Can we get a hemp, hemp, hooray? Just in case you haven’t seen your college roommate’s IG Story yet, today is 4/20. And while the date is rife for jokes about blowin’ smoke, it’s also a time to get real about how the social stigma and criminalization of marijuana has impacted our communities—especially marginalized ones. That’s why we spoke with former New York Assembly member Tremaine Wright (she / her), who now serves as the chair of New York’s newly-minted Cannabis Control Board.

Read on to learn about the intersection of puffs and policy, how she’s trying to build an equitable industry, and why it’s no biggie that she doesn’t get high on her state’s supply.

So, what does the Cannabis Control Board do?
The board is charged with approving regulations and license applications. A bit more broadly, we’re also charged with helping to sustain and grow the cannabis industry in New York state.

Did you have experience with cannabis policy during your time as an assembly member?
I was fortunate to be in the assembly while we were negotiating the decriminalization of cannabis, which passed in 2019. I was serving as the Chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Caucus, and we mobilized to really push that forward. I was also there when we raised the age of criminal liability, so I had the opportunity to learn about the work surrounding criminal justice and the disparate impacts of some of the laws and regulations we had in place. Now I’m in the space where we’re creating a new industry and trying to secure pathways for people to access and participate in this ecosystem we’re creating.

You’re basically overseeing a whole new industry. How are you approaching that?
One of the main things we need to do is let people know what the law is. Yes, it’s legal. But it’s been greatly stigmatized, so how can we change the narrative? That’s our first step. Also, we don’t have enough pharmaceutical programs in New York for the demand we’re going to have, so how do we address access to capital and banking [for new businesses]? How do we help people shift from their current industry into cannabis? There’s a lot of education happening at one time.

How are you thinking about equity while rolling out all these licenses?
The law gives priority to those who have been convicted on marijuana-related charges. Additionally, we have a defined social equity group of communities that have suffered disproportionate impact because of the prohibition on cannabis. That includes minority- and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans. Our governor also passed legislation allowing us to prioritize New York farmers, so we just issued our first set of conditional cultivator licenses. They are now growing the products we hope will be on the shelves of the next round of licenses, which will be the conditional dispensaries. And those licenses are again going to our prioritized communities. We’ve secured $200 million to provide loan funds to these new businesses, too.

What’s the criteria for a “disproportionate impact” on a community?
That’s being worked out at this moment, but generally you look at communities where policing happened at greater rates and in manners that it didn’t occur in other spaces. Like “sweeps,” where entire groups of young people—very often young men—were just picked up and held on something at the police station. Car stops or people being stopped in the street because police think they smelled marijuana on them, when we know that was not the manner in which policing occurred in other places. Then there’s the trickling effect of all of that. People that get convictions may lose employment; people being held in detention while cases are being deliberated often lose housing; families are disrupted. When we say the harm, we know it’s greater than just the actual arrest.

Why do you think it’s important to prioritize these communities now?
Our state is really clear in its intention of righting the wrongs of the past. The criminalization of this plant was colored with racism and classism, so it’s a very deliberate step to say, “Not only are we going to stop this action, but we are going to try to repair the harm that it’s done.”

What do you envision for the future of cannabis in New York?
I’m excited about it. The state is a hotbed for innovation and I think the cannabis industry is going to get an injection of creativity from New York. We have a lot of businesses that will be able to pivot and participate, and those happen to be very much women-led, women-owned organizations. We often color the page with men, but there are a lot of very active, very influential women in this space, and they’re not going anywhere. They are going to continue to be thought leaders and innovators.

Do you use cannabis yourself?
I don’t! I have never used cannabis, and most people are thrown by that. But that’s just my personal choice. I wasn’t a big fan of Brussels sprouts for a long time either, but my preferences are not what’s guiding New York [laughing]. I believe in entrepreneurship, and that infusions of energy and ideas can change the landscape of a space. Cannabis is no different.