Daniel Fung of Watertown CT Comments on California Grant Program
Since the pandemic, American citizens have become much more inherently aware of the power of funding for programs and businesses to increase their vitality during a tough time for many. Not only have people donated more towards their preferred organizations and human rights campaigns, but state governments have taken large steps towards helping as well. Here, Daniel Fung of Watertown CT expounds upon California and its decision to assist marginalized groups with crucial shifts towards justice.
California has recently made the announcement that grant applications are available to citizens in the interest of the economic justice and public health of communities that have been heavily affected by the war on drugs. The grants will be made possible through funding from the cannabis industry’s tax revenue. According to The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the California Community Reinvestment Grants program will work towards providing health departments and community nonprofit organizations with resources for legal services, mental health, job placement, substance use disorder treatment, and more relevant areas. Daniel Fung notes that the program hopes to help those disproportionately affected by the war on drugs advance their pursuit of economic justice, health, and wellness.
The program will make $30 million in grants available for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, increasing to $40 million for 2021-2022 and $50 million for 2022-2023. When the program first started making awards available last year, it provided $9.6 million to 69 grantees. The office has also announced a similar grant program this year that will provide $30 million to cannabis entrepreneurs located in communities that have been negatively and disproportionately impacted by the WoD as well.
Great for Watertown, CT Also
Daniel Fung of Watertown CT recognizes that this program is a monumental advancement for undoing some of the damage created by the War on Drugs. He notes that some of the most observable issues with the War on Drugs are the tendency for African American, Black, Latino, and Hispanic individuals to be arrested for marijuana violations disproportionately despite evidence of similar sage and selling rates across all races. The impact of this disproportionate arrest statistic has had on communities is immense, Daniel Fung of Watertown CT notes. Fathers have been taken from their children, children from their parents, and an entire generation has felt the fallout of the decision to arrest so many for nonviolent drug offences.
The implementation of programs that provide funding or fight for favorable policies for those most affected by the War on Drugs is both a strong ethical move and a strategic one. Daniel Fung of Watertown CT acknowledges that, amidst the growing legal market and policies to support said growth of the industry, some are worried that individuals that slipped through the cracks would be left out. Recent expungement proposals and grant programs introduced, however, show a commitment to rectifying some of the damage that has occurred over the years.
Daniel Fung also notes, from a visibility standpoint, decisions to implement funding programs show citizens what many cannabis industry experts have been saying from the beginning- tax revenue from the sector can be used as a viable means to provide resources to those that need them. It stands to reason that, if growth within the cannabis industry continues to be facilitated, funding could be used to assist others as well. For now, Daniel Fung of Watertown CT is happy with the decision to provide that funding to groups that need it the most.