PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Maryland Lawmakers’ Agenda to Include Enhancing State’s Legal Cannabis Industry By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
Iesha Epps admits she made mistakes as young adult when charged with minor marijuana and alcohol offenses that remained on her criminal record for about seven years. Thanks to a recent expungement clinic at Mary & Main in Capitol Heights, the 29-year-old from neigh-
boring Waldorf in Charles County received legal assistance to erase those offenses. Because of the coronavirus pandemic and Maryland courts gradually reopening this summer, she said it could take up to 90 days to formally clean her record. “If I want to have my own home, or need a loan for a business, [there’s no] fear of getting denied for certain things because of my record,” she said. “I’m just glad I have relief.”
Now Epps wants to be an owner in Maryland’s medical cannabis industry. The state’s Medical Cannabis Commission reported last month that retail sales exceeded $240 million. The amount surpassed all of last year’s total sales. Nearly $41 million in sales came from dispensaries, a major retail source of cannabis products such as topical creams, fruit drinks and oils. Hope Wiseman, 28, co-founder of Mary & Main that became the first Black-owned dispensary in the country, said the clinic ensures more Blacks receive opportunities in the medical cannabis industry. Out of nearly 100 dispensaries in Maryland, only five are Black-owned, including Wiseman’s and two others in Prince George’s County. As the firm hosted the clinic to allow Epps and 39 other people to receive free legal assistance to remove criminal history, Mary & Main celebrated its second anniversary Sept. 26. Wiseman said the business, which has 20 employees (15 are part-time), is considering holding another clinic early next year. “We feel it was only right to give back,” she said. “Diversity in this business is very important.” Lack of Black ownership in the
Police Reform Rally Planned in Forestville
5 Tracy Shand, right, whose brother, Leonard Shand, was killed while in police custody in Hyattsville, will help lead a police reform rally Oct. 17 in Forestville. (File: William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Ava DuVernay’s four-year-old, award-winning documentary “13th” influenced viewers to discuss and assess on how the 13th Amendment started mass incarceration in the United States and how it affected the Black community. Tamara McKinney of Lanham said the film prompted her and Beverly John to establish Concerned Cit-
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izens for Bail Reform in Prince George’s County two years ago. “We saw how bail reform is in this country and it continues to hurt Black people. It’s ridiculous,” said McKinney, a human resource specialist for the federal government. “Although I have family members who were in law enforcement like my father, but police reform is needed in the county and state of Maryland.” McKinney will join criminal justice advocates and loved ones either killed or abused by police during a police re-
form protest Saturday, Oct. 17 outside the Centre at Forestville. The rally will be two days before a work group comprised of state delegates possibly hold its last meeting on police reform recommendations and craft into legislation when the General Assembly session begins in January. The group, chaired by Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Montgomery County), met last week with a recommendation that requires every law enforcement agency in the state have body cameras by 2025. In addition, ensure police officers receive routine mental and physical health assessments. Although the lawmakers recommended approval for a statewide use of force policy, specific guidelines within the policy will be reviewed Thursday such as a ban shooting at moving vehicles unless used as a weapon; police departments using military-style equipment; and require an officer to intervene “who see another officer using force beyond what is objectively reasonable under the circumstances.” Lawmakers also plan to discuss whether an independent agency or appointed prosecutor from the state attor-
5 Iesha Epps, right, and Paloma Lehfeldt from Vireo Health on Sept. 26 outside Mary & Main medical cannabis dispensary in Capitol Heights. (Courtesy photo)
medical cannabis industry remains a problem. According to Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Blacks own less than 2 percent of the grower, processor and dispensary licenses nationwide. That’s why Roz McCarthy, executive director of the nonprofit organization known as M4MM based in Orlando, Fla., said states must ensure equality in the medical marijuana industry at a time when federal law still declare marijuana use illegal. ney general’s office should handle local cases that may involve police shootings, especially when a person dies. Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery County) said he “has deep concerns” about police investigating themselves and local prosecutors, or state’s attorneys, work closely with police. He said assessments are needed to why a prosecutor declines to bring charges against a police officer such as the officer-involved death of Anton Black, 19, in Caroline County. Del. Debra Davis (D-Charles County) said local state’s attorneys should prosecute local cases since they are elected officials. “If we let them off the hook, we’ll never have any other indication of how the prosecutor’s office handle other cases and how equitable they are in other cases,” she said. “It’s an important measure I don’t want removed.” Atterbeary, a mother of two boys and one girl, read a quote to summarize this topic. “Real justice and safety for Black communities will require a complete overhaul of the prosecutor/police relationship,” she said. “That is what I think
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“We are looking for funding to help their business. We are looking for mentors,” said McCarthy, whose company helped organize last month’s clinic in Maryland. “We’re creating these accelerator programs so that we can take this really infant business and really breathe life into it and help them grow and help them become sustainable.” Pro-marijuana advocates have a major supporter: Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). “We will decriminalize marijuana and we will expunge the records of those who have been convicted of marijuana,” she said during last week’s presidential debate in Salt Lake City.
EXPAND BLACK REPRESENTATION
Minorities for Medical Marijuana’s website at https://bit.ly/2FbGijo has posted an 80-page report entitled “Understanding Social Equity” compiled by Chris Nani, an attorney and founder of Endo Insider, a newsletter that follows the cannabis industry. It calls for states to incorporate programs that restore the rights of formerly incarcerated individuals, serve as a bridge for people interested in the cannabis industry and assist in the licensing process. The document also mentions institutional challenges facing minorities. For example, when Maryland lawmakers passed a law in 2018 for the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission to conduct a disparity study, the study found minorities are at a disadvantage in the industry. A year later, the application process got delayed with conflicts of inter-
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