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Medical-cannabis carriers say vertical integration is squeezing social-equity operators
Summary
A licensed medical-cannabis carrier testified that carriers were meant to be a pathway for social-equity ownership, but vertically integrated operators handling transport and delivery are shrinking the available market for independent carriers and shifting transport costs to MPD.
Louis Joe, a licensed medical cannabis carrier and longtime District resident, described the carrier license as a legislative tool created by the Medical Cannabis Amendment Act to provide meaningful market access to social equity licensees. He said independent carriers operate under specific safeguards and often come from communities historically overpoliced for cannabis.
"When cultivators and manufacturers can move cannabis to retailers through internal transport systems and retailers can then deliver directly to patients while carriers are barred from holding cultivation or retail interests, the market space for independent social equity carriers shrinks at every step of the supply chain," Joe said. He asked the council to affirm a meaningful role for carriers in cultivation- and manufacturing-related transport and to reduce unnecessary law-enforcement spending by using regulated carriers for lawful transport and disposal where appropriate. Director Musale said ABCA recognizes equity objectives and cited enforcement work against illegal operators, but did not commit to a specific regulatory change during the hearing.
