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Q. Since you’ve broken the glass ceiling of being first black owned dispensary in Colorado, have you seen growth in participation of black entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry?
A. First of all we didn’t break the glass ceiling, we broke the "GRASS" ceiling. Ultimately, it’s an honor. What is frustrating though is it took us (the black community) so long to see the possibilities in this (marijuana) industry.
I am glad to say that there are definitely a lot more entrepreneurs now.
Q. The war on drugs had tarnished the reputation of cannabis in a lot of communities with people of color. Where do we start to dismantle this stigma so that more people of color don’t miss out on the medicinal and business opportunities that cannabis provides?
A. We have clergy and elected officials being negative about this industry. Clearly the issue that we have within the industry is because of the stigma and the black churches still talking about the “Devil’s weed” or “Ray-Ray ain’t been off the couch in several years.” We are talking our young people out of wanting to go to work for dispensaries. So instead of getting a job at a dispensary where you may get benefits and more hours. You decide to go to work for Wal-Mart because your mom and dad think that’s a good idea. We also need to change how our elected officials regard it (cannabis). Our elected officials need to be the ones who are fighting for us. We can’t have the one sided laws around cannabis that we have had for the last 9 years. In other words, taking people out of the mix that have felony convictions, is shooting black folks in the back given that we (the black community) have 84% more felony convictions than white folks. It’s time that our elected officials support what we are trying to do in the industry.
of getting a job at a dispensary where you may get benefits and more hours. You decide to go to work for Wal-Mart because your mom and dad think that’s a good idea. We also need to change how our elected officials regard it (cannabis). Our elected officials need to be the ones who are fighting for us. We can’t have the one sided laws around cannabis that we have had for the last 9 years. In other words, taking people out of the mix that have felony convictions, is shooting black folks in the back given that we (the black community) have 84% more felony convictions than white folks. It’s time that our elected officials support what we are trying to do in the industry.
Q. I have an Arizona MMJ card but I have also been to Colorado and indulged in recreational cannabis. Can you briefly tell us the difference in medical grade and recreational grade marijuana?
A. Yep…...ZERO. Zip. Nada. None whatsoever. Absolutely nothing. Zero, zero, and...ZERO! There is not one difference between medical marijuana and recreational cannabis. Not one, at all. Nothing. EXCEPT, come to think of it there is one big thing, taxes. Recreational cannabis is taxed at 23% and medical cannabis is taxed at 7.75%. Now edibles, here in Colorado, are a little bit different. Recreational edibles can only be 10mg per serving and 100mg per package. On the medical side (medicated edibles) there is no limit on mg per serving or per package.
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