DELAWARE COMPANY SUPPORTS SOCIAL-EQUITY PROVISIONS OF PENDING STATE LEGISLATION
WILMINGTON, Delaware – American Fiber Co. is launching a class to help prepare entrepreneurs interested in starting a legal adult-use cannabis business should the Delaware General Assembly expand the market beyond the sale of medical-marijuana products.
The Delaware legislation reserves licenses for social equity applicants with eligibility based on residence in regions most disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests. These applicants would be given access to technical assistance programs, reduced fees, an adjusted points scale, a waiver of the physical location requirement, and access to a revolving Social Equity Fund program. But it doesn’t include training that would help licensees start and run a cannabis business.
American Fiber’s free Legal Cannabis Survival Guide program will focus on the fundamentals of application writing; corporate organization; securing real estate; raising capital; principles of cultivation, manufacturing, and retail; and building relationships to support sound and compliant legal cannabis businesses. The first class will start on May 27 with participants who have been referred by local activists, state representatives and community leaders throughout the state.
“We welcome competition and believe it is our responsibility to share our institutional knowledge with Delawareans who have been harmed by marijuana’s illegality and should benefit from these reforms.” said Peter Murphy, SVP, Regulatory Affairs, whose company received a medical marijuana license earlier this year and plans to open its first dispensary by early 2022. “If this bill passes, we want to have been part of helping address the historical harm that’s been done to minority communities and embrace the incredible opportunity to repair a broken system.”
“It’s refreshing to see a cannabis company taking this approach toward equity in the industry. They say what they mean and do what they say,” said Norman Oliver, a former Wilmington City Council Member, entrepreneur, and community leader.
Wilmington, Delaware-based American Fiber Company is a private multi-state cannabis and CBD-products company committed to removing the stigma associated with cannabis. It focuses on all aspects of the industry from seed to sale — cultivation, import, distribution, research, education product development, and retail.