For over a decade Colorado has set a global standard in cannabis legalization and regulation. While other states have followed closely behind, it was only The Denver Post that was able to proudly declare on January 1, 2014: “World's first state-licensed marijuana retailers open doors in Colorado.” 

After Colorado and Washington proved that cannabis could be legalized, national conversations began to arise about how it should be legalized. Many states and cities saw the chance to use cannabis business opportunities as a tool to repair communities that were targeted by the War on Drugs. Colorado has lagged on this issue, but in the next two weeks we have the chance to change that!

Right now the General Assembly of Colorado is very close to passing a late-session bill to define a “social equity applicant” for the “accelerator license program” that begins this summer. Having that definition codified will not only help this program, but will also open the door to more social equity programs in the future. 

• Sign this petition to tell Colorado General Assembly members that we support the work they’ve done on this issue so far, and we strongly encourage them to push the “social equity definition” across the finish line!
• Sign this petition if you feel that Colorado cannot overlook this issue and still claim to be a leader in the “right way” to legalize and regulate cannabis! 
• Sign this petition if you want Colorado to also lead in righting the wrongs of America’s drug war!
• Send this to any Coloradans that support repairing the communities that were targeted by the War on Drugs! 

This petition will be signed by many Coloradans, but we call special attention to all the support from current and long-time Colorado cannabis professionals. If you work in cannabis, as you sign please feel free to note how long you've been in the industry, your role, or even your employer. We the members of the industry are speaking up to say that we WANT cannabis to be a part of solving systemic inequality. We add our voices to say that we would be PROUD to reserve space in the Colorado cannabis community for social equity applicants. 

So we invite Coloradans from inside and outside the cannabis industry to join us! Let's encourage the General Assembly to pass this social equity definition, and open new doors for cannabis to create positive change in Colorado communities.