Billions of dollars have been raked in by the state’s marijuana industry since recreational weed was legalized in Illinois two years ago.
Yet, so far, none of that bonanza has reached past the major growers and suppliers to small-business applicants for the “social equity“ program that had been one of the legalization movement’s biggest selling points.
While the large-scale growers, processors and distributors of legal cannabis thrive, the law’s social equity program — designed to give a boost to individuals and communities that need an infusion of free-market enterprise the most — still struggles to get off the ground.
