Breaking the Chain$: Why ABQ’s Cannabis Equity Fund Must Go to Families Who Need It Most
Learn more about the City Office of Equity and Inclusion's guaranteed basic income pilot program PartnerNM, which will redistribute cannabis equity tax funds to families who need it most.
By Samantha Anne Carrillo
“I grew up in a house without indoor plumbing in a neighborhood that's a close cousin to [Albuquerque’s] International District. I remember I only had one birthday party, and I was terrified that somebody was going to ask to use the bathroom.”
That quote comes from Alfred Mathewson—Yale law school grad, professor emeritus, and former dean of the UNM School of Law—who shared his origin story on Feb. 13 at a City of Albuquerque-sponsored press conference as preamble to explaining his volunteer work with safety net programs like PartnerNM, a guaranteed basic income (GBI) program for low-income children and their families.
The War on Poverty
Mathewson went on to say, “I know what it’s like to grow up in poverty. More importantly, I know well the power of safety ropes, and guaranteed basic income is a powerful safety rope.” GBI is a practical means of providing supplemental income to individuals or families. In practice, those cash payments are usually distributed to those who meet certain demographic or socioeconomic criteria.
Designing Safety Net Partnerships
Mathewson notes that more than 100 GBI pilot programs have amply demonstrated that most recipients use funds responsibly—on essentials like childcare, education, food, housing, and transportation. Studies of GBI programs show these payments don’t lead to financial irresponsibility. The payments do promote stability, reduce stress, enhance economic mobility, and improve educational outcomes.
Paid in Full
Since 2023, city ordinance has directed cannabis sales tax collected in Albuquerque into the Marijuana Equity and Community Reinvestment Fund. That fund is earmarked for: evidence-based drug education and substance use treatment; recovery housing; workforce development; supplemental income programs; support for formerly incarcerated individuals; and programs operated for the benefit of populations disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.
Win-Win Solutions
Albuquerque is poised to use these funds to make a significant investment in an innovative program to address economic and racial inequities in cannabis prosecution while improving lives and educational outcomes. The Office of Equity & Inclusion has proposed PartnerNM, a GBI project designed to support affected youth, families, and communities. As a proactive intervention into economic and educational disparities, PartnerNM contributes direct economic support via cash payments.
Reciprocal Accountability
PartnerNM is structured as more than simply an income supplement. Conceived as what Mathewson describes as a “double-braided safety rope,” PartnerNM melds unconditional cash payments with comprehensive wraparound services, including financial literary workshops, educational support, job training, and mental health resources.
Kids Really Do Count
The first PartnerNM program cohort will center on third-graders enrolled at either Whittier Elementary or Carlos Rey Elementary School, distributing $750 monthly cash payments to 80 families for one year. “This program—like all other GBI pilot programs—gives families and individuals a pathway to lift themselves out of poverty and their children to educational success,” Mathewson emphasized.
Breaking Chains
PartnerNM was created in collaboration with local elected officials and community orgs and it represents a meaningful investment in our city’s future, by providing direct support to those who need it most while addressing systemic barriers that have kept historically excluded communities stuck in generational cycles of poverty. Leveraging research-backed strategies and community input, PartnerNM stands as a model for strategic reinvestment of tax revenue to address the impact of past and ongoing injustices and build a more equitable, resilient future for all of us.
Update: The Albuquerque City Council passed R-25-116, "Adjusting Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations for the Marijuana Equity and Community Reinvestment Fund 202," which will fund the PartnerNM GBI project, on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Learn more about the ID:
https://nmblc.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html
Learn more about GBI projects:
Correction: In the print version of this article, we misidentified Alfred Mathewson's law degree as having been issued by Harvard University. Mathewson actually received his law degree from Yale University. UpLift Chronicles regrets the error.