The Accelerate Cannabis Mid-Atlantic Summit recently held a conference in Philadelphia on regional progress and discussed minority ownership issues.
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It focused on the East Coast’s emerging cannabis markets across PA, NJ, MD, DE, NY, and VA. The event emphasized how all of these states should be learning from each other and adopting laws that work and recognizing those that don’t.
Fireside Chat
Longview Strategic consulting firm CEO Ellie Siegel began the conference by welcoming everyone.
“…We strive to build an ecosystem of valuable referrals to vendors and more that will move this industry forward. We want even educational moments like this to help pull everyone up,” she explained.
Siegegal added that “we need to build relationships that go across state lines… relationships that bridge across state lines can be very, very productive and very profitable.” Siegel added.
Black Ownership in Cannabis
Another member of the fireside chat was cannabis entrepreneur and social justice activist Roz McCarthy of Black Buddha and Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana (M4MM).
She spoke about her passion for helping people find pain relief through cannabis, just as she did in 2021 after a traumatic brain injury.
McCarthy addressed some of the struggles many entrepreneurs face in cannabis.
“Cannabis was the way to help me. Now we’re in five states getting Black Buddha to people who really need it,” she shared. “If you have an idea, don’t give up.”
Production Deals with MSOs
McCarthy explained her unique production deal.
“We ended up coming in very quickly in establishing market penetration and creating opportunity. We are an asset-light business model. This model really works because I don’t have the capital to be able to go and have the infrastructure for cultivation, for processing,” she noted. “But what I do have is I have a vision, I have a mission, I have a brand, I have a message, I have a connection to customers…”
“They love what it stands for, and they want to be connected to it. And that’s how we were able to quickly, with the prior partner, come into the market and really use their experience and their position in the market to grow the brand. We were able to find a new partner, Trulieve,” McCarthy added.
Trulieve is a large Multi-State Operator (MSO). Many noted cannabis advocates feel they seek to dominate the market at the expense of small/ minority-owned companies.
“I know there’s been this talk of MSOs getting the head start. They are running the gamut,” she argued. “…There’s now an opportunity for the small guy. This opportunity for me, to be able to inspire other Black and Brown people to be able to go after their dream, is important.”
“I also want to connect with consumers who are looking for what Black women stand for. We have to take this opportunity,” McCarthy argued.
Normalizing Cannabis
Leading cannabis advocate Bill Caruso spoke about his journey with the plant and destigmatization.
“I’m not some scumbag on the street. I’m your neighbor, and I’m an accomplished person. And I shouldn’t have to worry about being arrested, having people think twice about hiring me because of the medicine I choose to use,” he declared.
Caruso also discussed how New Jersey’s innovative Cannabis Training Academy is helping struggling entrepreneurs, including many minorities.
He applauded Maryland as having the “number one medical program in all the land.”
Delaware Cannabis Market Progress
Later, Delaware Marijuana Commissioner Joshua Sanderlin said that their adult-use cannabis market has been going well since opening on August 1st.
“Surprisingly, [the response] has been uneven. My expectation was ‘meteor falling out of the sky,’ dealing with tech issues, dealing with hacking issues, and yet we found none,” he explained.
“…Our medical operators, folks, … have been in the business industry for a while. They understood the system. They understood they were building up to it. And quite honestly, they’ve been waiting for two years to do it this way. A lot of anxiety on both sides, but we were ready,” Sanderlin noted.
Maryland Cannabis and Social Equity
On another panel, Maryland Office of Social Equity Director Courtney Davis discussed their cannabis licensing process.
“Our office was created around the same time that Marylanders decided to legalize adult use. We decided to have a social equity-only lottery,” she noted.
“We had over 2,000 people who were verified as social equity applicants for 205 licenses. So, the demand was really high… and we wanted to make sure that the licensees are able to open, supporting them with partnerships…,” Davis explained.
“But we also want to make sure that our sales are there…,” she added.
Along with the lively talks, this cannabis convention continued throughout the day and led to a fun mixer.
