THE EQUALITY ISSUE
If you’re going to start a Cannabis company, it never hurts to learn from the best.
In a sense, that’s exactly what Danielle Walton and Adrienne Mulligan were doing during the 12 years they worked together at Oakland’s Harborside. Founded in 2006 by Steve DeAngelo, the flagship dispensary of Harborside’s line of pot shops is recognized today as the largest nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary in California - if not the U.S. Working for Harborside provided Walton and Mulligan with an extensive education on the ups - and numerous downs - of life in legal Cannabis. From the piecemeal rollout of a framework for recreational regulations, to numerous ever-shifting changes in state policies, tax rates and city codes, the two got a first hand look at what punches might eventually be thrown their way. Such insights would later prove invaluable when Walton and Mulligan eventually decided to make a go of it themselves. Inspired by the success of 2016’s Proposition 64 and California’s subsequent
nxtlvl delivery
Meet the concentrate loving co-founders of the Bay Area’s first equity-licensed, woman-owned Cannabis delivery service.
implementation of a recreational market at the start of 2018, what once may have seemed a pipe dream quickly transformed into the makings of a business plan. When a mutual business colleague made a delivery license within the city of Oakland available for sale, Walton and Mulligan knew it was time to turn their dream into a reality. The result is NXTLVL, a woman-owned Cannabis delivery brand serving the greater Bay Area in California. C O N C E N T R AT I N G O N C U S T O M E R S
One point of emphasis for the co-owners of NXTLVL is the quality of the products they offer. “At NXTLVL, we pride ourselves on having one of the best curated menus,” Walton said. “We only carry brands that we ourselves also consume.” That’s another thing NXTLVL is all about: practicing what you preach. In this case, that equates to Walton and Mulligan’s own affinity for getting high. More specifically, the pair are huge concentrate heads.
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STORY by ZACK RUSKIN @ZACKRUSKIN | PHOTOS by MIKE ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS
