[00:00:00] This episode is brought to you by the

[00:00:03] Travel Agency.

[00:00:06] Now boarding, taking off by flower,

[00:00:09] edible, or pre-roll. The travel agency,

[00:00:14] a cannabis store.

[00:00:19] >> I carry sharp pains and bellies. All

[00:00:22] days heavy when you’re survive.

[00:00:24] Legendary ciphers get the MC’s and the

[00:00:27] citys. Slept from 1 to 5 when co hit the

[00:00:31] block and we had to stay aside. Tough

[00:00:33] love is all I know. So be gentle with my

[00:00:35] soul. Learn to navigate with no coat. If

[00:00:39] you never been cold, you never been

[00:00:41] broke. Hustle 247 just to stay afloat.

[00:00:44] So New York like dollar pizza in [ __ ]

[00:00:49] from the heart of the city is as hard as

[00:00:51] it gets. This New York [ __ ]

[00:00:55] from the heart of the city is as hard as

[00:00:57] it gets.

[00:00:59] York,

[00:01:04] >> peace and blessings.

[00:01:06] What’s good, New York? I pray that you

[00:01:09] are all feeling peaceful, joyful, and

[00:01:12] energized for the year ahead. I am Jamil

[00:01:15] My

[00:01:18] Cannabis in the City.

[00:01:21] Yes indeed. where we talk about

[00:01:23] cannabis, the laws, the business, the

[00:01:26] economics, the healing, the healing,

[00:01:31] and the way it all shows up for us in

[00:01:34] real life on the block, at work, in our

[00:01:37] wallets, and at the dinner table.

[00:01:41] Now, if you’ve been rocking with us, you

[00:01:44] know the journey so far. And if you

[00:01:47] haven’t, you know, that’s cool, too.

[00:01:49] It’s cool. Welcome. we family. Come,

[00:01:52] come on. Come on in. So, we began with

[00:01:56] legalization. What changed? What didn’t?

[00:02:00] And what still confuses everybody?

[00:02:03] And then we talked about jobs, who’s

[00:02:06] hiring, who’s not, and and why so many

[00:02:08] people still feel locked out of an

[00:02:10] industry that’s supposed to be new.

[00:02:16] Also, we went and talked about the ghost

[00:02:19] of a past criminal record still haunting

[00:02:22] many of us in our life presently. Job

[00:02:25] applications, housing applications, all

[00:02:28] of that.

[00:02:30] Today, we talking about that dollar

[00:02:33] bill, y’all.

[00:02:36] Because listen,

[00:02:38] ideas are free, passion is free, but

[00:02:43] opening a cannabis business in New York,

[00:02:46] very not free.

[00:02:50] So, we’re keeping it real as usual.

[00:02:54] Talking about how the money moves in the

[00:02:57] streets when you’re talking about

[00:02:59] cannabis. And let me let me let me say

[00:03:01] this. Equity isn’t only about owning a

[00:03:05] dispensary. It’s also about access to

[00:03:08] good jobs. Jobs people don’t even

[00:03:10] realize are part of cannabis.

[00:03:13] We have quite quite the guest lineup for

[00:03:16] you today. I’m I’m super excited, y’all,

[00:03:19] for all of the conversations on deck.

[00:03:23] We’re going to break down. No frrills,

[00:03:26] no spills, no jarens, no fairy tales.

[00:03:29] Just sticky icky icky real talk. and how

[00:03:34] how our black and brown communities move

[00:03:36] from curiosity to participation.

[00:03:40] So whether you’re here to learn, laugh,

[00:03:43] or finally get some straight answers,

[00:03:45] you in the right place. So let’s take a

[00:03:48] beat and we’ll spark the conversation

[00:03:51] when we return.

[00:04:27] Welcome back. This is Justice and

[00:04:30] Cannabis. I’m your host, Sean Farrow.

[00:04:31] With me as always is my co-host, Jeffrey

[00:04:34] Hoffman. Now, in the first episode, we

[00:04:36] talked about the martyr, right? The

[00:04:38] business behind the bill, the justice

[00:04:40] portion as well as the equity portion,

[00:04:42] and we dove a little deep into how

[00:04:45] misdemeanor convictions should be

[00:04:47] automatically expuned, but how that’s

[00:04:49] not really getting out to people. That

[00:04:51] information seems to be stuck in a silo.

[00:04:54] And we also started talking about the

[00:04:55] felonies and how essentially a lot of

[00:04:58] things aren’t happening that should be

[00:05:00] happening with the felonies. Well, here

[00:05:02] in this episode, we’re going to dive a

[00:05:03] little bit deeper into the issues that

[00:05:05] we have with Mor on the legal front. How

[00:05:07] the automatic misdemeanor convictions,

[00:05:10] that’s an automatic lie because that

[00:05:12] information isn’t getting to everybody.

[00:05:13] And how the felony convictions, well,

[00:05:16] judges seem to be making up their own

[00:05:18] thing, whether it’s making up their own

[00:05:19] law, not following the law, or just

[00:05:22] inserting themsel and their personal

[00:05:24] biases into their decision-m. So Jeeoff,

[00:05:27] let’s start with the automatic

[00:05:29] expungement or what should be the

[00:05:31] automatic expungement. What do you see

[00:05:33] happening on our legal landscape as to

[00:05:34] what the issue is here? So we really

[00:05:37] have two fundamental issues. As you’ve

[00:05:40] already noted, the cannabis law says

[00:05:42] that misdemeanor cannabis function uh

[00:05:45] convictions should have been

[00:05:47] automatically expuned by the state.

[00:05:49] >> Right?

[00:05:50] >> The biggest problem that we’re seeing

[00:05:51] there is that nobody knows about this.

[00:05:54] The state was not required to notify

[00:05:56] anyone. There has not been some type of

[00:05:59] big media campaign that would inform

[00:06:01] people that their misdemeanor cannabis

[00:06:04] convictions were getting expuned. So

[00:06:06] therefore, we’re seeing a lot of

[00:06:07] problems. While the law in New York now

[00:06:10] does not allow landlords and employers

[00:06:13] to ask about the conviction status of

[00:06:16] individuals, we all know that this is

[00:06:18] still happening. Landlords and employers

[00:06:21] are still asking this question every

[00:06:23] day.

[00:06:24] >> And if you do not know that your

[00:06:25] misdemeanor cannabis conviction has been

[00:06:28] expuned or as we’re going to see in a

[00:06:30] minute, maybe just sealed.

[00:06:32] >> Yes.

[00:06:32] >> Then you are still doing what we call

[00:06:34] checking the yes box. You are checking

[00:06:36] yes next to have you ever been convicted

[00:06:39] of a crime. And as we all know, if you

[00:06:42] check the yes box on an employment

[00:06:44] application or a housing application,

[00:06:46] you are not getting that employment and

[00:06:48] you are not getting that house. And that

[00:06:50] is the quickest way to lose it. The

[00:06:52] other big problem that we are seeing is

[00:06:55] that prior to this idea of expuning

[00:06:59] convictions in the cannabis law, New

[00:07:02] York had no vehicle, no part in any law

[00:07:05] that talked about

[00:07:07] >> uh uh expuning any kind of conviction.

[00:07:11] And so therefore, the only mechanism

[00:07:13] that the state has is sealing a record.

[00:07:17] And so even the law though though the

[00:07:19] law says it should be expuned and not

[00:07:22] findable in some other type of search

[00:07:24] where it shouldn’t be able to be found

[00:07:26] anyway but often is what is happening is

[00:07:29] that these convictions are getting

[00:07:31] sealed under the sealing component in

[00:07:34] the criminal justice system in New York

[00:07:36] State and unfortunately is turn these

[00:07:38] convictions are turning up in places

[00:07:41] because they still exist but are simply

[00:07:44] spo are in theory supposed to have been

[00:07:46] sealed.

[00:07:47] The law called for expungement and one

[00:07:50] of the things we need to work on in

[00:07:51] coming years is to get that process to

[00:07:54] actually do what it’s meant to do.

[00:07:57] >> So let me piggyback off that for a

[00:07:59] second. You’re saying that martyr had a

[00:08:02] promise to the people and hasn’t begun

[00:08:04] to even remotely fulfill that promise.

[00:08:07] So what can we do? What can folks do on

[00:08:10] the misdemeanor side and the felony side

[00:08:12] to kind of, you know, make headway on

[00:08:15] this? Because this seems like a real

[00:08:16] problem. People are still checking the

[00:08:18] boxes. Like you said, there’s no job.

[00:08:20] There’s no housing. It could affect your

[00:08:21] child care. It can affect every aspect

[00:08:24] of life. And as J mentioned in the

[00:08:25] opening, it becomes this ghost that

[00:08:28] continues to haunt you every which way

[00:08:29] you go.

[00:08:30] >> Well, so the first step is we still

[00:08:32] should do the things that we can do.

[00:08:35] Okay? If you had a misdemeanor cannabis

[00:08:37] conviction, you need to go to the court

[00:08:40] where you were convicted or if you have

[00:08:42] any outstanding warrants, get your

[00:08:44] attorney or some family member to go and

[00:08:46] get

[00:08:47] >> if if they went to multiple courts or

[00:08:48] had convictions in multiple courts, they

[00:08:50] got to go to each court. Let’s make that

[00:08:52] clear. Each court.

[00:08:53] >> That’s correct. It’s the clerk of court

[00:08:55] in a particular court in a county. So,

[00:08:57] in New York City, uh well, in Manhattan,

[00:09:00] it would be New York County. In the

[00:09:01] Bronx, it would uh it would be Bronx

[00:09:03] County. In Brooklyn, it would be Kings

[00:09:05] County. Yes. If you were convicted in

[00:09:07] multiple counties, you do have to go to

[00:09:10] the criminal courts in each of those

[00:09:11] counties and get your certificate of

[00:09:13] disposition. This is the document that

[00:09:16] shows what is the status of that

[00:09:18] conviction. And in literally every one

[00:09:20] that I have seen in the operative part

[00:09:23] of the certificate of disposition, it

[00:09:26] says sealed. Even though in the fine

[00:09:28] print in the at the bottom it says this

[00:09:30] has been expuned and vacated and sealed

[00:09:32] and all these other things as we’ve

[00:09:34] already discussed New York does not

[00:09:36] really have a mechanism to actually do

[00:09:39] this expungement which is something we

[00:09:40] are going to hopefully go to the

[00:09:42] legislature about in the future. So if

[00:09:45] you have these misdemeanor convictions

[00:09:47] you should still go and get this

[00:09:49] certificate of disposition to make sure

[00:09:51] that at least your conviction has been

[00:09:53] sealed if not completely expuned. If you

[00:09:57] have the felony in that case, you do

[00:09:59] have to file a motion in the court where

[00:10:02] you were convicted. And this is the

[00:10:04] process that you were stating that in

[00:10:05] the more conservative parts of the

[00:10:07] state, the judges are not doing what

[00:10:09] they’re supposed to do there. But we

[00:10:11] still encourage everyone that has a

[00:10:13] felony conviction for cannabis to go

[00:10:16] through this process. And then what

[00:10:17] we’re hoping to do in the future is work

[00:10:20] with the legislature. We’re already in

[00:10:21] communication with various folks in the

[00:10:23] legislature about trying to fix this

[00:10:26] process in the criminal justice system

[00:10:28] here in New York to actually have an

[00:10:30] expungement mechanism. It just simply

[00:10:32] didn’t exist because there was never the

[00:10:35] concept of expungement here in New York

[00:10:37] until the cannabis law.

[00:10:39] >> Now, that’s a perfect segue into just

[00:10:42] focusing on the felony for a second

[00:10:43] because what you said and what we said

[00:10:45] in other segments is that we have to

[00:10:47] file these motions. There’s no other way

[00:10:50] to get rid of these felony convictions

[00:10:52] unless we go into court and file a

[00:10:53] motion. And that could be pretty

[00:10:55] complicated from what we’ve dealt with.

[00:10:57] So, it’s incumbent upon people to get

[00:10:59] lawyers or hire us for free to be able

[00:11:02] to write these motions and challenge, I

[00:11:05] guess, the law, so to speak, as well as

[00:11:08] people’s convictions and notions about

[00:11:10] cannabis in actual court. But let’s dive

[00:11:13] a little deeper into the analysis

[00:11:14] itself. What exactly are the judges

[00:11:16] doing wrong? you we said at the

[00:11:18] beginning they’re creating their own

[00:11:20] law. What do we mean by that?

[00:11:21] >> So the law established a very clear

[00:11:24] procedure that the judge is supposed to

[00:11:26] follow and that if the individual with

[00:11:29] the felony conviction is undergoing

[00:11:31] severe or ongoing consequences related

[00:11:34] to their conviction, the judge is

[00:11:36] supposed to expune that conviction and

[00:11:38] then do what we call an interest of

[00:11:40] justice analysis to determine whether or

[00:11:44] not they should substitute a lower

[00:11:46] crime. So perhaps something that was a

[00:11:48] felony under the prior law might only be

[00:11:51] a misdemeanor or a violation. So the

[00:11:53] judge is entitled and the prosecutor in

[00:11:57] that county is entitled to make their

[00:11:58] argument why if you’re going to expunge

[00:12:01] the felony maybe it should be dropped to

[00:12:03] a misdemeanor or a a violation.

[00:12:06] >> So like a substitution if you will.

[00:12:08] >> Exactly. That’s exactly what it is. It’s

[00:12:09] substituting one conviction for another

[00:12:12] one. Now, our position is obviously it

[00:12:15] should be expuned in its entirety.

[00:12:16] There’s there’s no situation um let me

[00:12:20] take this back. There could be

[00:12:21] situations where it might be in the

[00:12:23] interest of justice to substitute or

[00:12:25] perhaps even very lightly sub like drop

[00:12:28] it down only one level. Let’s say the

[00:12:30] individual showed no remorse, did

[00:12:33] nothing in the rest of their uh life to

[00:12:36] show that they had learned from their

[00:12:37] conviction and perhaps even went out and

[00:12:39] did other things, maybe had violent

[00:12:41] convictions on their records. These may

[00:12:44] be situations where it would be in the

[00:12:46] interest of justice to do a

[00:12:48] substitution. But as you well know, in

[00:12:51] pretty much all of the cases that we

[00:12:53] have dealt with, and the ones where we

[00:12:55] got the biggest push back from the

[00:12:56] justice system, in fact,

[00:12:58] >> we had individuals that had never had

[00:13:01] another interaction with the justice

[00:13:02] system, went on and finished their

[00:13:04] education, are contributing members to

[00:13:07] society. These are individuals where we

[00:13:09] believe there is no interest in uh uh um

[00:13:13] um interest of justice in having any

[00:13:16] substitution for those individuals. We

[00:13:18] believe that their convictions should be

[00:13:19] completely stricken from the record.

[00:13:21] >> I think that’s beautifully said. I just

[00:13:23] want to very quickly before we run out

[00:13:25] of time, get back to one of the things

[00:13:26] you said, the severe and ongoing

[00:13:27] consequences. That sounds like a very

[00:13:29] broad and vague definition. So, what

[00:13:31] does that mean in a short brief way?

[00:13:34] >> So, it it can it gets back to kind of

[00:13:36] what we were talking about before. I’ll

[00:13:37] give the very specific example of this

[00:13:39] individual that I mentioned that went on

[00:13:40] and continued his education, became an

[00:13:43] award-winning school psychologist, but

[00:13:45] we actually had instances and letters

[00:13:48] from potential employers of his where

[00:13:51] they offered him the job

[00:13:54] >> and then found out about his conviction

[00:13:57] >> and then said, “You know what? We love

[00:13:59] you and we think you’re great, but we

[00:14:02] found out about this conviction, so now

[00:14:04] we have to retract your employment

[00:14:05] offer.” This is exactly the kind of

[00:14:08] thing that the law was supposed to fix.

[00:14:10] And this is exactly the kind of issue

[00:14:12] that we are running into when judges

[00:14:14] want to implement their own procedure

[00:14:16] and their own biases into how they deal

[00:14:19] with this part of the cannabis law.

[00:14:22] >> That’s it folks. That’s the issues that

[00:14:24] we’re facing here. So, how do we deal

[00:14:25] with this? How do we address this sort

[00:14:27] of ghost in the room, if you will? Well,

[00:14:29] you guys come to us, right? We’re out

[00:14:31] there looking for y’all, but y’all can

[00:14:33] come to us. Y’all can reach out to us.

[00:14:34] We want to bring these test cases before

[00:14:36] the courts. We want to challenge the

[00:14:38] courts. Many of you guys say, “F the

[00:14:39] system.” Well, I say it, too, and Jeff

[00:14:41] says it with me, right? F the system.

[00:14:43] But the way that we f the system here,

[00:14:45] is by challenging them in court day

[00:14:46] after day with case after case after

[00:14:48] case. So, if you or anybody you know has

[00:14:51] any legal issues, especially cannabis

[00:14:53] related, reach out to the Justice Lab.

[00:14:55] We’re here for you. All right. We’re

[00:14:56] sparking change.

[00:15:00] >> Did you know that in New York it’s

[00:15:02] illegal to drive after smoking weed?

[00:15:04] Many believe recreational cannabis is a

[00:15:06] free pass. But that’s not true. Even if

[00:15:10] you only have a little green in your

[00:15:11] system, you can be pulled over and face

[00:15:14] serious charges. And it gets worse. If

[00:15:17] someone is smoking in your car, you can

[00:15:18] still get a ticket even if you weren’t

[00:15:20] the one lighting up. Police are cracking

[00:15:23] down on impaired driving to keep roads

[00:15:25] safe. So if you enjoy cannabis,

[00:15:28] remember, never drive high. It’s not

[00:15:31] just dangerous, it’s illegal. Your

[00:15:33] rights are important, but so are your

[00:15:35] responsibilities. Always opt for a sober

[00:15:38] ride or use designated drivers.

[00:15:40] Knowledge is power, especially with the

[00:15:42] laws changing all the time. Stay

[00:15:44] informed, stay safe, and drive

[00:15:46] responsibly in the city that never

[00:15:48] sleeps.

[00:16:00] Welcome, welcome, welcome to Let’s Talk

[00:16:03] Cannabis. I am your host, Jamil Meyer.

[00:16:07] And on this show, we look at New York’s

[00:16:09] legal cannabis market through the eyes

[00:16:11] of our people, not just policy.

[00:16:15] What does legalization really mean for

[00:16:17] black and brown communities

[00:16:19] economically, culturally, socially,

[00:16:21] politically, and professionally?

[00:16:24] Where are the jobs? Where are the

[00:16:27] opportunities?

[00:16:28] And today, the next big question is

[00:16:32] where’s the money?

[00:16:34] As mentioned earlier, in episode one, we

[00:16:36] talked about legalization. Episode two,

[00:16:39] we broke down workforce and equity

[00:16:42] centered hiring. But today, today we

[00:16:45] talking about money, equity, ownership,

[00:16:49] and why equity on paper doesn’t always

[00:16:52] lead to equity in reality.

[00:16:56] To do that, we are joined by someone who

[00:16:59] is on the front lines of that fight.

[00:17:02] Janette Ward, CEO of New Project, an

[00:17:06] organization investing capital and

[00:17:09] capacity into black, brown, and equity

[00:17:12] focused cannabis entrepreneurs. Janette,

[00:17:15] welcome to the show.

[00:17:17] >> Thank you. I’m glad to be here.

[00:17:18] >> Well, we are so thrilled to have you

[00:17:20] here in the building. She is in the

[00:17:23] building. CEO. Yes,

[00:17:25] >> I’m in the building. I’m in the Bronx.

[00:17:27] >> You are in the BX. Welcome.

[00:17:29] >> You know, for our audience

[00:17:32] who who don’t know,

[00:17:34] what is New Project and and why does it

[00:17:37] exist?

[00:17:39] >> So, New Project is a nonprofit. We’re a

[00:17:41] national nonprofit and we um provide

[00:17:46] loans and grants and technical

[00:17:48] assistance to cannabis businesses. And

[00:17:50] uh we exist because um policy wasn’t

[00:17:55] enough and isn’t enough to get us to the

[00:17:57] table as owners and to have it be

[00:17:59] equitable as you really mentioned in the

[00:18:01] intro. And so new project came about to

[00:18:03] say what does it look like where the

[00:18:04] rubber meets the road in these states

[00:18:07] getting bellyto belly with entrepreneurs

[00:18:09] and and like what do they really need to

[00:18:12] scale and grow after the licenses are

[00:18:15] done after the policy is written? what

[00:18:18] do those entrepreneurs need like in the

[00:18:20] trenches and so what we learned is they

[00:18:22] need money. Um you said quoting you

[00:18:25] again the passion is free and um you

[00:18:28] know that knowledge isn’t free. People

[00:18:30] really learned it um doing the work but

[00:18:33] now they have it. They have that asset.

[00:18:35] They have the knowledge. They have the

[00:18:36] passion but they can’t manufacture the

[00:18:38] capital. And so the community told us

[00:18:40] what we need is money. and we started to

[00:18:42] provide lowinterest zerointerest loans

[00:18:45] as well as grants. Um, taking government

[00:18:48] funding, but also we’ve got some private

[00:18:50] funders who contribute some cannabis

[00:18:52] companies and really passing that money

[00:18:54] on to to our our business owners.

[00:18:58] >> Wow, you said a lot of words. I did.

[00:19:01] >> You really did. And I mean that in a

[00:19:03] sense no cuz you know being Jamaican, we

[00:19:05] said that was our word. Okay.

[00:19:07] >> Right. you dropped some like some gems,

[00:19:10] some real nuggets here because, you

[00:19:12] know, frankly,

[00:19:13] >> you know, here we are having this

[00:19:15] conversation, this real conversation

[00:19:17] about money finally because that I think

[00:19:19] is is something that folks I don’t

[00:19:21] really think have the conversation about

[00:19:23] as far as just in the community about

[00:19:25] what this cannabis game really looks

[00:19:27] like, you know, and you know, we hear

[00:19:30] often in this cannabis conversation the

[00:19:33] word equity thrown about, you know,

[00:19:36] social equity. equity, equity with this,

[00:19:39] equity with that. But like, you know,

[00:19:42] why is capital

[00:19:45] the most important factor when we talk

[00:19:49] about equity, you know, because folks

[00:19:52] hear it, equity license, and and think

[00:19:55] that that equals ownership, but it

[00:19:58] doesn’t. What is the difference? And and

[00:20:01] why does capital determine whether

[00:20:03] equity is real?

[00:20:06] >> Yeah. So, um, let’s define what you mean

[00:20:09] when you say equity here. I think let’s

[00:20:10] do that. Yes. So, we’ll just be on the

[00:20:12] same page.

[00:20:12] >> Let’s go to school. Take me to school,

[00:20:14] Janelle.

[00:20:14] >> Well, I think we’re talking about in

[00:20:15] this case ownership of a business that

[00:20:18] has value because a paper license in and

[00:20:20] of itself doesn’t necessarily have

[00:20:22] value.

[00:20:23] >> The market itself is giving that license

[00:20:26] value. And um I argue a paper license

[00:20:30] isn’t enough if that’s all you’ve got.

[00:20:32] there’s, you know, and what you’re

[00:20:34] really trying to do is build lasting

[00:20:35] wealth. Um, then an ownership in

[00:20:39] something, right, that has lasting

[00:20:41] value, you’re going to have to get that

[00:20:42] business off the ground. You’re going to

[00:20:43] have to translate it from that paper

[00:20:44] license into an operation of some sort.

[00:20:47] And to do that, you just need money.

[00:20:50] It’s as simple as that. But it’s also

[00:20:52] not simple at all because it’s the one

[00:20:54] thing you can’t go print. You can’t go

[00:20:57] grow it on a tree. can’t hustle up

[00:21:01] capital at the level at which you need

[00:21:02] it for cannabis businesses. And that’s

[00:21:04] the part that people don’t understand is

[00:21:07] it’s 10 times more expensive. It’s

[00:21:09] actually more than that. They’ve done

[00:21:10] some studies on how much more expensive

[00:21:12] it is to launch a cannabis business than

[00:21:13] say a barber shop or even um a liquor

[00:21:16] store or a bar that might need a license

[00:21:19] of some sort. A cannabis business is

[00:21:21] still like 30x times more expensive to

[00:21:23] launch. So, it’s the amount of capital

[00:21:26] you need. And then you layer that on top

[00:21:28] of um

[00:21:30] the secret sauce to making any business

[00:21:33] successful is actually money. It isn’t

[00:21:36] your prior experience in that industry.

[00:21:38] It’s not whether your parents owned a

[00:21:40] business and you got to watch them. It’s

[00:21:41] not your educational level. Those are

[00:21:42] all nice. Those can help. But the bottom

[00:21:45] line is capital. So we don’t have equity

[00:21:48] and ownership without the capital to

[00:21:50] launch and then sustain these

[00:21:53] businesses.

[00:21:55] Yes, another word should drop. Um,

[00:22:00] wow. I I you know

[00:22:03] to sort of add some scale to this,

[00:22:05] right? How much capital uh realistically

[00:22:09] you would say like is needed to go from

[00:22:11] a license, a paper license to a

[00:22:14] functioning cannabis business in New

[00:22:16] York?

[00:22:18] >> My what I like to say is less than

[00:22:20] people think.

[00:22:21] >> Okay. Um, but that’s still big figures

[00:22:24] for um for me, for our community, for my

[00:22:29] community. You know, you’re going to

[00:22:30] need 150,000, 250,000. It depends on

[00:22:33] what you’re starting. Are you starting a

[00:22:34] retail store? Are you really going to

[00:22:35] start really small? Are you going to get

[00:22:38] some of your products COOD? I mean, it

[00:22:40] really I mean, or sorry, pay later

[00:22:42] terms. It really kind of you there is a

[00:22:45] way to start a business small, but most

[00:22:47] people are going to try to fund raise

[00:22:49] closer to a million. I always advise

[00:22:51] people to to to try less. You can start

[00:22:53] with less, but most people try to fund

[00:22:55] raise to about a million.

[00:22:57] >> A million dollars. And that’s just sort

[00:23:00] of we’re talking about a dispensary.

[00:23:02] >> Yeah. Some people spend more than that.

[00:23:03] I mean, definitely people are going to

[00:23:04] tell me they spent way more than a

[00:23:06] million to get to operation to get to

[00:23:08] open and then to get to profitability

[00:23:10] because folks often forget that you need

[00:23:12] some capital

[00:23:13] >> to get to the point that you are

[00:23:14] profitable because just opening the door

[00:23:16] isn’t isn’t enough.

[00:23:19] >> It’s not enough. And you know my

[00:23:21] experience and in conversations and you

[00:23:23] know uh um advising you know uh

[00:23:26] situations uh with with some

[00:23:28] entrepreneurs is the capital that I

[00:23:31] think that they think they need is

[00:23:33] really just to get to that point of

[00:23:36] certificate of occupancy to open the

[00:23:38] door. They haven’t factored in that they

[00:23:41] got a byproduct. They have to hire

[00:23:43] people. We got to pay the people because

[00:23:45] all of these things are steps that lead

[00:23:47] to people coming in to spend the money

[00:23:50] to then collect the money to pay for the

[00:23:52] product and the lights and the phones

[00:23:53] and all of the things, you know, and so

[00:23:56] there is there is a lot there, you know,

[00:23:58] um that I I know folks, you know,

[00:24:01] >> need to consider.

[00:24:02] >> Um

[00:24:04] >> I want to talk briefly about processing

[00:24:06] and cultivation, but I I I

[00:24:08] >> I’m gonna jump.

[00:24:09] >> Okay.

[00:24:10] >> Because you said something about

[00:24:11] fundraising, right? And so here we are

[00:24:15] fundraising, business license,

[00:24:16] operationalizing the license.

[00:24:19] Let’s talk about banks like t

[00:24:22] traditionally

[00:24:24] most industries can use loans, credit,

[00:24:27] you know, lines, traditional financing

[00:24:30] that doesn’t exist really at all for

[00:24:34] cannabis. Why not? And and why can’t

[00:24:37] people just, you know, I got a license,

[00:24:39] walk into a bank and get a loan? Yeah,

[00:24:42] it sucks. I don’t really have a better

[00:24:44] word for it. It’s a really tough

[00:24:45] industry to get into and part of it is

[00:24:48] because you can’t find traditional

[00:24:50] funding. Um, the SBA is missing. So, the

[00:24:53] Small Business Administration, which is

[00:24:55] a federal program, a federal way that

[00:24:58] that kind of we recognize small

[00:25:00] businesses need funding and this is how

[00:25:02] you can get access to that funding, is

[00:25:04] completely cut off from cannabis

[00:25:05] businesses. You also can’t get a

[00:25:06] traditional bank loan like you said. So,

[00:25:08] you really set out the the problem in

[00:25:10] finding funding means that you have to

[00:25:12] rely on your own wealth or your personal

[00:25:15] network wealth. Um, the sharky private

[00:25:18] lenders that are here and there um are

[00:25:21] pretty sharky. I mean, you’re going to

[00:25:23] be paying really exorbitant interest

[00:25:24] rates, but um and

[00:25:28] >> you said own your own wealth. I mean,

[00:25:31] like, hold up. These are social equity

[00:25:34] license holders coming from communities

[00:25:38] disproportionately

[00:25:40] impacted, harmed by the the failed

[00:25:43] racist war on drugs,

[00:25:44] >> right?

[00:25:45] >> Some of them coming out of prison, you

[00:25:47] know, returning citizens. Um, living in

[00:25:50] these neighborhoods, right? I’m talking

[00:25:52] about the most the poorest neighborhoods

[00:25:54] in in and throughout the the city.

[00:25:57] >> Where is this million dollars supposed

[00:25:58] to just up and come like their own

[00:26:01] wealth? They’re just stacking it in like

[00:26:03] in a mattress like

[00:26:04] >> I know. And it’s really important that

[00:26:06] you say that because

[00:26:09] I just believe,

[00:26:12] >> you know, you can’t it’s hard not to say

[00:26:13] the system wasn’t set up to fail because

[00:26:15] there’s I there’s no way to not know

[00:26:18] that it takes this kind of capital to

[00:26:20] launch a cannabis business and yet a

[00:26:21] bunch of licenses get passed out to

[00:26:23] folks without then the capital tool that

[00:26:25] you need to actually launch that

[00:26:27] business. knowing that I believe that

[00:26:29] you don’t have the personal networks

[00:26:30] that you need. It’s

[00:26:33] I find it shameful um that folks are in

[00:26:36] that position and the state didn’t

[00:26:39] create a real capital pipeline and

[00:26:42] funnel to reach those licences with

[00:26:44] money.

[00:26:45] >> I like that. Shameful.

[00:26:48] Shameful. So, social equity operators

[00:26:50] are raising money without banks,

[00:26:53] >> right?

[00:26:54] >> What does that do to ownership? You

[00:26:56] know, we talked about equity being

[00:26:58] equal, equating to ownership and not the

[00:27:00] license, the actual license itself. Like

[00:27:02] what does that do? Like who are they

[00:27:03] forced to take money from and and how

[00:27:06] does that then shape the business long

[00:27:08] term?

[00:27:08] >> Yeah, I think I think it’s a real mix. I

[00:27:11] think there are folks who find

[00:27:13] themselves um in a corner and end up

[00:27:16] taking money in a way that um

[00:27:19] they you end up in bad deals, if you

[00:27:22] will. So that can happen. But I’m

[00:27:24] encouraged because we meet lences who

[00:27:27] got funded by their childhood best

[00:27:29] friend or you know classmate who made a

[00:27:32] bunch of money in crypto. Like it’s

[00:27:33] amazing.

[00:27:36] Don’t discount your network, your school

[00:27:38] network, your college network. So while

[00:27:41] this could be totally Debbie Downer

[00:27:42] about money. Money is very hard to find.

[00:27:45] And I’m always so bolstered by the the

[00:27:48] folks I meet, the lenses, who go, I

[00:27:52] wouldn’t have thought, but I started

[00:27:53] telling my network that I’m fundraising

[00:27:55] for cannabis and here’s who showed up.

[00:27:57] Here’s who came out of the woodworks and

[00:27:58] said, “Hey, bro, I smoke. I’m

[00:28:00] interested.”

[00:28:00] >> So, don’t discount your network. Um, you

[00:28:03] never know who’s in your network and who

[00:28:05] is secretly ready to invest in your

[00:28:07] cannabis business.

[00:28:09] >> Really small investments. That the

[00:28:10] that’s the other piece that the cannabis

[00:28:13] fundraising journey is can be. so much

[00:28:15] harder because it’s not one or two

[00:28:16] checks, it’s 20 checks

[00:28:18] >> and that is 20 different investors to

[00:28:21] work with and, you know, present to and

[00:28:24] manage contracts with. And so it’s just

[00:28:26] a really you’ve got a lot of emotional

[00:28:28] and and time of your own getting one of

[00:28:31] these businesses launched.

[00:28:32] >> Wow.

[00:28:34] um you know, you’re working with um

[00:28:38] a lot of social equity

[00:28:42] or are I put in quotes historically

[00:28:44] excluded

[00:28:45] >> entrepreneurs every day.

[00:28:48] >> All right. Every day helping them tackle

[00:28:50] the financial challenge or challenges

[00:28:53] which which we know are many. You know,

[00:28:55] we could run down that list all day

[00:28:57] long, but can you talk to us about

[00:29:00] solutions, like not what’s wrong, right?

[00:29:03] >> Because you said, you know, it’s not a

[00:29:05] Debbie Downer. It’s not about Debbie

[00:29:07] Downing. Not at all. I’m not about that

[00:29:08] life. So, like, let’s talk about what

[00:29:10] works. You know, what are what are

[00:29:12] effective models that you’ve seen, you

[00:29:13] know, to help close the capital gap um

[00:29:16] you know, in in in in your work? Mhm.

[00:29:20] >> What I’ll say great about New York is

[00:29:21] the amount of money that was promised

[00:29:23] that was, you know, at least

[00:29:26] spoken to, right? So, at least you could

[00:29:28] have got a a large number to try to hold

[00:29:30] legislators accountable to. And that’s

[00:29:32] fantastic. That’s a great start because

[00:29:34] one of the states states do is they make

[00:29:36] it a little too small. So, the amount of

[00:29:38] money that’s already here to work with

[00:29:40] is great. And then I really believe that

[00:29:42] the solution because if you just take

[00:29:44] New York again, I love the state because

[00:29:46] so much work is being done in social

[00:29:48] equity. State gets a lot of flack, but

[00:29:51] when you’re new and you’re first and

[00:29:52] you’re doing some new stuff that’s never

[00:29:54] been done before, like shit’s not always

[00:29:56] going to go right. Excuse my language.

[00:29:58] >> No, you you shit’s not going to go

[00:30:00] right.

[00:30:01] >> But there’s so much work that’s being

[00:30:02] done. So you’ve got at the state level,

[00:30:05] where I’m going is a loan fund. So when

[00:30:07] you’ve got this much money set aside,

[00:30:09] the next thing you want to do is have a

[00:30:11] low interest or zero interest loan fund.

[00:30:14] And both the state and the city have

[00:30:15] done that. The problem is, in my

[00:30:17] opinion,

[00:30:18] >> they’ve done it and from doing this work

[00:30:20] now, we’ve been doing this work with the

[00:30:22] state of Colorado, with the city of

[00:30:23] Portland. For my opinion, the wrong

[00:30:25] angle is both of those were for-profit

[00:30:27] companies.

[00:30:28] >> One’s publicly traded. These are folks

[00:30:31] with really their primary driver is that

[00:30:34] bottom line. their primary driver is

[00:30:36] making money off these loans. And as a

[00:30:38] nonprofit lender, that’s not our primary

[00:30:40] driver. And we’re not new to nonprofit

[00:30:42] lending. There are lots of nonprofit

[00:30:44] lenders. It is a model that says

[00:30:46] sometimes capital can’t be your number

[00:30:48] one driver. Sometimes the mission is.

[00:30:50] Yeah.

[00:30:50] >> And um this is a mission that helps

[00:30:53] firsttime entrepreneurs, right? First

[00:30:55] time folks who don’t hold wealth get

[00:30:59] from that position to now enough wealth

[00:31:02] to own a business. It’s a jump. Yeah.

[00:31:04] How do we get people there

[00:31:07] takes um a different model around

[00:31:09] lending and a nonprofit lender can do

[00:31:11] that.

[00:31:11] >> So I want to jump really quickly over to

[00:31:13] the other side of equity in terms of

[00:31:15] access to jobs. Okay. And you know in

[00:31:18] essence, you know, uh uh something

[00:31:21] people don’t know, you know, and if we

[00:31:22] could touch on this really quickly,

[00:31:24] cannabis finance,

[00:31:26] >> is that a real thing? Is there jobs in

[00:31:28] there? Like you know, can people

[00:31:30] actually do that? like what jobs

[00:31:32] actually exist in cannabis finance?

[00:31:34] >> Yeah, so we um

[00:31:37] >> and and and what are some of the

[00:31:39] transferable skills? I’m sorry, I’m

[00:31:40] jumping in. I’m like, you know, banking,

[00:31:42] accounting, hustling, you know, right?

[00:31:44] You know, tech, like what what are some

[00:31:46] of those transferable skills? So I think

[00:31:48] thinking about jobs in cannabis broadly

[00:31:51] um you’ve got these like

[00:31:55] areas where it’s unique to cannabis and

[00:31:58] that’s just it’s a unique product to

[00:32:01] bring to market.

[00:32:02] >> So for all those reasons um it’s going

[00:32:05] to require some different skills and

[00:32:07] right now with finance and accounting

[00:32:08] because of 280 it’s very different. So

[00:32:11] you’re if you were in a controller or a

[00:32:13] bookkeeper or accountant and you would

[00:32:15] like to do it that within the cannabis

[00:32:17] industry, you really have to go back to

[00:32:19] school as our head accountant says, our

[00:32:21] head of finance, our VP who has been

[00:32:24] doing this for many years for many

[00:32:25] companies should go back to school and

[00:32:27] relearn accounting because the rules are

[00:32:29] so unique thanks to 280.

[00:32:31] >> Okay,

[00:32:32] >> after 280 that really won’t be the case

[00:32:34] anymore after like could are we going to

[00:32:36] get rescheduling or not get

[00:32:37] rescheduling? But let’s say that happens

[00:32:39] then finance and accounting might feel

[00:32:42] somewhat similar to other industries.

[00:32:46] The cash part of its assumption will be

[00:32:48] that after rescheduling banks might come

[00:32:51] online and so then you don’t have to

[00:32:52] deal in in cash. That’s a unique part

[00:32:54] for cannabis where accountant needs to

[00:32:57] be up on it. So the short answer is yes.

[00:32:59] Because of the uniqueness based on the

[00:33:01] federal illegalities you have to have a

[00:33:03] certain set of skills as a finance and

[00:33:05] accountant in cannabis.

[00:33:06] So just like to be clear like what I’m

[00:33:08] hearing is it’s it you’ve got to have

[00:33:10] the capital. It’s a combination. The

[00:33:12] solution is a combination of capital and

[00:33:14] capacity, right? The skills you you know

[00:33:17] all of those things that you’re kind of

[00:33:18] wrapping into one thing. And new project

[00:33:20] is not just writing checks, but building

[00:33:22] capacity in black and brown

[00:33:24] entrepreneurs and as they kind of go

[00:33:26] forward.

[00:33:27] >> Can I say something about capacity?

[00:33:28] because we talked about jobs in cannabis

[00:33:30] and finance and accounting and what I

[00:33:32] would say about capacity for

[00:33:34] entrepreneurs is I have learned and we

[00:33:37] are learning

[00:33:39] >> um how important it is to have technical

[00:33:41] assistance around finance and accounting

[00:33:43] for CEOs

[00:33:45] >> um and that’s going to be industry

[00:33:47] agnostic this is going to be true from

[00:33:49] cannabis to anything else when that is

[00:33:53] >> um you came to make cookies you came to

[00:33:55] grow weed you came to you know build

[00:33:58] tech stack acts, but finance and

[00:33:59] accounting and running a business with a

[00:34:01] finance mindset is something all

[00:34:04] entrepreneurs have to be trained on. And

[00:34:05] the value to your business is is

[00:34:09] massive. So, we’ve really gotten in this

[00:34:11] place where our only technical

[00:34:13] assistance is around that CEO level um

[00:34:15] financial um rigor.

[00:34:19] You know, Janette, I I I have so many

[00:34:21] other questions I want to, you know,

[00:34:23] kind of jump into and and what that

[00:34:25] means to me is that this is a rich

[00:34:27] conversation that we will have to

[00:34:29] continue and we’ll have to have you

[00:34:30] back. Okay?

[00:34:31] >> You know, so the phone will be ringing.

[00:34:33] Okay?

[00:34:34] >> Right? You’re probably already ringing

[00:34:36] and we’re going to continue this

[00:34:37] conversation and bring you back. Um to

[00:34:39] this have continue this conversation is

[00:34:41] such a very very very important

[00:34:43] conversation and I think for some folks

[00:34:44] it’s the first time they’re actually

[00:34:46] hearing it, you know. Um, I heard a lot

[00:34:49] today and you know, um, I’ve been saying

[00:34:51] this for for quite some time. Equity is

[00:34:54] a strategy. Um, ownership, access to

[00:34:58] capital, and access to jobs and

[00:35:00] opportunity are all part of the same

[00:35:01] ecosystem. Today’s conversation started

[00:35:04] with a simple question. Where’s the

[00:35:06] money? We know it’s all about power and

[00:35:09] access. And the answer is really

[00:35:12] complicated. You know, real talk, equity

[00:35:14] isn’t a license. Equity is ownership.

[00:35:16] And ownership requires access to

[00:35:18] capital.

[00:35:19] >> Equity is built when we fund black and

[00:35:21] brown entrepreneurs, train a workforce,

[00:35:24] and prepare a community, you know, for

[00:35:26] careers that shape this industry. I want

[00:35:29] to thank you so much for for for being

[00:35:32] here with us, and we can’t wait to have

[00:35:35] you back again.

[00:35:35] >> Great. I’d love I can’t wait to be back

[00:35:37] either.

[00:35:37] >> All right. Well, we’ll be right back

[00:35:39] with more Cannabis in the City.

[00:35:55] Community partnerships is a gathering of

[00:35:57] like-minded people who are interested in

[00:36:02] maintaining the legacy of their

[00:36:06] ancestors through arts and culture and

[00:36:09] having conversations on a monthly basis

[00:36:13] what what I call art practitioners is

[00:36:15] just something that I’m wedded to. And

[00:36:18] again, Harlem Arts Alliance is the

[00:36:21] vehicle that we use to do that work.

[00:36:23] >> Community partnerships are essential, I

[00:36:25] believe, for building long-term

[00:36:27] relationships and understanding of the

[00:36:29] community and the art. I think that that

[00:36:32] is the core of how we can really sustain

[00:36:35] the presence of black and brown artists

[00:36:38] by being engaged consistently and

[00:36:41] joyfully. Community partnership is all

[00:36:43] about creating legacy. Community

[00:36:46] partnerships mean to me stronger

[00:36:48] communities. Community partnerships mean

[00:36:51] um strength. The partnership is

[00:36:54] connection.

[00:36:55] >> Fostering a connection to be able to

[00:36:58] reach out to run an idea by a friend who

[00:37:02] can then connect you to others.

[00:37:04] >> Community partnerships mean a lot. It

[00:37:07] means collaboration.

[00:37:09] means connecting with one another to

[00:37:12] create something bigger than themselves.

[00:37:14] >> One word that describes how I feel when

[00:37:16] I leave these meetings.

[00:37:18] >> Empowered.

[00:37:19] >> Inspiration.

[00:37:20] >> Inspired.

[00:37:21] >> Renewed.

[00:37:22] >> Inspired.

[00:37:24] >> Inspired.

[00:37:46] Yeah, I ain’t ashamed of it. I slept in

[00:37:50] staircases,

[00:37:52] abandoned cars, even my girlfriend’s

[00:37:55] closet.

[00:37:56] See, for me, life was rough in the 90s.

[00:38:00] No education, very little skills.

[00:38:04] I remember thinking to myself, I wish I

[00:38:07] had somebody in my corner. I wish I had

[00:38:09] somebody that was willing to help me.

[00:38:11] See, I would see other people smiling

[00:38:13] and, you know, enjoying life. And I

[00:38:15] would ask myself, when would my turn

[00:38:18] come? When will I get a chance to smile

[00:38:20] at life?

[00:38:24] While I was in federal prison, I made a

[00:38:27] commitment. I said, I will become the

[00:38:30] person that I wish I had in my life when

[00:38:32] my life was hell. I will be that brother

[00:38:35] that be there for his people by any

[00:38:38] means.

[00:38:39] And since my release, that’s who I’ve

[00:38:42] become.

[00:38:44] See, this platform, all of this, it’s

[00:38:47] for the people. It’s a space where we

[00:38:50] can publicly discuss those issues we

[00:38:53] quietly talk about behind closed doors.

[00:38:56] And by doing this, we may empower others

[00:38:59] to discuss those things that they too

[00:39:01] have been holding behind closed doors.

[00:39:05] At the unknown factor, we empower our

[00:39:08] people by giving them a microphone to be

[00:39:11] heard and a platform to be seen. So take

[00:39:14] a listen on all podcast platforms and

[00:39:18] subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow

[00:39:21] us on social media. That’s Facebook and

[00:39:23] Instagram at X the Unknown Factor.

[00:39:32] Hi, this is Prof, Professor Terren

[00:39:34] Coffee. Y’all see I’m just getting here

[00:39:36] in the studio, but I got to tell y’all,

[00:39:38] I’m so excited to be here. And as y’all

[00:39:40] know, this is the Coner Boys, the uh the

[00:39:43] segment of uh this show that focuses on

[00:39:45] the empowerment, engagement, and

[00:39:48] upliftment of those of us who have been

[00:39:50] impacted by the criminal legal system

[00:39:53] and anti-cannabis enforcement. And

[00:39:55] today, you take it how you want. I got

[00:39:57] my main man, my my partner, my my dude,

[00:40:00] the one from from what he said from from

[00:40:03] the dirt, uh, Keith G. Welcome to the

[00:40:05] show. Day one. Day one.

[00:40:08] >> Listen, man. I want to thank you so much

[00:40:09] for being here on, you know, on the show

[00:40:11] with us today. Um, I want to say to you

[00:40:15] now I’m so impressed by the work that

[00:40:16] you have done and the work that you

[00:40:18] continue to do on empowering impacting

[00:40:21] other individuals on the show X Factor

[00:40:23] since you know you got to have me on the

[00:40:25] show because you know I love that as you

[00:40:27] already know I know on that next

[00:40:29] episode.

[00:40:29] >> Um,

[00:40:30] >> and we’re super excited that you have

[00:40:32] taken the time to come here and share

[00:40:34] with us your work. Um, and just to kind

[00:40:37] of give a bit of background for our uh

[00:40:39] our audience, um, you’re a graduate of

[00:40:41] CJI, Cannabis Justice Equity, 16week

[00:40:44] program. You went on to graduate

[00:40:47] program, uh, land a role with inside the

[00:40:50] cannabis industry, uh, rose to the ranks

[00:40:53] of general manager, and you’re doing a

[00:40:55] whole lot of other stuff in your way of

[00:40:57] giving back, the founding, and the

[00:40:58] creation of the X Factor show. Uh but I

[00:41:01] think that in having this conversation

[00:41:03] and as we speak to the community, one of

[00:41:05] the things I you know when we talk about

[00:41:08] uh returning citizens, um I I do want to

[00:41:11] ask when you think about that transition

[00:41:12] for other individuals from your own

[00:41:14] life, what were some of those barriers

[00:41:17] um that you were facing when trying to

[00:41:19] reenter the workforce and how did those

[00:41:22] those challenges uh shape your approach

[00:41:25] uh to the opportunities within the

[00:41:27] cannabis industry? Bear is wow. So doing

[00:41:32] 16 years in federal prison, it took me

[00:41:34] out of the workforce. Um right before

[00:41:37] going into prison, I was doing home

[00:41:39] remodeling and construction.

[00:41:41] >> So those 16 years kind of took me out of

[00:41:43] the loop of the current laws, the

[00:41:44] current codes.

[00:41:46] >> So when I came home, I I did not have

[00:41:48] the skill set to make myself marketable.

[00:41:52] So what CJI did though they they helped

[00:41:54] me by by putting me into the career by

[00:41:57] giving me a career and by helping me

[00:41:59] understand the language of the of the

[00:42:01] field you know so the biggest barrier

[00:42:03] was I did not have the the skill set I

[00:42:05] did not have the workforce anymore you

[00:42:07] know

[00:42:07] >> well you know I have to say something

[00:42:09] because you know uh J one of the things

[00:42:11] we talked about with J and I always get

[00:42:13] you know I think that this is that part

[00:42:15] where I’ve learned to push back where

[00:42:17] when we talk about your lived experience

[00:42:19] I know you move uh we back in the day. I

[00:42:22] know you was one of them boys back.

[00:42:25] Uh and we talk about that skill set that

[00:42:28] we develop over a period of time. And

[00:42:30] one of the things we talk about are

[00:42:31] those transferable skills um that you

[00:42:34] know we did in the streets but then you

[00:42:37] come into a space of this legalization

[00:42:40] uh in in in this. So as as a graduate of

[00:42:43] CJI, uh what specific knowledge um or

[00:42:48] confidence did that program or the

[00:42:50] program itself give you uh that help you

[00:42:53] to move from a participant to an

[00:42:55] advocate to a general manager?

[00:42:57] >> That’s real real.

[00:42:58] >> Right. Right. Well, I kind of touched on

[00:42:59] it before like so every industry, right,

[00:43:01] has it has its language, right? Even

[00:43:03] even on the corner, right? You know, we

[00:43:05] we moving them packs, we got them

[00:43:06] things, you know what I’m saying? Five,

[00:43:08] that’s the corner language, right? Um,

[00:43:10] if I was to say mufflers and and spark

[00:43:12] plugs, you know, you know, I’m talking

[00:43:13] about mechanics. So, cannabis has its

[00:43:15] own language. You know, when you start

[00:43:17] talking about cannabono noise and

[00:43:18] turpins and things of that nature. So,

[00:43:20] CJI helped me with the language. And

[00:43:23] when I took the language, with some of

[00:43:25] my organizational skills, some of my

[00:43:26] leadership skills and put that in a

[00:43:28] package that gave me the confidence to

[00:43:29] step into these arenas, right? To be

[00:43:31] able to step with some of these people

[00:43:32] that already was familiar with it,

[00:43:34] right? So it was the language helped me

[00:43:36] break that barrier to know what

[00:43:38] cannibaloids are to know you know when

[00:43:40] I’m talking about the POS systems and

[00:43:42] you know how to use Dutch and and track

[00:43:43] and trace and seed the sale and all of

[00:43:45] this all of this that’s unique to the

[00:43:47] industry you know that’s what CGI

[00:43:49] brought it brought that language to help

[00:43:51] you move confidently into the

[00:43:52] >> into those spaces where we having those

[00:43:54] conversations

[00:43:55] >> because now you know what everyone else

[00:43:56] is talking about you know and if if I

[00:43:58] was to go to a dentist’s office and I

[00:44:00] start talking about uh you know moving

[00:44:02] his appendix you know they’re going to

[00:44:03] look at me crazy like this is like you

[00:44:05] don’t come from what conversation you

[00:44:10] >> like cat come on the blog and he said

[00:44:11] something we looking like boy that

[00:44:13] language don’t even sound right

[00:44:14] >> and it’s like no matter what you did on

[00:44:16] the corner right the corner has its own

[00:44:18] language but the business has its own

[00:44:19] language and you need to be able to

[00:44:21] translate the corner language to the

[00:44:23] business language right we don’t move

[00:44:25] packs anymore we move units now you know

[00:44:27] what I mean it’s it’s a difference you

[00:44:29] know it’s a difference

[00:44:30] >> I’m on the boy you on that Jay-Z thing I

[00:44:32] know Jal in this studio somewhere Well,

[00:44:34] you know, that’s that Jay-Z language.

[00:44:36] Uh, and one of the other things that I I

[00:44:38] really want to kind of focus in on, uh,

[00:44:40] the cannabis industry is often it talks

[00:44:43] about, um, a space for second chances.

[00:44:48] Um, from your own lived experience, um,

[00:44:52] where do you see that promise really

[00:44:54] landing and where does the the industry

[00:44:57] still need, uh, to do better? um not

[00:45:00] only and this is one of the things not

[00:45:02] only for returning citizens but also for

[00:45:05] impacted community that caught the brunt

[00:45:07] of anti-cannabis enforcement during the

[00:45:10] height of that uh here.

[00:45:12] >> Well, I’m going to tell you the

[00:45:13] beautiful part is that in the cannabis

[00:45:16] industry and I I’m hope I say this

[00:45:19] correctly, they will hire anybody.

[00:45:21] >> You know, it doesn’t matter if you’ve

[00:45:23] been to prison, doesn’t matter if you

[00:45:24] got tattoos all over your body, it

[00:45:26] doesn’t matter, right? um as long as you

[00:45:28] have some type of people skills, some

[00:45:30] type of marketable skills, you will get

[00:45:32] hired. So that is very basic. The issue

[00:45:35] is when it comes to and I and you talked

[00:45:38] about it earlier in your show, the

[00:45:40] influence when it comes to that table,

[00:45:41] when it comes to making these laws, when

[00:45:43] it comes to making these policies, when

[00:45:44] it comes to managing this money, you

[00:45:46] know, the reinvestment fund, these are

[00:45:48] the places where the corner boys need to

[00:45:50] be sitting at the table, where those

[00:45:52] impacted by the justice system really

[00:45:53] need to be sitting at the table so we

[00:45:55] can have a say in what happens to these

[00:45:56] things like the funding and the laws.

[00:45:59] Um, that’s where that’s where you really

[00:46:00] will see a difference at, you know, when

[00:46:02] someone like me who who did, you know,

[00:46:04] 16 years in prison or even someone like

[00:46:06] yourself who’s moving up, let me see you

[00:46:08] sitting at the legislating table, you

[00:46:10] know, and then it’s really going to get

[00:46:12] good, you know, let’s let’s get us at

[00:46:13] those tables.

[00:46:14] >> It really gets gravy. Um, one of my

[00:46:17] mentors when I first came home myself

[00:46:19] after 19 years, uh, Glenn Martin said

[00:46:21] that those closest to the problem are

[00:46:23] also those closest to the solution. And

[00:46:27] I think that we bring a lived experience

[00:46:28] from um our communities that we

[00:46:31] understand and best know uh what our

[00:46:33] communities would need and to be able to

[00:46:36] provide voices uh to uh our communities

[00:46:39] in those spaces and shaping policy, how

[00:46:42] funding is uh dispersed, how these

[00:46:44] programs are being uh set in our uh

[00:46:48] community. Uh and now that you’re and

[00:46:50] let me say this, now that you’re in

[00:46:51] these lead this leadership role, uh do

[00:46:54] you think differently about hiring uh

[00:46:56] mentorship or creating uh a workspace

[00:46:59] culture for justice impacted community

[00:47:03] for the just impacted community or those

[00:47:05] who have been impacted by anti-cannabis

[00:47:07] enforcement?

[00:47:08] >> I I definitely do. So prior to my

[00:47:10] experience as general manager, I was

[00:47:12] program coordinator teaching people how

[00:47:14] to get it and maintain a job. Now that I

[00:47:17] was the one actually they were

[00:47:19] maintaining the job when I see the

[00:47:21] importance of standards.

[00:47:23] >> I see the importance of uh uh standard

[00:47:26] operating procedures setting structure.

[00:47:28] A lot of us that are coming from prisons

[00:47:30] are used to structure are used to time

[00:47:32] management are used to things set in a

[00:47:34] certain way. When you give someone free

[00:47:36] range sometimes and they come from a

[00:47:38] structured environment it’s like a

[00:47:40] haywire. They don’t know what to do.

[00:47:42] >> So now I I lead from understanding. So

[00:47:45] I’m listening to what they need. I’m

[00:47:46] listening to where they’re trying to go.

[00:47:48] I’m taking a coach approach. I’m trying

[00:47:49] to help them get there, but I’m also

[00:47:51] making sure that I set that structure so

[00:47:53] they can move, you know, from one space

[00:47:55] to the next with a clear path.

[00:47:58] >> And with that said, um, as you know,

[00:48:01] that this industry is set to create 60

[00:48:04] to 80,000 jobs right here in New York

[00:48:06] State. Uh, we know it’s going to, you

[00:48:08] know, right now I think we just, uh,

[00:48:11] broke$2 billion dollars in sales. So

[00:48:14] when you you when looking ahead

[00:48:16] >> from your experience, from the work that

[00:48:18] you’re doing, you and I know that you

[00:48:19] will uh continue to do uh what does real

[00:48:23] cannabis justice look like uh not just

[00:48:26] in jobs, but when we talk about

[00:48:28] ownership, decision making power, uh

[00:48:31] long-term stability, uh for communities

[00:48:34] adversely impacted and returning

[00:48:36] citizens.

[00:48:36] >> Well, that brings me back to what I said

[00:48:38] before, uh Terrence. We we really need

[00:48:41] to be in those legislative places. We

[00:48:43] really need to be in those places that

[00:48:44] are making the laws. We need to be in

[00:48:46] those places that are making the

[00:48:47] policies. We need to be in those places

[00:48:48] that are deciding where that money is

[00:48:50] distributed at is distributed to what

[00:48:53] communities.

[00:48:53] >> That’s through the community

[00:48:54] reinvestment fund making that.

[00:48:56] >> Yeah, we have to do that because if if

[00:48:59] not, there’s a chance that that money

[00:49:01] will come in and then it’ll go to

[00:49:02] communities that’s not even affected,

[00:49:04] right? So, we need to be at those

[00:49:06] tables. We need to be at those tables.

[00:49:08] Don’t just think dispensary. Get

[00:49:09] involved in the politics of cannabis,

[00:49:11] right? Get get involved in the in the

[00:49:13] OCM, you know.

[00:49:14] >> Yeah. I was recently at the uh

[00:49:18] an event hosted by the Cannabis

[00:49:20] Reinvestment Fund. They’re they’re in

[00:49:22] Harlem and they brought together a host

[00:49:24] of community uh organizations that are

[00:49:27] working in this space. And I was real

[00:49:29] excited to see that that that engagement

[00:49:32] from our communities. But like you said,

[00:49:34] as we kind of move forward, I think that

[00:49:36] having individuals uh in those rooms, on

[00:49:40] those various in those agencies, and on

[00:49:42] those boards going to be critical to the

[00:49:44] success of our organization, uh this

[00:49:47] movement and the work that we’re doing

[00:49:49] here. Uh my brother, like always, um

[00:49:52] y’all know that our dire our executive

[00:49:55] director and producer on set, you know,

[00:49:57] is telling us like she don’t know we con

[00:50:00] boy, but I think she a con girl. She

[00:50:01] thinks she got a little thug in her.

[00:50:03] Right.

[00:50:04] >> The last thing I want to say is this. If

[00:50:06] you’re a dispensary, if you’re in the

[00:50:07] cannabis industry, get with an

[00:50:09] organization like CJI. If you want to

[00:50:11] know how to have an impact in helping

[00:50:14] these justice impacted individuals, get

[00:50:16] with them. You don’t have to know how to

[00:50:17] figure it out. You don’t have to do it

[00:50:18] by yourself. They have the pathway. They

[00:50:20] know how to do it. Get with

[00:50:22] organizations like that, man.

[00:50:23] >> Yo, my name is Professor Terren Cy, my

[00:50:25] my main man Keith Gaffne. Uh, this is

[00:50:28] the Coner Boys. You are now looking at

[00:50:30] cannabis in the city. Thank you for

[00:50:32] joining us and we’ll see you on the next

[00:50:33] round on the next corner on the next

[00:50:34] block somewhere. You know what I’m about

[00:50:36] to do.

[00:50:55] One of our honores today is the

[00:50:57] beautiful, glamorous. You already know

[00:50:59] her. So, what do judges look like?

[00:51:16] >> And then you’re coming to New York.

[00:51:17] >> Yes.

[00:51:19] >> Next year. I’m coming to the US.

[00:51:21] >> Okay. The Bronx native is in the

[00:51:24] building.

[00:51:24] >> We are out here. Thank you so much.

[00:51:32] >> Getting on the bus alone scared me.

[00:51:34] >> Okay.

[00:51:35] >> Because I have an underlying health

[00:51:36] issue.

[00:51:37] >> Have you guys been open the whole 7

[00:51:39] months? Did you have to close?

[00:51:40] >> We went through a lot, but we had to

[00:51:42] follow the procedure.

[00:51:59] some R&B, some some more Latin flavor.

[00:52:05] >> And I I couldn’t have done it without my

[00:52:07] start here at Bronx Net.

[00:52:08] >> We’re so proud of you. Thank you for

[00:52:09] what you do, Miss Kitty Rose.

[00:52:17] Great. Um, thank you for for what you’ve

[00:52:19] done tonight and your professionalism

[00:52:21] and the way you engage the audience. I

[00:52:24] can’t wait to see the footage

[00:52:32] >> news updates.

[00:52:40] >> Nice to meet you.

[00:52:42] Hi, this is Professor Terren Coffee and

[00:52:45] this is Cannabis in the City and this is

[00:52:47] Community News. Um, our commitment to

[00:52:50] ensure that we’re keeping you updated

[00:52:51] and informed of all the latest news

[00:52:53] that’s happening right here in New York

[00:52:55] City and New York State that’s cannabis

[00:52:58] related, my man.

[00:53:00] >> Yeah. So, we had a a pretty amazing show

[00:53:03] today. I mean, you know, you’ve been out

[00:53:05] in the streets, you know, um, you did

[00:53:07] some pretty amazing work over in

[00:53:09] Madawana.

[00:53:10] >> I got my shoes. Did you see my shoes?

[00:53:12] Can the camera see my shoes?

[00:53:13] >> So, now we talking about your shoes.

[00:53:14] Yeah, we talk about your shoes.

[00:53:15] >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. I I got these from the

[00:53:16] model.

[00:53:18] >> So, folks at home that are listening and

[00:53:20] watching, please comment on his shoes. I

[00:53:23] want some feedback on these shoes. What

[00:53:25] do y’all think of these like cannabis

[00:53:27] leaf shoes that can wrote these?

[00:53:29] >> Oh, this is they created. So, outside of

[00:53:32] when we talk about supporting, so I went

[00:53:34] there. We had a tremendous event, the

[00:53:36] healing and bloom uh event where we

[00:53:39] brought together uh the owner uh Leanne

[00:53:42] Mada uh queer essentialism and Sean

[00:53:46] Frell’s there for the justice lab having

[00:53:48] a very in-depth conversation around the

[00:53:50] impact of this work in our communities

[00:53:52] and Jamila was truly amazing. uh just

[00:53:55] for a uh idea that I you know we’re

[00:53:58] hoping to actually hope shoot our next

[00:54:01] uh segment there sometime in the near

[00:54:04] future. But it was amazing to be able to

[00:54:05] support uh that dispensary and seeing

[00:54:08] the way that dispensary supports the

[00:54:10] community. So it was super powerful,

[00:54:12] man.

[00:54:12] >> Wow. I really enjoyed it.

[00:54:13] >> Well, I’m glad that you were there to

[00:54:15] represent, you know, um I was uh hemmed

[00:54:18] up, you know, but I’m I’m all good and

[00:54:21] we should jump into some community news.

[00:54:23] So, what’s going on in the community,

[00:54:25] man?

[00:54:25] >> Well, I think that the first thing I

[00:54:26] want to kind of put out there, uh, uh,

[00:54:29] Sunni is hosting his annual cannabis

[00:54:31] conference. Uh, this fourth annual

[00:54:34] conference, to be honest with you, uh,

[00:54:35] it’s going to take place over two days

[00:54:37] and that’s going to be in Niagara Falls.

[00:54:39] And if I’m not mistaken, that’s going to

[00:54:41] be on January 12th and January 13th,

[00:54:45] 2026. So, uh, if you’re listening, put

[00:54:48] this on your talent calendar, get it

[00:54:50] there, uh, and get out there and learn

[00:54:52] some more. Wow, that sounds great. I’m

[00:54:53] gonna have to see if I can get up to

[00:54:55] >> where is that? 912. So that’s deep.

[00:54:58] That’s deep in New York. Um Manhattan

[00:55:00] Community Board, uh their cannabis task

[00:55:02] force. Uh they will be um uh this is the

[00:55:06] task force for community board number

[00:55:08] four in Manhattan. They’re going to be

[00:55:10] holding a meeting January 15th. Uh and

[00:55:14] uh that’s from 6:30 to 900 p.m. and the

[00:55:16] meeting details can be found on the

[00:55:19] community board Manhattan uh website. So

[00:55:22] you can just go there and get all that

[00:55:24] details. But some good stuff going on

[00:55:25] with that.

[00:55:26] >> And also coming up uh cannabis and uh

[00:55:29] cannabis NYC program event uh will be

[00:55:33] hosting a chin test chin test for

[00:55:36] cannabis NYC program. Um, that’s

[00:55:39] scheduled for January the 17th, uh,

[00:55:42] 2026. Uh, I think that’s going to be

[00:55:44] from 10:00 a.m. to 12 PM. Uh, tickets

[00:55:47] are available even bright. You can go on

[00:55:50] learn more about that and what’s

[00:55:51] happening on that thing. And I think

[00:55:52] something happening with High Times,

[00:55:54] right?

[00:55:54] >> Yeah. Um, I don’t know if y’all know

[00:55:56] anything about the Cannabis Cup Awards,

[00:55:59] but High Times will be hosting and

[00:56:01] having their Cannabis Cup New York

[00:56:03] Awards um here in the city on Saturday,

[00:56:07] January 24th. And so, you know, really

[00:56:10] just plug in and uh and and and show up.

[00:56:13] There’s going to be good flour there.

[00:56:14] You know, I’m not a smoker of flour, but

[00:56:17] you know, I’ll I’ll do my edibles. I’ll

[00:56:19] do my my vapes. There will be no vape

[00:56:21] action for me. But for those that love

[00:56:23] flour the the traditional way, then go

[00:56:25] ahead and just do that.

[00:56:26] >> I I think that’s I want to actually

[00:56:28] attend that just for the experience of a

[00:56:30] cup. So I’m I’m really looking forward

[00:56:33] to that.

[00:56:34] >> Um I’m glad to know we’re back here in

[00:56:36] the studios. I do want to take the

[00:56:37] opportunity to say happy new year’s to

[00:56:39] everyone at holidays. You guys will

[00:56:41] probably just be seeing this in January,

[00:56:42] but we do want to wish you guys uh a

[00:56:45] happy new year and we ask you to join us

[00:56:46] next year as we continue uh to do this

[00:56:50] work. Um and you know, our mission just

[00:56:54] so that we can underscore that in this

[00:56:55] work that we are doing and we’re so

[00:56:57] blessed to do really is to shift the

[00:56:59] narrative around cannabis and the black

[00:57:02] community, right? And we bring you in to

[00:57:05] this conversation that you have not been

[00:57:07] a part of for such a long period of

[00:57:09] time. And we invite you, we really do

[00:57:11] invite you to support this work. Go to

[00:57:14] our website the cji.org.

[00:57:17] Subscribe to our YouTube and our all of

[00:57:19] our podcast platforms. Subscribe, you

[00:57:22] know, donate at you can find that on the

[00:57:24] website. Whatever you can give, please,

[00:57:27] you know, that that just helps us as we

[00:57:29] kind of continue to do this work. Um,

[00:57:32] follow us on all the social media

[00:57:35] handles, all the social media platforms.

[00:57:37] And you know, I really gota I gotta I

[00:57:39] gotta underscore this piece. This is a

[00:57:42] movement. A movement, not a not a

[00:57:44] moment. And so it requires you to to to

[00:57:47] come in and get involved. Join us.

[00:57:51] Participate. Shout us back. Give us some

[00:57:53] feedback on these shoes.

[00:57:54] >> Share this with your community’s friends

[00:57:56] and those that you know are in this

[00:57:58] space.

[00:57:58] >> Tell a friend to tell a friend.

[00:58:00] >> To tell a friend, right? You know,

[00:58:01] everybody knows somebody that knows

[00:58:02] somebody that knows something. Yeah.

[00:58:04] Absolutely. And before we run out of

[00:58:07] here, I really do want to thank the the

[00:58:09] travel agency, you know, for for all

[00:58:11] their support. We are rewriting the

[00:58:13] story of justice one voice at a time.

[00:58:15] So, let’s spark the conversation.

[00:58:17] >> Conversation. See you next time.

[00:58:19] >> Peace.

[00:58:24] >> Through hallways and alleys, dark days,

[00:58:26] I carry sharp pains and bellies. All

[00:58:28] days be heavy when you’re programmed to

[00:58:30] survive. Legendary ciphers get the MC’s

[00:58:33] and the jobs. The city never sleeps.

[00:58:36] Slept for 1 to five when CO hit the

[00:58:38] block and we had to stay inside. Tough

[00:58:40] love is all I know. So be gentle with my

[00:58:42] soul. Learn to navigate winters with no

[00:58:45] coke. If you never been cold, never been

[00:58:48] broke. Hustle 247 just to stay afloat.

[00:58:51] So New York like dollar pizza in that

[00:58:54] cold [ __ ] That real life from the heart

[00:58:57] of the city is as hard as it gets. New

[00:59:00] York.