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AN APPLE A DAY…

June 5, 2017 by Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Summer is finally upon us! When the sun is shining and the rivers are flowing, nothing beats the refreshment of a cool drink. Personally, I don’t like being dragged down by a beer or soda when I’m out hiking or hanging with friends, and Happy Apple has introduced a crisp, buzzy alternative. I love a grin-causing buzz floating through my body, and the delightful brightness of the apple juice and crisp carbonation tops off the senses.

Focusing on all natural ingredients, Happy Apple has sourced the best apples from none other than Washington state. Their proprietary methods perfectly infuse your Happy Apple with cannabis, so no drink is more potent than the last, and the 10mg serving is perfect for being out and social. I’ll definitely be packing a few on my next camping trip!

The post AN APPLE A DAY… appeared first on Dope Magazine.

AN APPLE A DAY…
Source: Dope Magazine

City of Detroit Cracking Down on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

June 5, 2017 by Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Under a new medical marijuana ordinance that took effect a little over a year ago, the vast majority of medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the city of Detroit have been deemed illegal by authorities. In that time some 167 dispensaries have been forced to close their doors, their patients forced to look elsewhere for their medicine.

In total, 283 dispensaries have been told to cease operations since they were not legally licensed under city rules. “None of them were operating lawfully,” Detroit corporation counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell said. “At the time I sent a letter to each one of them indicating that unless you have a fully licensed facility, you are operating at your own risk.”

The coming weeks will see another 51 closures; as of right now, only 5 are legally licensed to operate. Five dispensaries in a city with over 4 million people in its metro area, in a state with almost 250,000 registered patients.

“The voters of the state made medical marijuana legal so we have to manage that in a way that is consistent with keeping our neighborhoods respected and at the same time, allowing for those dispensaries to operate in their specific areas that we’ve identified as being lawful,” Hollowell said. “There was very significant public input in this process.”

While local control and input is a good thing, there is also the suffering of thousands of medical marijuana patients in Detroit, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden cities in the nation, to consider.

For example, under the new rules, dispensaries are barred from operating within a 1,000-foot radius of a church, school, park, liquor store, another dispensary, library or child care center. Can’t that list be pared-down? Why 1,000 feet from a liquor store or another dispensary? What danger exists at 900 feet that doesn’t exist at 1,100 feet in that situation? And this at a time when the Michigan Liquor Control Commission recently lifted a regulation that state liquor stores have to be at least a half-mile from each other.

One can see why a neighborhood would want sensible requirements for any business that operates near their location. But why is medical cannabis singled out for harsher treatment than other industries, like the alcohol sales industry? Where are the people who depend on those closed dispensaries supposed to go?

Some, to be sure, will go to the handful of legal dispensaries left in the city. But most will end up buying from the black market or even worse, going without their medicine completely. Some of those people will migrate back to addictive and deadly prescription drugs.

But I guess as long as Johnny’s Liquor Store isn’t 700 feet from Bob’s Medical Marijuana Dispensary then all is right with the world.

City of Detroit Cracking Down on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Source: Marijuana Times

END 4/20 SHAME: THE HOOD INCUBATOR:

June 5, 2017 by Staff Writer Leave a Comment

The legal marijuana industry is booming. In 2016, it was worth an estimated $7.2 billion dollars and, according to a new report from New Frontier Data, it’s projected to grow at an annual compound rate of 17 percent, which makes it one of the fastest growing industries in America. That’s great news for anyone invested in the cannabis sphere, but there’s just one problem: there’s a huge disparity when it comes to who has entry into the industry.

Cannabis and Race

The war on drugs was created based on racial bias. While marijuana use is roughly equal among blacks and whites, the ACLU reveals that Black Americans are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. And when it comes to ownership in the cannabis industry, the race divide is even greater.

According to an NPR interview with Amanda Chicago Lewis—who investigated the effect of the war on drugs on black entrepreneurship—black people own only 1 percent of dispensaries. It’s a big issue, one that Ebele Ifedigbo and Lanese Martin, Co-Founders and Co-Directors of The Hood Incubator, know intimately.

“We [black people] are the ones going to jail for all of this, but when there’s an opportunity to make money and to build a prosperous legacy for our families, we’re shut out of that opportunity,” said Ebele.

“In fact, data sets coming in from the Colorado Health Department and arrest reports have shown that cannabis legalization has caused the disparity for black people to increase,” said Lanese. “So we know that legalization has zero effect on addressing racism.”

And that’s why organizations like The Hood Incubator exist.

“We’re working to make sure that there is equity in the cannabis industry, and that the people who have been most negatively impacted by the war on drugs and racist drug laws have the opportunity to get the same benefits as everyone else,” said Ebele. “It doesn’t make sense that we [black people] have been arrested all this time, and we’re still getting arrested more, even when cannabis is legal. The Hood Incubator is here to make sure equity is implemented.”

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“It doesn’t make sense that we [black people] have been arrested all this time and we’re still getting arrested more, even when cannabis is legal. The Hood Incubator is here to make sure equity is implemented.”

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The Hood Incubator

The Hood Incubator is a non-profit organization whose aim is to build an economic foundation for black communities, and to bridge the race gap within the cannabis industry. They do this by helping transition underground cannabis entrepreneurs to legal markets through their Pre-Seed Accelerator program and other educational resources.

“Marijuana is one area where communities of color can build a large economic foundation,” said Ebele. “The dollars haven’t already fallen into somebody’s pockets, and big conglomerate companies that keep everyone else out of the market don’t exist. So, there’s a great opportunity to help the black community thrive and prosper in cannabis.”

This opportunity is what The Hood Incubator is trying to capitalize on, but it’s not a simple process. Between permitting, compliance and regulation, there are a lot of barriers to entering the cannabis industry. Plus, it can be a very capital-intensive endeavor, which is a big struggle for many black entrepreneurs, explains a study by Princeton University.

“Study after study has shown how much harder it is for black people to get a loan, let alone investor money,” said Ebele. “The channels that we use to secure funds are not as robust as they are for white communities. The problem is that in the cannabis industry right now, it’s very much about who you know.”

That challenge is one of the main things The Hood Incubator is looking to overcome with its Pre-Seed Accelerator program.

The Pre-Seed Accelerator

The Pre-Seed Accelerator kicked off this year with its first cohort. It’s a four-month, 100-hour long program meant to help entrepreneurs of color break into the cannabis industry. One unique element of the program is the fact that it welcomes fellows of varying experience and backgrounds:

The first group of entrepreneurs is composed of individuals who already operate in the cannabis industry, but want to formalize and hone their business models.
The second group is made up of individuals who currently operate in an informal capacity—in the underground economy—but are interested in bringing their business into the formal market.
Finally, the last group is filled with individuals who haven’t been in the cannabis industry, but desire to use their skills and passion from other professional and vocational backgrounds such as marketing, tech, culinary, etc., to open a cannabis business.

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No matter the case, every entrepreneur in the program walks away with the same knowledge and materials. They receive:

A vetted pitch deck and a pitch presentation they can use for investors to raise money and build support around their business.
A business plan with financial projections and metrics they can use to talk about the nuts and bolts of their project, and why it’s going to succeed.
Key relationships with influencers in the cannabis industry. “We make a huge effort to connect the whole Bay Area cannabis community to lend their expertise to our fellows, and to be a part of our support system,” explained Ebele.

“We’re striving to create an interwoven ecosystem of people doing business with each other and supporting each other,” said Lanese. “We know that many segments of black and brown communities are already involved in cannabis in some way; our goal is to make sure that these individuals are provided the necessary framework to operate in the formal market, and to build a legacy of wealth for their families. That’s what we want to see.”

If The Hood Incubator is successful, hopefully in 5-10 years we’ll see a robust market filled with black cannabis entrepreneurs. Until then, we’ll keep working to #End420Shame one person, company and idea at a time.

If you have a story to share about how the cannabis industry has changed your life, or how you’re working to change the cannabis industry, share it with us. Email: kellyv@dopemagazine.com

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Get Involved with The Hood Incubator!

Visit hoodincubator.org and sign up to become a free member (free in 2017 only). Members stay engaged with regular newsletter blasts that include policy updates and market trends.
Support The Hood Incubator by making a financial donation through Indiegogo.
Become a corporate sponsor and one of the Founding 100 companies/individuals behind The Hood Incubator movement.

“Become a part of an effort that’s on the ground, actually making sure that the black community is ready and able to take advantage of opportunities in the cannabis industry, because there’s no point in having a legal market if not everyone can access it,” said Ebele.

The post END 4/20 SHAME: THE HOOD INCUBATOR: appeared first on Dope Magazine.

END 4/20 SHAME: THE HOOD INCUBATOR:
Source: Dope Magazine

NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL: Four Days of Amazing Food and Inspirational Art and Music

June 4, 2017 by Staff Writer Leave a Comment

The Northwest Folklife Festival brings together up to 250,000 people in celebration of the diversity of the Pacific Northwest. This year’s Memorial Day weekend was a vibrant display of the communities that make up Washington and a wonderful chance to immerse yourself and engage with those communities. NWFLF is located in Seattle Center and shares this space with Festál, which celebrated 20 years this year!

Festál started with the mission of making the center of Seattle a place to “celebrate who we are as Seattleites, and also a way to learn about our neighbors and to learn from our neighbors.” Cultural equity is of utmost importance to Festál. Not wanting programming based on diversity to become “tokenized,” Festál requires “the participation and guidance of the community itself… putting each event together of and for their own community.”

With this shared space and distinction in the mission and purpose, NWFLF and Festál have once again created an inclusive environment for learning, sharing, thoughtful engagement and celebration of arts and cultures from all around the world that reside right here in Washington.

Although there were more than 5,000 performers, the draw for many foodies was the spread of savory, sweet, spicy and overall spectacular food vendors that grace the festival each year. Your taste buds can take a tour of Belizean food made from scratch, Caribbean Cuisine, authentic northeast African Coastal cuisine from the Horn of Africa, Lebanese Cuisine at Lajitana, Polish cuisine at Taste of Poland and so many more! One attendee explained how she loved all that NWFLF had to offer but could spend all day just trying all of the culturally distinct food available. Good thing the festival is four days long!

There is so much to taste, see and do it’s easy to see how someone could get easily roped into just one aspect of the festival, including the smallest of attendees. The Discovery Zone is full of performances and activities sure to spark those happy laughs, creative cognition and mature reception of everything that kids are exposed to over the weekend. With Creative Kidz Bollywood performances, children’s flamenco dances and so much more all across the festival, everyone young in age and spirit was smiling ear to elephant ear.

However, this year the festival’s future is on the line. The festival has always been put on free of charge to the public so to “remove any economic barriers and ensure that everyone can experience and share in cultural traditions,” but this year attendees were asked to support the festival with donations at the entrance in an attempt at raising $350,000 so that the cyclical nature of learning, growing and accepting the beauty of the unknown could continue for years to come. NWFLF is a staple not only to Seattle but to the Pacific Northwest. People travel from all over to perform and attend one or all four days of freedom of expression and cultural acceptance that is proudly showcased in Seattle Center and now it is time to give back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOOGlH4zaF8

After all these years of attendance and admiration, DONATE to a festival that has inadvertently combated aggressive bigotry and repressive ignorance for decades through exposure to culturally equitable engagement. Being able to see groups like Batucada Yemanja with their Brazilian Samba and Choro, music and dance celebrations of indigenous tribes and local staples like the Massive Monkees with their Hip Hop flavor is exactly what we need in a time of such polarity.

Become a friend of Folklife so that we can all enjoy what NWFLF has to offer for decades to come.

The post NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL: Four Days of Amazing Food and Inspirational Art and Music appeared first on Dope Magazine.

NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL: Four Days of Amazing Food and Inspirational Art and Music
Source: Dope Magazine