Connecticut will soon give out the first licenses for retail marijuana dispensaries, but many applicants say big money is pricing them out of the process.
Aprelle Mintz is one of them. She grew up in Bridgeport and wants to invest in her hometown.”When you come down this side of Fairfield Avenue, it’s like the businesses stop,” she said.
Mintz, along with partners Jason Freeman and Anthony Robustelli, want to re-paint the picture of poverty in the Park City.”We want to open a cannabis retail shop,” she said.
The three formed AJAM, LLC. But first, they need a cannabis retail license, and that’s a problem.
“It’s very competitive, to say the least,” said Freeman.
How competitive? The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection received 8,360 applications for just six social equity licenses. Those licenses are set aside for people with ties to distressed communities, with strict income and residency requirements. The law requires a social equity applicant to own at least 65% of the business.
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