As a Black man who grew up in Orange, N.J., in the 1980s and witnessed the effects of the war on drugs in my family and community, I never thought I’d be in the cannabis business. But then again, I never thought I’d be in the NBA either.
I started in the cannabis industry more than 12 years ago, near the end of my 16 seasons in the NBA, with a mission to show others the healing power of the plant just as I had shown it to my grandma Viola, for whom I named my company. Although marijuana is now legal in 23 states (and counting), I’m constantly reminded of all the people who look like me who spent year after year in prison for possessing a few grams of weed. As legalization expands, my top priority is to ensure that Black and brown people have opportunities for generational wealth in our community.
But the lack of banking options available because of federal prohibition means anyone who wants to start and support a business in the market needs a generous amount of cash on hand. It takes hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars just to start such a business — money that most people of color don’t have. As a result, less than 2% of legal cannabis businesses in the United States are owned by people who look like me.
– Read the entire article at Los Angeles Times.
