Cannabiz Entrepreneurs ►
News release
Missouri ’ s First Black-Owned
Cannabis Dispensary Opens In St . Louis
Missouri ’ s medical cannabis industry is up and running , and what has been the most noticeable is the absence of People of Color . This is now changing .
After participating in the extremely competitive application process and not only being awarded a license but also completing and passing her Commencement Inspection by the state , successful business owner , Adrienne Scales-Williams was excited to launch her medical cannabis dispensary , Luxury Leaf , in January of 2022 . Luxury Leaf is located at 1463 South Vandeventer Avenue , St . Louis , MO .
BusinessInsider . com reported : Executives at the largest publicly traded cannabis companies are overwhelmingly white and male , an Insider analysis has found .
White men comprise 70 % of the C-suite at the 14 largest publicly traded cannabis companies by market value in the US and Canada . Of the 75 executives surveyed , five — or 7 % — identified as Black .
“ As in many other industries , the cannabis industry has a long way to go to ensure that its executives are representative of the overall population , despite their attempts to put diversity and inclusion front and center ,” said Amber Littlejohn , an attorney and executive director of the nonprofit Minority Cannabis Business Association .
“ It ’ s bad business ,” Littlejohn said , adding that companies have a fiduciary duty to “ dig deeper ” and help their investors understand the value diversity brings .
“ I have been committed to the process and just stuck with it as closely as I could ,” said Adrienne when asked about the amount of time invested in such a venture . She has been a long-term entrepreneur and understands the ups and downs of highly regulated industries . Her commitment to the cannabis industry comes easily when you understand that she has been in a male-dominated business world for most of her life .
“ Business is commonly filled with men , and even with my understanding of this , I didn ’ t focus on that as a negative . I kept my focus and pushed full force throughout all of my endeavors ,” she said . Adrienne has also been recognized as one of the top 25 minority business people in St . Louis , MO .
When questioned about the lack of diversity in the state ’ s cannabis industry , she speaks to her goals , “… of wanting to be a successful dispensary servicing ALL .” Adrienne understands what comes with such a venture . She has always wanted a high-quality , beautiful , inviting facility where everyone feels welcomed .
Marijuana Business Daily reports 80 percent of all cannabis businesses are owned by whites . Meanwhile , blacks and Hispanics barely make up 10 percent of combined weed businesses . Missouri is among 34 states ( at the time of this writing ) to legalize medical cannabis . Fifteen states have passed recreational cannabis .
16 February 2022
Adrienne Scales-Williams became Missouri ’ s first Black owner of a medical cannabis dispensary to open when Luxury Leaf opened in January in St . Louis — the city ’ s Grove neighborhood .
( Photo courtesy of Luxury Leaf )
Littlejohn said the problem is particularly acute in the cannabis industry , since Black and other minority populations have borne the brunt of cannabis prohibition and the decades-long “ war on drugs ,” while the economic benefits of legalization have mainly gone to white men . 1
When asking Adrienne , why cannabis ? Adrienne quickly speaks to being an advocate for alternative medicines and wanting to be a part of a culture that promotes plants in healing . She says , “ It was a no-brainer to me to want to invest in something so innovative and great for patients .” Adrienne understands what it means to be innovative , as her original business initially focused on the printing industry , but she shifted her focus to strategic sourcing for casinos as business needs started to change . “ Any business requires you to be agile and embracing of technology ; the cannabis industry is forcing our traditional medical structures to reconsider and to embrace the old technology of healing .”
Adrienne says she ( Luxury Leaf ) has so many offerings , besides cannabis , that she wants to present to patients . “ I want patients to feel healing when they enter the dispensary space . We will also offer virtual classes to keep education at the forefront of this industry . In addition , it was important to have this business in the city of St . Louis , to closely engage the community in a very direct way .”
Note : As of December 31 , 2021 , 180 dispensaries , 40 cultivators and 57 manufactures were approved to operate . Missouri Medical Marijuana ( MMJ ) cumulative sales reach $ 215 Million . December sales alone set another record with $ 27.9 Million .
News provided by Luxury Leaf with some additions included by The EVOLUTION staff . For more information about Luxury Leaf dispensary , visit https :// luxury-leaf . com and Instagram at luxuryleafstl .