The ideas New Jersey residents offered up Wednesday night were equally varied.
“If you ask 10 people what is social equity, you’ll get 10 different answers,” warned Hasaan Austin, one of the first speakers.
Joe Johnson of Newark urged the commission to give or loan “significant funding” to applicants from impact zones, saying other states that failed to do so fell short in their social justice goals.
“As we’ve seen over the last decade, other states have propped industries up without thinking of equity at the forefront, only to realize four or five years later that they’ve created an industry that is monopolized by wealthy white people and anybody who’s a multi-state operator,” Johnson said. “We have enough experience from other states to not make the same mistakes here and make sure there is initial funding to really even the playing field and help local entrepreneurs get over the financial hurdle that exists.”
Christian Velasquez, who lives in Dover, said marijuana proceeds should support real estate assistance for applicants who have trouble securing a business location because of municipal restrictions. He also suggested using it to support a cannabis community center, public schools, and school buses.
“We don’t even have buses here. We have kids in elementary school walking in the snow and rain to school,” Velasquez said.