Two Cambridge lawmakers are pushing a social justice pot plan that would bar anyone who isn’t an “economic empowerment” or “social equity” applicant from opening a recreational marijuana shop in their city for the next two years.

The proposed amendment to a Cambridge city ordinance is drawing fire from the city’s existing medical pot shops — which say they need the recreational income to subsidize medical patients — as well as from Mayor Marc McGovern, who says they’re gumming up the works.

Cambridge city councilors Quinton Zondervan and Sumbul Siddiqui say their proposed amendment, titled “Establishing the Equitable Regulation of the Cannabis Industry in the City of Cambridge,” is aimed at righting past wrongs. The state’s definition of “economic empowerment” and “social equity” candidates calls for them to be either minorities, from poor backgrounds or people with past drug convictions.

“The intent is to have businesses that are benefiting the people most affected by the war on drugs to participate in the legalized cannabis space,” Zondervan told the Herald. “It is to have economic empowerment applicants get enough time to get permits, the site and establish the business to open for a little bit, which could very well take them a year to get through that entire process.”

“I am sure there will be a negative impact, for sure,” Zondervan said of existing medical shops in Cambridge. “But we’re talking about what that cost is and lost opportunities for economic empowerment applicants if we don’t equalize the playing field. We’re in that conversation and I’m trying to listen to everybody and how we can best address it.”

McGovern noted that the legality of the amendment is in question, and the debate is holding up the city’s effort to iron out a host community agreement so recreational pot shops can open their doors. He also pointed out that some of the economic empowerment and social equity applicants are likely to lack the capital to open the pot shops.

“I think we have been very diligent in our desire to think of ways that we can support economic empowerment and social equity applicants since they are in need of a lot more support than the RMDs (registered marijuana dispensaries), which are larger companies with more resources behind them,” McGovern said. “The biggest obstacles to economic equity applicants is capital. They need money and they need operational support.”

McGovern suggested that the city instead license established pot businesses and require them to create a fund to finance economic empowerment applicants.

The Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr law firm, which represents three Cambridge medical shops, said the councilors’ proposal is unconstitutional, discriminatory and violates the state’s pot laws.

“Because of the significant and irreparably detrimental impact the Proposed Amendments would have on our clients’ business and reasonable investment expectations, if the City Council were to nevertheless proceed to adopt the unlawful provisions — or any other provisions that would similarly delay RMDs conversion rights, whether through ordinances or otherwise — we would have no choice but to vigorously challenge their legality in court,” the law firm states in a letter.

Nichole Snow of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance said, “Medical patients will have a lot to lose if this amendment is passed. Businesses that have already been in operation for medical patients will struggle to compete because they won’t have any income generated from recreational sales, an already lucrative market. These medical businesses cater to lower-income patients that rely on these products for their conditions, and if passed, that would ultimately mean medical products will cost more.”