Document Type

Testimony

Publication Date

2-11-2025

Location or Event Name

COW-CBED Joint Public Roundtable: State of Medical Cannabis Industry

Abstract

My name is Professor Chaz Brooks, and I am joined by several of my students who have assisted on this project, Khumar Gasimzada, Christian Nunez, and Olivia Woodmansee. Professor Priya Baskaran and I co-lead the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law, where we provide legal support to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C. (the “District” or “D.C.”). Over the past year, we have worked closely with Sean and Lashonia Thompson-El of DC Native Botanicals who received a Conditional Social Equity License for a cultivation center in October 2023. Today, we testify not only on their behalf but on behalf of the many Social Equity Applicants struggling to enter the District’s medical cannabis industry. Despite their commendable efforts, our client has continued experiencing substantial roadblocks to entry into the District’s medical cannabis industry. After working with them throughout this past year, we have seen firsthand some of the challenges that Social Equity Applicants can face in achieving a full license.

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