- Christopher Smith, Editor-in-Chief
18 BIPOC-Owned Cannabis Businesses We Can Get Behind
From several different sources, here's a combined list of EIGHTEEN (18) BIPOC-owned cannabis industry businesses here in the US. Lip service is not going to help these businesses thrive, dear readers. Footsteps and wallets are the name of the game. Let's bring both to:
1. Viola
Founded by retired NBA player Al Harrington, Viola is a brand for the culture. It merges cannabis with notable athletic and entertainment figures to educate and promote its brand of flower, vapes, edibles and more. Currently, Viola is available in stores across Colorado, California, Michigan and Oregon.
2. Deuces 22
Deuces 22 is another brand with an NBA connection: It was founded by Tyla Salley, daughter of four-time champion and co-founder John Salley. Her brand offers both products and educational content to help both customers and the curious understand the benefits and various applications of cannabis.
Supplying "Terps from the Town," Oakland Extracts founder Terryn Niles Buxton creates high-quality, small-batch goods for his California customers. The brand offers live resin and vapes, but it’s the signature cookie crumble concentrate that keeps customers coming back.
4. V Affect
V Affect is the soon-to-launch product line of Vetra Stevens, the first Black woman to own and operate a dispensary in Wayne County, Michigan. Her Metro Detroit storefront offers flower, vapes, topicals and more through her 1st Quality Medz storefront, and sourced by her own grow and processing operation.
5. Simply Pure
Founded by military veterans Wanda James and Scott Durrah, making the Denver storefront the first Black-owned and female-owned cannabis dispensary in the country. James is a former political advisor to the Obama Administration and was also named one of 2020’s 35 Most Influential Women in Cannabis by Green Entrepreneur. The company sells flower, vapes, tinctures, edibles, extracts and more, all sourced from its own farm.
6. Ardent
Ardent founder and president Shanel A. Lindsay was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis by High Times. She developed NOVA, a home device that delivers decarbed marijuana to patients looking for an alternative method to consume. The brand also sells infusion kits, molds and other edible-making accessories.
The products sold by Atlanta-based Herbn Essence are classified as cannabis, but not as marijuana. While Georgia continues to decide how it will tackle its expanding legalization efforts, the Black woman-owned company is offering hemp and CBD flower and prerolls in a variety of strains to bring calming relaxation to customers.
American Cannabinoid Clinics is owned and operated by Dr. Jessica Knox, Dr. Janice Knox, and Dr. Rachel Knox, a family of experts in cannabinoid medicine and endocannabinology. ACC offers a more structured way to integrate cannabis into everyday life. The three physicians, along with co-founder Dr. David Knox, have counseled several thousand patients in the use of cannabis therapies to promote restoration of health, well being and function. Patients can schedule appointments through their online system for virtual meetings.
9. 99th Floor
For the gourmet lover in your life, 99th Floor offers dosed, curated meals by professional cannabis chef, Miguel Trinidad. Dinner courses are meticulously dosed, advertised and sold on the company’s social media pages. The New York-based company has plans to sell its own line of edibles through local dispensaries in the near future.
Owned and operated by two generations of the Hollingsworth family, Hollingsworth Cannabis Company considers the planet as it supplies customers with sustainably grown, processed and packaged goods. The Washington State-based company sells infused soaps, topical treatments, and even hand sanitizer. The company is the only Black-owned cannabis farm in Washington.
11. Inertia’s Root
Founded as a co-op for Black hemp farmers by Stuart McClean, Inertia’s Root sells flower, tinctures, and balms, while helping to educate farmers on best practices to produce cannabinoid-rich hemp for products. Inertia Root is based in Nashville.
Based in Alabama, Green Heffa Farms produces botanical tea blends and herbal "steam" blends featuring hemp flower amidst a curated melange of robust aromatics. Founded by Clarenda Stanley — aka Farmer Cee — Green Heffa Farms was developed with a commitment to what Stanley refers to as "the four Es: economic empowerment, equity, education, and environment," as well as reverence for Indigenous, heritage farming.
Green Heffa's Steam blends are formulated with its own hemp in addition to herbs like holy basil, damiana, lemon balm, and hibiscus. Bonus: Green Heffa's package art is so gorgeous you'll want to display it on your counter long after the last cup is brewed.
13. Remedy Rich: Contemporary Stoner Statement Apparel
Modern cannabis consumers are more aware than ever of the devastation of the War on Drugs. In fact, contemporary cannabis consumption and advocacy for restorative justice low-key go hand-in-hand, a stance conveyed concisely by Remedy Rich's statement tees and hoodies. Wisecracks like "Sorry I'm Late, I was Rolling Up" and "Normalize Needing a Blunt" decorate super cozy, hand-dyed sweatshirts and cropped hoodies, but so do revolutionary calls to action like "No One Should Be In Prison For Weed" and "Stop Judging People Who Smoke Cannabis."
14. TOQi: 510-Thread Vape Battery
It's unlikely the committed vapers in your life are without their own battery; regardless, consider upgrading their 510-thread vapes for an ergonomic, palm-size model that can be fitted to work with carts or a consumer's own concentrates. TOQi is particularly remarkable for its use of wireless charging tech; the device can be charged via USB input, or via the TOQi wireless charging bank, which can charge two devices at once. Further, the TOQi charges twice as fast as other, commensurate vape battery models, and has a battery almost double the size of its competitors. If the hardcore vaporizer in your life deserves an upgrade, TOQi is a smart place to start.
15. J'adore La Fleur: Flower Petal Pre-Roll Cones
Drags from a classically rolled blunt or deftly twisted cone will never go out of style, but if you've yet to puff from a flower petal pre-roll, you are missing out on a luxury smoking experience. J'adore La Fleur's seasonal varietals, for example, are expertly curated for their velvety feels and delicate floral exhales that uplift and enhance a consumer's smoking material. These wraps may give off a distinctly feminine vibe, but don't let the smooth taste fool ya. J'adore La Fleur's understated opulence transcends gender and should be experienced by any and all botanically-curious stoner types.
16. Pleasure Peaks: CBD Sexual Enhancement Products
On the intimate tip, if you're shopping for your lover(s), consider sexual wellness as part of your gifting suite. The entire line of CBD-infused intimacy enhancement products from Pleasure Peaks use cannabinoids to enhance sexual pleasure and increase genital sensitivity, while also reducing discomfort and anxiety related to sex and intimacy. Founded by Antuanettte Gomez, a self-described "Black LGBTQ Female," Pleasure Peaks maintains a point of view that is appropriately — ahem — firm, regardless of race, gender, trauma, or disability. Pleasure is a birthright and cannabis is our inheritance.
17. Just The Tip: Smoking Accessories
We can all agree that the days of sharing mouth-wet joints with strangers are behind us, but sharing weed is always a good look. These days, we just have to accessorize accordingly, and Just The Tip is the perfect smoking appendage for our time. These blown glass joint holders act as personal filter tips and stylish joint extenders for those feeling their circa 1961 Cruella DeVille fantasy. The line is designed to be worn as a medallion or easily tucked into a pocket, and pieces are available in a chic assortment of hues and creative, art-glass textures. Founded by Mary Hines after a heady evening at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado, Just The Tip not only makes sharing joints with new friends possible once again, it makes the whole arrangement considerably sexier.
Bonus: it doubles as a one-hitter in case there are no joints to hold.
LA Dispensary: Dispensary concept Sixty Four & Hope will open its second of 21 locations owned by social equity cannabis licensees from South Los Angeles on December 20th, in the Melrose District. The wellness-focused, culture-rich cannabis store is named after Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis in California, and the Hope for a more equitable future. The store honors the plant culture that came before it with an enlightened, informed and interactive store experience that emphasizes a product-first mentality. Including the social equity and underrepresented cannabis brands it chooses to carry and highlight, providing them with a platform to grow.
Coming Soon:
Village (Al Harrington)
"Entrepreneur Dan Pettigrew and 16-season NBA player Al Harrington launched Village LLC in 2019, about eight years after the launch of Viola, the premium cannabis brand named after Harrington’s grandmother who treated her glaucoma with cannabis. Their goal for Village is to build a multi-state operator not unlike larger businesses such as Curaleaf, Trulieve, Green Thumb Industries, Ayr Wellness, or Cresco Labs, but with a majority of key executives being women or minorities. "The concept for Village is to work through the application process as well as through mergers and partnership, to develop a platform so that minority-owned cannabis brands can exist,” Pettigrew said. “Every state is regulated differently. Getting into these markets has proved challenging. The initial route is competitive and expensive.”
... and we'd bet there are a LOT more - - help us build this list - - please send info to info@americancannabisreport.com.
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