by Renee McGuinness, Vermont Family Alliance Policy Analyst
Will Prop 4 Equality of Rights Amendment provide the legal framework to defend Vermont’s existing discriminatory licensing practices for Cannabis growers?
For review, Prop 4 is a proposed “equality of rights” amendment to the Vermont Constitution containing language and a purpose section that indicate intent to discriminate based on group identity rather than expanding protections for individual rights, which are already guaranteed under Article 1 of the Vermont Constitution. Prop 4 will appear on the ballot in November 2026.
The Vermont Cannabis Control Board Social Equity page lists groups of persons that receive special benefits such as graduated licensing fee waivers and preferential licensing application review.
“Historically disadvantaged communities” include:
- Women
- Veterans
- People with disabilities
- Members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- First Nation/Indigenous/Native Americans
- Asian American / Pacific Islander
- Other communities of color not explicitly named in the social equity program.
The Cannabis Control Board Social Equity page further states:
The Cannabis Business Development Fund was established by Act 62 (2021) in order to provide low-interest loans and grants to social equity applicants for the purposes of paying for the expenses associated with starting and operating a licensed cannabis establishment.
To date, the Vermont legislature has allocated $1.5 million to the Cannabis Business Development Fund. Additional funding for this program comes from contributions made by integrated licensees. Other licensees with businesses hiring two or more employees may opt to contribute to the Fund as a part of their required positive impact criteria for licensure as outlined in Board Rule 1.4.9
In case you missed it: $1.5 million of YOUR tax dollars were allocated to disperse funds to state-sanctioned historically marginalized groups for cannabis start-ups. And S.278, an act relating to cannabis, 2026, had originally intended to appropriate much more.
For background, 10 V.S.A. § 325u established the Vermont Land Access and Opportunity Board (LAOB) in 2021 to “promote improvements in access to woodlands, farmland, and land and home ownership for Vermonters from historically marginalized or disadvantaged communities who continue to face barriers to land and home ownership.” The LAOB, made of members appointed by various government entities and non-profits, advises the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), multiple economic and financial entities, and “other affordable housing and land access stakeholders regarding policy development and programs to promote racial, social, economic, and climate justice for Vermonters from historically marginalized or disadvantaged communities.”
One of the many original purposes of S.278, as introduced, was to appropriate $1 million from the General Fund to the Cannabis Business Development Fund (CBDF) and $5.6 million to the Vermont Land Access and Opportunity Board (LOAB), “for purposes of loans, grants, and financial assistance pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 325u,” which was scrapped in the version that passed out of the Senate. The Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition (VCEC) is the NGO that lobbies for social equity in the Cannabis business. VCEC had been promoting S.278 on its website.
Another original intent of S.278 was to broaden discriminatory practices by expanding access to the CBDF. Under 7 V.S.A. § 987, the CBDF currently provides, “low-interest rate loans and grants to social equity applicants to pay for ordinary and necessary expenses to start and operate a licensed cannabis establishment,” outreach, and job training. S.278 intended to expand fund access under Section 23 to include “tier 1 cultivators, tier 1 manufacturers, and businesses granted economic empowerment status by the Board.” The House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs removed Section 23, which was the version of the bill that passed second reading on the House floor on Wednesday, May 27. S.278 will likely pass its third and final reading this week before heading to the Governor’s desk.
While discriminatory expansions were tamped down this legislative session, can we anticipate a resurrection of expansion of discriminatory practices if pro-equity legislators are elected in 2026? And would legislators be constitutionally obligated to pursue financial appropriations to fund programs that benefit “historically marginalized groups,” not just for Cannabis growers, but for other agriculture and land use, as well? What is the price Vermonters are willing to pay through their tax dollars to provide programs to exclusive groups of persons?
Prop 4 creates constitutionally required equity, in which identities are stacked like poker chips. The more groups with which you identify in Prop 4, the higher you are on the hierarchical equity chain.
Heterosexual, white, cannabis farmer Lt. Governor John Rodgers promotes on the Lt. Governor website Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Hashim’s statement on the Senate floor in 2024 stating that Prop 4 is needed because, “throughout its history the US supreme court has inconsistently applied the intent and core commitments of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.” And that Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 2022, “the originating case itself is one which narrows the scope of affirmative action for college admissions and the BIPOC students who apply.” We cannot expect our Lt. Governor to lead a class-action lawsuit against Vermont’s discriminatory Cannabis licensing practices against heterosexual white males, which are at the bottom of the equity chain.