Criminal Conviction Restrictions for Marijuana Licensing
CRIMINAL CONVICTION
RESTRICTIONS FOR
MARIJUANA LICENSING
by Allie Howell
September 2018
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1:
JUSTIFICATIONS FOR LICENSE RESTRICTIONS.................................................................. 1
PART 2:
COSTS OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION LICENSE RESTRICTIONS .......................................... 4
PART 3:
SUMMARY OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION RESTRICTIONS BY STATE................................. 7
3.1 Alaska.............................................................................................................................................. 8
3.2 California ....................................................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Colorado ......................................................................................................................................... 9
3.4 Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................. 9
3.5 Nevada..........................................................................................................................................10
3.6 Oregon ..........................................................................................................................................10
3.7 Washington .................................................................................................................................11
3.8 Other States ................................................................................................................................11
PART 4:
THE HYPOCRISY OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE MARIJUANA
INDUSTRY ..............................................................................................................................12
PART 5:
SHOULD THE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY PAY REPARATIONS FOR THE DRUG WAR? ....14
PART 6:
CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................17
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ......................................................................................................................................19
Allie Howell | Criminal Conviction Restrictions for Marijuana Licensing
CRIMINAL CONVICTION RESTRICTIONS FOR MARIJUANA LICENSING
1
PART 1
JUSTIFICATIONS FOR
LICENSE RESTRICTIONS
Both medical and recreational marijuana businesses require a state-issued license. In many
states, working in the industry as a budtender, medical caregiver, or cashier also requires a
permit. Some state licensing authorities have prohibitions on those with certain criminal
convictions from working in the industry. In other states, ¡°good moral character¡± clauses
give licensing authorities the ability to reject an applicant based on criminal history.
Criminal conviction restrictions are an attempt to use past behavior to predict public safety
risks in the future. In most industries, these restrictions are defended as necessary for
consumer safety. In the legal marijuana industry, consumer safety concerns are coupled
with a desire for the industry to comply with the Cole Memo. The Cole Memo was issued in
2013 by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole in response to legalization in
Washington and Colorado. The memo lays out the following key enforcement priorities for
marijuana:
1. Preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors
2. Preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises,
gangs, and cartels
3. Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in
some form to other states
Allie Howell
CRIMINAL CONVICTION RESTRICTIONS FOR MARIJUANA LICENSING
2
4. Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext
for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity
5. Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of
marijuana
6. Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health
consequences associated with marijuana use
7. Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety
and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands
8. Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property
The memo expects that legal states implement ¡°strong and effective regulatory and
enforcement systems¡± because ¡°[i]f state enforcement efforts are not sufficiently robust to
protect against the harms set forth above, the federal government may seek to challenge
the regulatory structure itself in addition to continuing to bring individual enforcement
actions, including criminal prosecutions, focused on those harms.¡±1 States that voted to
legalize marijuana under the Cole Memo worked to meet its objectives. In Washington, for
example, regulatory decisions made by the Liquor and Cannabis Board were ¡°made with the
Cole Memo in mind.¡± 2
Restrictions on licensure for convicted criminals is justified because, according to
regulators and law enforcement, it reduces the likelihood that the legal industry will be
used for criminal enterprises by so-called bad actors.3 As summarized by Ken Corney,
President of the California Police Chiefs Association, marijuana regulations have ¡°strong
protections against black market activity. A key component of these protections¡ªand
1
Cole, James M. ¡°Memorandum for all United States Attorneys.¡± U.S. Department of Justice Office
of the Deputy Attorney General. Aug. 29, 2013.
2
¡°Executive Summary.¡± Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.
ort%20FINAL.PDF
3
Garofoli, John. ¡°Medical Marijuana Law Could Ban Pot Felons from Industry.¡± San Francisco
Chronicle. Sept. 16, 2015.
Allie Howell | Criminal Conviction Restrictions for Marijuana Licensing
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