One year after legalization, has California's cannabis business been booming as people hoped or is it a bust? What are the challenges of doing business in an industry that had a thriving black market, but is now highly regulated?
Host Grace Won and a panel of guests delve into the issues confronting California's newly legal marijuana business. How do you pay your taxes when you are not allowed to use a bank? Are the communities most affected by the criminalization of marijuana participating in this green gold rush or are they being left behind?
Guests:
Alphonso T. Blunt, Jr.: Principal in Blunts + Moore, a retail cannabis shop in Oakland, and one of the first recipients of a cannabis equity permit from the City of Oakland. A lifetime Oakland resident and Castlemont High School graduate, Alphonso has worked for Alameda County for 13 years.
Eugene Hillsman: Acting Director, San Francisco's Office of Cannabis. Eugene previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of Cannabis. He completed his doctoral work at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and his dissertation examines American marijuana policy, looking at the impact of the War on Drugs on disadvantaged communities.
Brittany Moore: Principal in Blunts + Moore. She has several years of operational experience as the general manager of cannabis dispensaries in Colorado and California and she is a member of several community organizations that work to create participation and economic empowerment for cannabis businesses, including the Hood Incubator, Minority Cannabis Business Association, NORML, and Women Grow.
Lindsay Robinson: Executive Director, California Cannabis Industry Association. Prior to becoming the executive director of CCIA, Lindsay was the director of development for the Marijuana Policy Project, which was responsible for passing adult use ballot initiatives in Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine in 2016 while playing a supporting role in California with Prop 64.
