black pioneers by: Nikki Frias Before the “War on Drugs” during Nixon’s reign and Reagan’s campaign of “Just say no’, cannabis was used as a utility for entrepreneurs. Unfortunately with its negative connotations towards racial identity and systemic oppression, black and brown communities have been the most unrepresented pioneers in the cannabis space. Since the era of its inception with Louis Armstrong’s “vipers” and the mix of cannabis with jazz, to the political fight that is still going on today, history makes little to no mention of what black women were doing during these times. The rise of cannabis, from its influence in New Orleans to its migration up North, entailed speakeasies, music and “jazz cigarettes” in the 1930s. A pre-Harry Anslinger’s tirade of defeating all that is cannabis had the Harlem Renaissance and the beginning of the fight for equal rights. The Great Depression seemed like an opportunity to expand the cannabis industry, (textiles in hemp and its medicinal use) but unfortunately began negative rhetoric linking race, crime, and violence. Not only did black women have to fight for their seat at the table, but they also had to deal with the beginning (and unfortunate present-day) incorrect stigmas aligned with race and opportunity. The post-Anslinger world was filled with racism, criminalization for a very bleak future for women and minorities. In a time when an eighth meant life in prison and a beneficial drug was classified as a Schedule l, the progression of cannabis and women of color became marginalized. It’s after the embrace of the Civil Rights Movements, the feminist era, and Woodstock in the 1960s and 1970s, the lines between legality and racial individuality became the push needed for change. Smoking pot was cool, and iconic actresses like Pam Grier and Diahann Carroll symbolized a new face for black women. Fast forward from the 1990s to today, between the rise of cannabis in hip-hop, like Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, to fashion and tech; black women are dominating in every industry. The conversation of privilege, mass incarceration and inclusion is now at the top of everyone’s agenda, and while it’s a slow start...it’s still a start. Women are now being embraced for the things that made them different. What a time to be alive when a top black mogul on the Forbes billionaire list is an open cannabis user; intertwining the gap between a suppressed gender and race.
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Unfortunately even to this day, through history and the impact black women have made within the world of cannabis has been minimal. Stories of these badass women picketing, rallying and making progress against oppression have been overshadowed with legalities and politics. Today black ownership is up and especially with women capitalizing on beauty, health and dispensary ownership. According to 2017 data from Marijuana Business Daily, women account for 25% and Black ownership in cannabis hovers at 4.3%. The new pioneers are now found in owners like Dr. Rachel Knox & Dr. Jessica Knox of The Canna MDs, Shanita Penny of Budding Solutions, Safon Floyd, Kali Wilder and Sirita Wright of Estrohaze, and Andrea Unsworth of Stash Twist, to name a few. These new black-owned, female speared businesses are taking advantage of the 45 billion dollar industry and are continuously growing. The more availability and access to the industry through laws and education will only promote the expansion of these minority owners. Taking the keys and lessons learned from an unspoken personal history are now assets to creating generational wealth for decades to come. In the cannabis space, women of color represent longevity and triumph between mass incarcerations and negative media rhetoric in this industry. Before its legalization, exploitation and capitalistic society the cannabis space now holds, it once was used as a tool to feed homes, support families and an opportunity for business. From a historical perspective, in a male dominant society, women as a whole and specifically of color are the minority. The word pioneer is generally assimilated with synonyms like trailblazers and innovators, and within the cannabis industry, we can’t use those words without acknowledging black women.