Selection process for Missouri marijuana licenses needs racial equity boost, advocates say

As she applies for a state license to make marijuana-infused products for medicinal use, Keyonna Gray is thinking of people in her north St. Louis County neighborhood who were incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses or battled addiction to opioids or other drugs.

“I look at it as a way of creating jobs,” said Gray, a first-time entrepreneur. “And creating safer access to steer people away from other, more dangerous drugs.”