Cannabis In Arizona: Do You Qualify For a Social Equity License? Find Out Here

by Anthony McDonald October 18, 2021

The state of Arizona gave out over 100 licenses already.

The state is going to issue 26 more licenses for individuals that have been negatively impacted by the "War on Drugs". The system and criteria for determining who's eligible isn't perfect. It is what it is.

You must be able to say yes to three (3) of the four (4) questions to qualify for a license. I don't think I qualify. I'm trying to help those that do qualify know about the opportunity available to them.

Here are the four (4) questions:

Have you had a household income less than four (4) times the federal poverty level for three (3) of the past five (5) years?
Do you have a previous marijuana conviction for which you've been granted expungement?
Have you, a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or guardian been convicted of a marijuana crime?
Have you lived, for at least three (3) of the past five (5) years, in a "community that has been disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona's previous marijuana laws"?

You may have some questions about the questions the state has for you about your status of qualifying for an equity license. I'll address those I think of below. Leave a comment if you think of more because others will probably have the same question. Leaving a comment will allow you to help others while helping yourself. Plus we all get to learn from your question. Did I mention I'm building a #LearningCommunity?

What's the "federal poverty level"?

First of, it a lot lower than you think. What the government thinks' poverty probably isn't what you think it is. I believe poverty is having to work to live on a planet where the food can grow free. That ain't got nothing to do with this. According to the government, poverty depends on how many people count toward your household. Poverty for a single adult is $12,880 per year. Therefore, if you made $12,880 or less you'd be living in poverty according to the federal government. You don't have to live in the governments idea of poverty to answer "yes" to this question. You can answer "yes" to Question #1 if you made less than FOUR (4) times $12,880.

Four times $12,880 equals $52,520.

Did you make $52,520 per year three (3) out of the last five (5) years? If so, you may answer yes to Question #1.

Which communities were "disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona's previous marijuana laws"?

The link above will take you to a file created by the Arizona Department of Health Services. That file has all the zip codes that the state believes were disproportionately affected. The list is displayed below for convenience.

85006	85007	85008
85009	85015	85017
85019	85021	85031
85033	85034	85035
85040	85041	85051
85121	85128	85135
85141	85147	85256
85301	85321	85323
85337	85344	85349
85350	85357	85364
85530	85539	85542
85550	85551	85607
85620	85621	85626
85634	85640	85648
85705	85706	85713
85714	85746	85757
85911	85930	85941
86016	86020	86030
86031	86033	86034
86035	86036	86039
86042	86043	86044
86045	86047	86053
86054	86434	86502
86503	86504	86505
86506	86507	86508
86510	86511	86512
86514	86520	86535
86538	86540	86544
86545	86547	86556

Let me know if you're planning on applying. Let me know if I may be of help to you in this journey. I'm still checking to see if I qualify.

You may use the widget on the lower right hand of the screen to connect with me or leave a comment on this post.

Cannabis In Arizona: Do You Qualify For a Social Equity License? Find Out Here

What's the "federal poverty level"?

Which communities were "disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona's previous marijuana laws"?

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