When New York legalized cannabis, the plan sounded simple: give people harmed by past marijuana laws the first shot at running legal dispensaries.
But reality is proving a lot messier.
A dispute has erupted between a Brooklyn dispensary owner and the nonprofit that helped launch her business, highlighting some of the growing pains in New York’s cannabis rollout.
At the center of the fight is Leeann Mata, who became the first Black woman to open a licensed cannabis dispensary in Brooklyn, called Matawana. She received her license through New York’s social-equity program, which prioritizes people impacted by past marijuana arrests.
To help get the store open, Mata partnered with Housing Works, a nonprofit known for supporting people living with HIV and AIDS and operating cannabis businesses to fund its programs. The group helped connect her with investors and operational support needed to launch the shop.
But the relationship eventually broke down.
Housing Works has now filed a $2.5 million lawsuit, claiming Mata failed to follow the terms of their agreement and stopped making required payments. Mata has pushed back, arguing the nonprofit overstepped and took advantage of the arrangement.
The fight highlights a bigger problem facing New York’s cannabis industry. While the state promised one of the most socially equitable marijuana markets in the country, starting a legal cannabis business is still extremely expensive and complicated.
For many social-equity entrepreneurs, partnerships with nonprofits or investors are the only way to get started.
And as this case shows, when those partnerships fall apart… things can get ugly fast.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
