CANNABIS EQUITY ILLINOIS COALITION SIGNS FIRST-IN-THE-NATION COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT WITH ILLINOIS CANNABIS OPERATOR NATURE’S CARE COMPANY
The following is a press release.
Contact: Timna Axel, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, 312-888-4194 | taxel@clccrul.org
CHICAGO, IL – March 3, 2020 - Community activists with the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition announced today that they have signed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Nature’s Care Company, LLC (“Nature’s Care Company”), a cannabis operator seeking approval from the City of Chicago to open a new dispensary in the West Loop.
The CBA is a legally enforceable agreement designed to ensure that the economic success of the dispensary is linked with economic benefits for the communities most disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs. Among other provisions in the CBA, Nature’s Care Company has committed to:
Provide 100% living wage jobs for disproportionately impacted individuals
Hire 75% of employees from disproportionately impacted areas (“DIAs”) within two years
Donate 10% of net profits of the dispensary to community organizations working in DIAs
Contract 10% of products and services from minority and social equity businesses
Create a training and career development program for employees
Host “know-your-rights” educational events and participate in National Expungement Week
“This is a milestone moment for racial justice in the story of Illinois’ cannabis legalization,” said Doug Kelly, President of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition. “Nature’s Care Company is leading the way for Chicago’s new fleet of adult-use dispensaries. Their customers in the West Loop will greatly benefit from their commitment and their dollars will directly help address the historic wrongs of our cannabis laws, instead of reproducing them.”
Charles Amadin, General Manager of Nature’s Care Company, said: “We recognize the critical role we must play to help support under-served communities and citizens in Chicago. Signing this CBA is our way of saying we won’t just pay lip service to that responsibility. We applaud the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition for driving this initiative.”
The Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition has pledged to support only those dispensaries that sign a CBA as they seek the City’s approval to open a plus-one location to sell recreational cannabis. This Friday, Nature’s Care Company and seven other dispensaries seeking approval of their plus-one locations will appear at City Hall before the Zoning Board of Appeals, which has the power to grant them the special use permit that is required to open a state-licensed cannabis business. The coalition will attend the hearing and express its support for CBA partner dispensaries like Nature’s Care Company.
“This CBA is a blueprint for equity for existing cannabis companies,” said attorney Akele Parnell of Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which is representing the coalition. “Only a concrete commitment to racial equity, as demonstrated by Nature’s Care Company, will earn our community’s support.”
Gary Little of ColaGroup, social equity partner to Nature’s Care Company, said: “We are proud to have played a role in this historic agreement. As we got to know Nature’s Care Company these past few months, it became clear that they want to help people in a meaningful way – and not because it’s good business, but because it’s the right thing to do. We have been helping Charles and his team determine the appropriate path. This CBA is a major step in the right direction.”
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The Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition is a group of Chicagoans and nonprofits that have witnessed first-hand how much the War on Drugs has taken from Black and Latinx communities. We are organizers who work at the intersection of the cannabis industry, racial equity, and reparative justice. We come from a diverse range of impacted communities across Chicago to demand accountability and justice at a time of moral crisis in this field. More info at www.cannabisequityil.org #CannabisCBA #CannabisEquityIL