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Cannabis Workforce Initiative Offers Guidance, Tools And More To Promote Social Justice In NY Cannabis Industry

As New York State’s cannabis industry continues its growth, guidance for job seekers, prospective and current licensees looking to break into this budding field is more important than ever. The Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI), a state-funded effort that relies on the expertise of the nonprofit Workforce Development Institute and Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations, was established to support social equity in this new industry by offering workforce development and legal education in New York State’s adult use legal weed industry.

We sat down with Esta Bigler, director of Cornell University ILR’s Labor and Employment Law Program and co-chair of CWI, to discuss CWI’s mission and how job seekers and employers can benefit from its offerings.

CWI started after the state legislature passed Marijuana Taxation & Representation Act in 2019 (MRTA) – a social justice act that legalized adult use cannabis. It was meant to deal with the results of mass incarceration drug offenses that adversely affected communities of color with criminal records, unemployment and other long-term effects. What was the concept behind CWI?

With the passage of MRTA and its emphasis on social equity in the granting of licenses, this would be the first time New York state had a chance to develop an industry, which is expected to generate 50,00 jobs, in the way we would like to see it developed. This means a fair and equitable industry where people really have the opportunity to own their own businesses, and employees make good family-sustaining wages and move up the job ladder — to change the landscape for people and communities that were so injured by the war on drugs. The goal is to build generational wealth in these communities. The Cannabis Workforce Initiative was created to further the goals of MRTA.

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Marijuana Retail Report, is a national daily online trade publication serving retailers of marijuana products and accessories. News and information are geared strictly to select retail channels, with distribution limited to licensed collectives, recreational retailers, accessories retailers, and wholesalers.

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