington State African American Cannabis Association (WAACA) Wyking Garrett of Africatown and Darrell Powell, President of the Seattle King County Chapter of the NAACP, have been working tirelessly to secure equitable funding and resources from state cannabis proceeds for the Black community. Their efforts recently culminated in the launch of a $200 million Community Reinvestment Fund aimed at addressing many of the disparities, among Black folks, that exist as a result of the war on drugs.

The funds, administered through the Washington Department of Commerce, are awarded under different categories, including:

• Economic Development $138 million in grant funds

• Violence Reduction $30 million

• Reentry Services $12 million

• Legal Assistance $8 million

• Employment Security Department– $25 million to provide workforce and small business services.

In 2020, House Bill 2870 established the Marijuana Social Equity Program, an application-based process intended to provide BIPOC communities, harmed by the war on drugs, opportunities to become more involved in the burgeoning marijuana economy.

The measure also formed the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force, made up of government representatives, industry experts and lawmakers assigned with the task of making recommendations about the issuance and reissuance of retail cannabis licenses in ways that would promote business ownership among minorities.

After dealing with issues of equity to no avail since 2020, the WAACA filed a complaint with the NAACP in 2021 regarding licenses and the distribution of cannabis tax monies back into the community for the harms done by the drug war, and that’s when Powell and the NAACP got involved.

After the discovery of tax revenues generated by cannabis sales, Buchanan, the NAACP and a host of other advocates began advocating for those communities negatively impacted by the “war on drugs”. By attending the state’s social equity task force meetings, Black leaders argued for the Black community’s fair share of the tax revenues.

“We started going to the social equity task force meetings, we began to advocate on behalf of the community with respect to licenses, our share of the tax revenue that generated a billion dollars over the biennial. The basis of us asking for [a significant portion of the] tax revenue was because we were the ones that were harmed by the “war on drugs,” says Powell.

“The state did a study, the study said, “Blacks and Latinos were over indexed in the war on drugs compared to other communities,” added Powell. “We used that study as a data informed piece of information for the basis of letting the state of Washington know that we wanted licenses and 50 percent of the tax revenue which would have been $500 million over the biennial, $250 million each year over the next two years. So that was our case.”

 Since the legalization of cannabis, the WAACA, led by Buchanan, has invested a lot of time and energy fighting for legislative policy that would make sweeping changes to make Washington state’s cannabis industry more inclusive of under-served communities and those that were disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.

The WSAACA’s latest in a series of legislation intended to increase social equity and racial diversity in the cannabis trade is not only about righting previous wrongs, but also aims to make sure that the Black community benefits from every aspect of, what is currently, one of the most lucrative industries in the state.

According to Buchanan, early efforts by the state to remedy the lack of retail licenses given to underserved communities were flawed from the very beginning. Not only were Blacks not fully included in the initial offering of retail cannabis licenses, but the re-allocation of licenses were also granted in areas that had already proven to be not very profitable

“First there were 550 licenses between 2013 and 2016, and there were only about 8 to 10 African American licenses, a very small percentage, even though data showed Black people went to jail at a ratio of 4 to 1 compared to whites,” says Buchanan. “When legalization came in they didn’t provide lanes for Black people to get in, and they were negligent on putting out information on how to obtain a cannabis retail licensing [to our community].”

“The areas in which the [re-allocated] licenses covered were already failed demographics, and that was when government agencies decided we’ll give the Blacks some. Licenses were issued knowing they were not going to be successful,” he added.

Without the support of certain senators and the Liquor and Cannabis Board, according to Buchanan, both entities (congress and LCB) made it rather difficult for African Americans to secure licenses in heavily populated areas where success could be obtained and measured.

“We need licenses, the ability to put our businesses in populated areas like Seattle, Tacoma, so we’re fighting but we didn’t get much traction on that bill,” Buchanan continued. “The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) wouldn’t back it, Congress wouldn’t back it because they didn’t want Black people to have licenses in heavily populated areas that could be successful because they were heavily lobbying. Billions of dollars that we’re talking about.”

During the 2022 legislative session, Powell and Buchanan kept pressing the legislature to take action on their demands. Eventually, their efforts caught the eye of the Senate, who ultimately allocated the $200 million to create the Community Reinvestment Fund, even though both bills to create the fund died during the session.

“The senate was impressed by our advocacy over a sixty-day period during the short session two years ago and they reached out to Buchanan, asked him to stand down because he will be impressed on what was inside the budget,” said Powell.

Although the Community Reinvestment Fund has been awarded for the year, Buchanan and Powell and advocates like Phillip Petty, Elmer Dixon, and others are continuing to pressure policymaker to hold up to their end of the bargain and continue funding communities that were over-indexed in the judicial system due to the war on drugs.

“The main thing now is to make sure to take this money to where it needs to go,” says Buchanan.  “To continue the effort. By next year this fund will be history if we don’t get the account replenished annually, every year.”

More information about the $200 million Community Reinvestment Fund is available on the Washington State Department of Commerce’s website at https://www.commerce.wa.gov/program-index/community-reinvestment-project.