As we move into a new year, new opportunities in the cannabis space open up across the country. As we progress with new laws, the industry is still stagnant when it comes to minority inclusion. Why are we still at the point where minorities and people of color are still for the most part, invisible? Education about the industry and the opportunities around it are lacking. How can we educate a group of people on this new industry?
Sheena Roberson has her eyes set on doing just that. Through Cannabis Noire, Sheena educates those in the inner-city about what’s in front of them now. We had the chance to speak to Sheena about how she found herself here, the goal for Cannabis Noire and why speaking to ourselves is a problem overall.
CashColorCannabis: Sheena, what brought you into cannabis?
Sheena Roberson: Of course, I had my personal experiences with cannabis prior to now. I experimented before in college. It wasn’t until recently when I attended a conference in my city, Philadelphia. It was a conference surrounding the medical marijuana industry ad what we can be expected, what we can look forward to as far as a city and state what that meant for legislative officials, what that meant for patients. It was a lot of information that was given to me that I was not privy to before. It was a very last minute thing, I wasn’t expected to go. What I did notice was that no one there looked like me. Not only we’re there not a lot of women being represented, but there were specifically not many minorities. I think I was one of maybe seven Black people in attendance at the entire conference. I thought it was interesting that it was obviously, marketed well enough that so many other people were here, but there was still this lack of diversity. Upon me leaving and inquiring if anyone had known about it, I found people that didnt even know that there were medicinal marijuana options available in the city. It inspired me to seek more information and education about why there aren’t more people of color in the space.
CashColorCannabis: Is that how Cannabis Noire spun-off?
Sheena Roberson: That is how Cannabis Noire spun-off. After applying more research, I saw that there weren’t many platforms for people of color in this space from the industry perspective or the community. There was a large stigma around cannabis in many ways that affect us systematically that we just weren’t aware of before and that I wasn’t aware of. I wanted to make sure that other people knew and we’re educated about these benefits, things that were happen in the space and our rights and responsibilities surround cannabis. So that’s where Cannabis Noire came from.
CashColorCannabis: What are some of the things that you feel stop people of color from searching out more opportunities in cannabis.
Sheena Roberson: I think that education is the primary obstacle. We’ve grown into a company that specifically provides education and training to people of color to help them prepare to either start businesses that are sustainable and scalable or seek gainful employment in the industry. I think the stigma still exists because there isn’t enough education.
CashColorCannabis: Do you see that as the only stumbling block?
Sheena Roberson: I think the opportunities are limited because we aren’t aware of the opportunities. And that the people in the space who are giving out these opportunities don’t realize some of the value that they are missing out on. I educate on both ends. We work with a lot of cannabis industry leaders and professionals to create opportunities to create more diverse opportunities and spaces.
Not just in their businesses but in the industry itself. Because I think they are starting to take notice in some ways, but in some ways they are still missing the mark. Cannabis Noir claim to fame is that we are rebranding cannabis itself. A lot of what we see and hear cannabis is, what it does, who uses it. There are a lot of poor depictions of people of color and minorities. One of our biggest cornerstones is that we are creating spaces that allows people to understand how it works and creating more positive images and depictions of underrepresented groups.
CashColorCannabis: How is it engaging people of color who are not in the industry. What is the plan to engage the inner-city of Philadelphia?
Sheena Roberson: It’s interesting you say that. Another one of our cornerstones is putting patients and policy above profit. I think a lot of the organizations, including some in my city that have been developed have been more focused on creating an income than a impact. So you’re going to be in spaces where you feel like you can create a better income for yourself.
That’s educating people who will pay for elaborate massages and info sessions. Honestly, a lot of the people and feedback we get, that is more positive and impactful are the people who reach out to me when we hold our medicinal cannabis registrations at the church. The hood is there. I go into the community centers, I got into those corners of my neighborhood because those are the places that are most impacted by the war on drugs. Those are the people who need this education the most and it doesn’t make sense like you said to keep, “taking to yourself.” about this issue.
CashColorCannabis: That’s a real positive. I feel like we ignore the people who have been actually affected and have jumped straight to business
Sheena Roberson: I love being around people who are educated about the space because it allows me to sharpen my iron, but it doesn’t benefit the movement for us to continue to have conversations with ourselves. I make sure that I host registrations and opportunities in these spaces. I’ve noticed that there have been registrations held at the state capitol or a senator’s office. Certain places there may not feel safe or comfortable. So we will have ours at a church. We will tell people to come as they are. They feel safe and more confident and more comfortable to speak and we make sure we create dynamics that make people feel comfortable.
We offer education, we offer expungement clinics, we offer info about how to clear your records because we cannot have conversations about the benefits of medicinal cannabis to people who are still systematically left out of those spaces.