State officials estimate more than 60,000 marijuana-related jobs will come online by the end of 2025.

The Criminal Justice Equity Initiative, also known as CJEI, is working to make sure people who were arrested on marijuana charges, in what was "the war on drugs," get some of those jobs as they become available.

“When you have an opportunity to make changes in your life for the better, take those opportunities, because they might not be around forever,” said Keith Gaffney, CJEI participant.

While second chances are tough to find, though, Gaffney said he’s had his fair share of them.

“In the 90s I used to be a part of street life,” Gaffney said.

Selling marijuana kept the Harlem-native in and out of prison for 16 years.

Each fresh start getting out was ruined by a return to selling drugs.

“I had a lot of time to self-reflect, and in reflecting I realized that criminal lifestyle didn’t really reflect who I am,” Gaffney said.

He said this time is already different.

After being released in 2020, while working on reintegrating back into society, Gaffney met Jamil Myrie.

Myrie introduced Gaffney to a marijuana workforce development pilot program he was launching called the Cannabis Justice and Equity Initiative.

“I grew up in the Bronx. Family members, friends arrested, stopped and frisked because of the overburdening enforcement efforts,” Myrie said.

Myrie is the head of retail for a cannabis company.

He said he was driven to create a nonprofit organization after watching loved ones and friends get caught up in drug enforcement.

“I don’t look at it as a handout, I look at it as a hand up,” Myrie said.

The purpose of the program is to prepare those incarcerated for marijuana-related convictions with job training and mentorships, then get them into the New York’s budding market.

“Really trying to create a broad-based foundation for folks in our communities to access the job market,” Myrie said.

The 16-week program is a collaboration with several groups, including Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the state Department of Labor and Union Square Travel, a cannabis retailer that is planning to hire program graduates.

“We understand that certain communities are disproportionally affected by many different laws and we want to make sure that’s not a cornerstone of our selection process,” said Mike Conway, Union Square Travel vice president of retail.

“That is an opportunity for this community to hopefully move on to hopefully live a better and more productive life,” said Terrence Coffie, CJEI co-founder.

From his own experience, Coffie said there is life after being locked up.

“This is kind of a full circle for me. I’m also incarcerated citizen who spent over 19 years incarcerated,” Coffie said.

Coffie said he wants to use his experiences to help others, like Gaffney, who said he wants to turn his life around.

“This is what CJEI gave me. It gave me options,” Coffie said.

Gaffney said he’s already applying for a few jobs and hopes to be able to help the program that’s helped him, — at least as a second chance success story.

Twenty-three out of the 25 participants graduated from the program this summer.

Myrie said it will likely take graduates about three to six months to get hired.

The program plans will start again early next year hoping to graduate 100 participants.