For Black entrepreneurs, the dream of opening a pot shop remains just out of reach

While state officials have named the winners of 185 upcoming pot shop permits, a court order that’s blocked their issuance has continued to place those who were supposed to benefit from legalization in an indefinite limbo state.

Amid a seemingly endless series of delays, Britteney Kapri finally got some good news last month.

Baked, her cannabis startup, had been named the winner of a dispensary license in a sought-after region that covers Chicago.

But instead of feeling joy, or even relief, Kapri fell into a state of panic as she reflected on the latest hurdle stymying the licensing process: a court order that remains intact had blocked the issuance of her permit and 184 others.

“I was just like, don’t let it be another year of waiting,” she said. “So I haven’t actually celebrated.”

Like other Black entrepreneurs from Chicago who were named license winners over the course of three recent lotteries, Kapri has been subjected to a bureaucratic nightmare while pursuing her dream of carving out a stake in the white-dominated weed industry. It’s all taken a serious toll.

After leaving her job at a nonprofit in hopes of fully immersing herself in the cannabis business, she became unemployed in January and only started working again recently. [Read More @ The Chicago Sun Times]