40 Under 40: Shaleen Title

Attorney and longtime drug policy advocate Shaleen Title has been fighting the good fight for more than two decades.

She’s co-founder of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, an organization that represents state and local cannabis jurisdictions from across the country. Title also serves as Distinguished Cannabis Policy Practitioner in Residence at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.

A founding board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, Title pioneered state-level legislation focused on reinvestment and reconciliation. Currently an advisor to Supernova Women, a nonprofit that holds space for women of color in cannabis, she’s determined to make the cannabis space more inclusive.

“In 2022, the term ‘social equity’ has mostly played its role and is no longer needed. The concept was so effective that it has been co-opted by companies inventing new corporate buzzwords such as ‘social equity for business.’ They can have it. It was never about the words we use—it’s about addressing the unfairness that people instinctively understand when they look at communities still locked up for marijuana offenses while mega companies rake in hundreds of billions of dollars a year for selling the same product,” Title said.

“If we want to make the market accessible for small businesses, or even better ensure they’re included like they are in the craft beer and wine industries, then we have to strategically make sure that Congress writes intentional laws for them.”

This story was originally published in the print edition of Cannabis Now.