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EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider, NJ.com’s B2B cannabis industry trade journal and events vertical, is hosting the state’s foremost business conference on Oct. 12. Tickets are limited.
Thanks to Wanda James two Black-owned, recreational cannabis dispensaries are set to open in New Jersey later this year, with another one soon to follow.
James and her husband, Scott Durrah, made history in 2010 when they established the Denver-based company Simply Pure, the first legally licensed Black-owned dispensary in the country.
The brand’s overarching mission in the cannabis industry, James said, is to elevate minority communities, particularly those impacted by the War On Drugs and prioritize social equity in the ongoing discourse on legal weed.
The Simply Pure brand is making its debut in the Garden State this year, with the opening of Simply Pure Trenton in Ewing Township, owned by Tahir Johnson.
Johnson’s store in Ewing is at the forefront of the three, securing the distinction of becoming the first Black-owned social equity firm to be granted a retailer license by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The Ewing-native is a highly regarded cannabis advocate who previously served as the director of social equity and inclusion for both the U.S. Cannabis Council and the Marijuana Policy Project.
“The fact that this man wants to carry the Simply Pure torch and start to tell the second generation Simply Pure story, I am thrilled,” said James, was in talks with two other dispensary owners to open under her brand. “That’s what social equity is about, a Black-owned brand, helping new Black entrepreneurs become great at what they do.”
James’ dedication to supporting minority entrepreneurs in the cannabis space is just one aspect of her extensive background, which includes serving as a Navy officer, a five-time restaurant owner, a Fortune 500 executive and working with government leaders such as former President Obama. Recently, she achieved another milestone by becoming the first Black woman elected to the University of Colorado Board of Regents in over 44 years.
Ahead of her keynote address at the NJ Cannabis Insider’s fall conference scheduled for Oct. 12 in Newark, this Q&A provides a glimpse of her story.
She delves into her journey with launching the Simply Pure brand, outlooks for social equity and insights for emerging entrepreneurs. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How did your venture with Simply Pure begin and what were some of the hurdles you had to overcome?
A: So, when we started this whole movement of wanting to be in the cannabis space, it wasn’t like it was now and I think that people really need to understand that because that’s a really big part of the story. It wasn’t like you opened your doors and had you know, 38,000 customers around the block. People were terrified.
The federal government was issuing verbal warnings saying that you will go to jail. Our criminal attorney’s saying that if they indict you, there’s nothing that we can do to defend you because you basically told them that you sell more than 25 pounds of cannabis. So back then, it wasn’t about money. Nobody thought that you were going to make a billion dollars out of this.
So for us, it became really about ending the drug war. And then it became about medicinal marijuana because my husband is a chef he started cooking edibles for people who were at end of life. We started to see how cannabis really changed lives.
Fast forward 15 years and here we are in an industry with still very few Black people in it, very few Latino people in it and less women.
Q: What led to the expansion of the Simply Pure brand into New Jersey and what will it look like?
A: We started doing Simply Pure Licensing. We wanted to be able to give new entrepreneurs the name and marketing of a known brand — a known brand with over 15 years behind it. A known brand with a story behind it.
Now that doesn’t mean that you have to tell our story. Our licensees will tell their own story because we see it as a continuation of what we’ve built on and what we’ve built on is a brand that signifies trust and that signifies high quality. And quite frankly, a brand that signifies minority involvement in the cannabis space and women involvement in the cannabis space. So that’s where we’re at today, as opposed to where we started.
Q: What advice would you give to social equity applicants who want to get into this industry?
A: What are you going to do to differentiate your brand? Why are people going to come to your dispensary?
And this goes back to quite frankly, basic business, basic marketing and a basic understanding of promotions and not naming your product “Green Leaf.” Oh my god please stop thinking Green Leaf is a unique name.
So, you really got to think about why people are going to choose your dispensary or choose your product. Now I will say this as well, it’s going to become more and more difficult for new brands to get into this industry and to make a name for themselves. Not saying that you can’t, you absolutely can. But it’s going to require expert marketing and expert branding.
At the end of the day, cannabis is now about business. If you don’t understand business, you won’t be successful.
Q: What does the future of social equity in the cannabis industry look like to you?
A: I want to see as many Black and brown people involved in this industry as humanly possible. We’ve been beaten up by the drug war so this is absolutely something that is deserved.
However, I need to caution folks, I would like to see social equity insist that any licensed dispensary owners or any licensed plant touching business has an obligation to hire a certain percentage of minority executives, minority entry level, minority suppliers.
Because the other part to this — and this is an unpopular position and I’m gonna get beat up for saying it, but it’s okay — not everybody should own a business, not everybody has the grit to be an entrepreneur. This is hard. This is an intensive business that requires owners to be very involved and not everybody is cut out for this.
However, social equity applicants should get opportunities to be the $250,000 marketing director at XYZ major cannabis corporation, you know what I mean?
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Nyah Marshall may be reached at Nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com.