The Denver Department of Excise and Licenses has launched a new program for marijuana businesses.
Cannabis Cares badges.
The Cannabis Cares program is a City and County of Denver initiative that” recognizes cannabis businesses that go above and beyond to make a positive impact”, according to Denver’s official website. To qualify for recognition businesses must submit a social impact plan.
Submitting a plan can be done once per year, and must describe how a business will make an impact in five areas:
- Diversity and inclusion
- Social equity
- Sustainability
- Community engagement
- Contracting with minority-owned businesses
In each of these areas, when a social impact plan selects 10 or more activities a business earns a badge for the current year. This can be used to “show your values to your customers and employees.”
If a business qualifies for three or more badges, they’ll earn a Cannabis Cares Advocate designation. If a business qualifies for five badges, they’ll earn a Cannabis Cares Champion designation.
“We have been regulating cannabis here in Denver for almost ten years now and this new program that we’ll be launching tomorrow, is really unlike anything that we’ve done previously. We try to lead the way with new and innovative policies,” Molly Duplechian, Executive Director of the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses told Denver 7 news. Duplechian says the city is hosting an event to launch the new program on Thursday at 3 p.m. at the City Park Pavilion next to Feril Lake.
“It is going to provide an opportunity to all of our cannabis businesses to come to the event, and meet and connect and network with nonprofits or social equity licensees or minority businesses”, she says. “So it’ll give them an opportunity to meet them. And then they can support or establish business partnerships with those organizations or those businesses. And then they can that will allow them to complete some of the activities towards receiving the recognition badge as a part of this program”.
More information on the Denver Cannabis Cares Program, click here.
