The history of cannabis is Black History. Evidence suggests that cannabis was being used as fiber and medicine as far back as 3000 BCE, and honestly, we’re not surprised.
In honor and celebration of Black History Month, here are a few of our favorite Black owned businesses, nonprofits, and community leaders who are changing the landscape and future of cannabis.
- A+ Collective is an intergenerational Black owned and operated medical and adult use cannabis delivery service founded by Daniel Gardner and Aanya Gamble Hill in Oakland.
- National Black Women’s Justice Initiative is a nonprofit that focuses on eliminating racial and gender disparities in the U.S. criminal legal system that are responsible for its disproportionate impact on Black women, girls, and gender nonconforming people.
- Holy Smoke Podcast, hosted by Ayesha Ophelia, is a podcast that is powered by cannabis and touches on love, magic, spirituality, and consciousness
- The Hood Incubator is an organization that builds a pipeline of opportunity and organizing so that Black people can lead at the center of the cannabis legalization process.
- Simple Pure is the first Black-woman owned dispensary in Colorado. Simply Pure is owned by Wanda James.
- The B Better Company is a topical cannabis skincare company, owned and founded by Brittany Lakes, which focuses on pain management, dermal nourishment, and stress relief.
- Seedvault of California is a black-owned seed bank with an incredible menu with trusted quality.
- Mary and Main is a dispensary in Capitol Heights, Maryland, owned by Hope Wiseman. When Mary and Main opened in 2018, Hope was the youngest Black woman to own a dispensary, age 25.
- Dr. Lakisha Jenkins is a teacher of the endogenous cannabinoid system as well as an herbalist, Traditional Naturopath, and founding member of the California Cannabis Industry Association. From her place in Jamaica, Dr. Lakisha is sharing healing resources and cannabis knowledge across Instagram, digital workshops, and Clubhouse.
- CannaCtrl is a point-of-sale solution for cannabis dispensaries and deliveries. CannaCtrl is the only app of it’s kind that can be operated by both Apple iPhone and Android users.
If you know of any organizations or businesses that you think we should include in this list, feel free to leave a comment, DM us, or fill out our contact form!
Cannabis & Black History
– Candid Chronicle is the first Black-owned cannabis newspaper in the United States, founded in 2016.
– Across the globe, Black communities have been utilizing cannabis through an array of uses and applications for thousands upon thousands of years.
– In the United States, Hemp was grown and processed by enslaved people.
– In 1850, there were 8,327 hemp farms in Kentucky alone.
– The War on Drugs was racist, fed racial discrimination among law enforcement, and was designed to increase prison populations.
– Cannabis propaganda was tied to Jazz music as a way to solidify racist biases against Black people and cannabis use.
– Just about a month ago, Illinois expunged nearly 500,000 cannabis arrest records. So, we’re going to need every state to follow suit.
Ardent was founded by Shanel Lindsay.
https://ardentcannabis.com/