Arizona opens mandatory classes for applicants seeking marijuana 'social equity' licenses

The Arizona health department has opened registration for training classes that applicants who want to be eligible for one of the state’s marijuana “social equity” licenses will be required to take.

While the application fee is $5,000, with no guarantee of being awarded a license, the classes are free.

“It’s an educational opportunity that all the applicants must take,” said Tom Salow, branch chief for the Arizona Department of Health Services. “It’s going to cover a variety of topics. Some of those areas, some folks may need some education on.”

Passed as part of Proposition 207, which made adult-use recreational marijuana legal in the state, the “social equity ownership” program sets aside 26 licenses to operate a dispensary for “people from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws.”

On top of applicants, each listed officer or board member on an applicant’s petition is also required to attend the classes, which will be offered live online on Sept. 20-21.

That session will be recorded and played online again, with a live question-and-answer segment to follow on Oct. 12-13. Applicants and other attendees are encouraged to attend one of these two live events.

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For applicants that can’t make either, or are only able to attend for one of the two days, the health department will offer computer-based training from mid-October through mid-December. The computer-based training will be structured after the live, recorded segments, Salow said.

According to the department’s website, the classes will be led by industry experts, and will cover such topics as compliance and regulatory statutes, branding and marketing, fundraising and legal advice.

“How to get funding for a new license may not be the easiest thing to navigate without some assistance or guidance,” Salow said.

To that end, any applicants who still have questions after going through the mandatory classes can also reach out to AZDHS for additional one-on-one support and clinics to help potential licensees with the application process and the chance to meet with instructors to have questions answered.

The application period to apply for a social equity license will be from Dec. 1-14. According to Salow, a random drawing from that pool of applicants will take place sometime in early 2022.

For more information, visit tucne.ws/socialequity.