IMRP Conducts a Cannabis Study for the CT Social Equity Council

November 4, 2022
Female Food Truck Owner with Customer
Photo from Connecticut’s Social Equity Council’s website

The Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) is currently conducting a Cannabis Study for the CT Social Equity Council (SEC). The Council was developed to ensure the equitable growing of cannabis and the distribution of funds from the adult-use cannabis program to communities impacted the most by the “war on drugs.” UConn School of Public Policy professors Mohamad Alkadry and Thomas Craemer are assisting the IMRP research team. IMRP Director Andrew Clark is serving as Principal Investigator.

Through this study, they seek to understand “…the impact of cannabis criminalization on individuals as well as ways to reverse any negative impacts (IMRP).” Their findings will inform the SEC’s approach to administration of outreach, verification, and support services for social equity applicants.

In order to identify potential Disproportionately Impacted Areas (DIAs), Mohamad and IMRP Associate Director Ken Barone, conducted an analysis of both arrest and conviction records in conjunction with unemployment and poverty data indicators.

The IMRP Research Team has recently launched the qualitative portion of the study, which consists of two major components:

  • Individual Interviews (See attached flyer for details): We will be conducting thirty in-person, one-hour interviews with individuals impacted by the cannabis ban and the war on drugs. Interested candidates will be screened for eligibility and informed of the process by IMRP staff before being scheduled for confidential interviews. The interviews will not be recorded, and each participant will receive a $50 gift card.
  • Focus Groups: We will be conducting two 90-minute focus groups of community leaders via Zoom, each with a maximum of ten participants. For the purpose of this study, community leaders are advocates, respected individuals in the community that can organize the community, and those who people turn to for guidance. These individuals do not need to hold formal office or have a leadership role in an organization.

Interested participants can also contact us ipecksagaya@uconn.edu.