Entrepreneurs

Indigenous and Native American tribes have stewarded the land in North America for countless generations. Today, Indigenous-owned cannabis and hemp brands are thriving in the industry despite regulatory obstacles including licensing issues, local restrictions, and more.

The Black CannaConference, the first expo for Black cannabis entrepreneurs, is coming to New Orleans, Louisiana through November 18-20.

Keith Stephenson is the founder and CEO of Purple Heart, the longest-running cannabis dispensary in Oakland, California, and the country’s first Black-owned cannabis business.

Kristi Price is the founder and CEO of KRMA Media Inc and Black CannaBusiness Magazine, which work to help BIPOC professionals accelerate their involvement in the cannabis space.

“Women have historically been the rulers of home and hearth, have developed an innate sense of the world around them, and seem to sense things a little faster and more deeply.” — Wendy Kornberg, Humboldt cannabis grower

These Massachusetts cannabis entrepreneurs formed a friendship over their shared success and struggles through the process of launching and building a cannabis brand.

A Virginia couple recently launched LOCKGREEN, a stashbox designed to prevent drivers from getting open container charges while driving with cannabis.

Reginald Stanfield is the CEO and head horticulturist of JustinCredible Cultivation, a Massachusetts cannabis cultivator.

Kenneth Mason is the CEO of Equibis, a Chicago-based accounting and business analysis firm that specializes in cannabis.

Zachary Garippa is the CEO and Co-Founder of Negotiatus, a platform for centralizing business payments, invoices, and more.

The recently opened Legal Greens in Brockton, Massachusetts is the first Black woman-owned recreational cannabis dispensary on the East Coast.

The ‘Your CBD Store’ shops in Iowa have finally reopened following the 2019 arrest of owner Lacie Navin for hemp-related drug charges.

John McLeod is the co-founder of Cloud Cannabis Co., a Michigan cannabis retailer with dispensaries in Ann Arbor, Muskegon, and Traverse City.

Alaska’s licensed cannabis consumption lounges have been dramatically delayed, but not defeated, by the coronavirus pandemic.

Cannabis entrepreneurs and beer brewers have come together in Maine to release “THC Elixir,” a THC-infused, non-alcoholic version of Shipyard Brewing Co.’s Pumpkinhead beer.

Mississippi’s medical cannabis industry is already bustling even as the State Supreme Court considers striking down the legalization initiative that was supported by 70 percent of voters.

Oakland’s Purple Heart, the city’s longest-running cannabis dispensary, is still working towards reopening after the business was besieged by criminals amidst last year’s sweeping social justice protests.

Alvin Edwards is the founder of Fruits of Our Labor, which hires former prisoners to provide professional services; David Moss is the chief development officer for cannabis dispensary From the Earth. Together, they have created an equity-building partnership in cannabis.