A group of Black-owned social equity dispensaries and brands are taking control of their brand identities during Black History Month (BHM), as not to be taken advantage of. 

Part of what spurred The Black Box Project forward is the fact these operators feel Black-owned businesses are regularly used by others for the sake of their own personal or business branding during BHM. So, the leading L.A. Black-owned brands are taking it upon themselves to highlight the importance of equity and inclusion in cannabis.

The cannabis space, in general, also is a fairly cutthroat business. So in the process of pushing all their products with a single voice, the participants hope to create unity and support among the Black cannabis community. They hope for consumers it will be an introduction to the quality and culture brought to the industry by Black-owned brands.

The Dispensaries that will be taking part in The Black Box Project include Josephine & Billie’s owned by Ebony Andersen and Whitney Beatty, Gorilla RX owned by Kika Keith, Sixty Four & Hope in Mid-City owned Aja Allen, and Sixty Four & Hope in Melrose owned by Rhavin L.

Each of those participating shops will have 50 special boxes filled with the brands taking part. The boxes have a retail value of over $200 dollars, but will only run you $49.50. Those brands include Ball Family Farms owned by Chris and Charles Ball, Viola owned by Al Harrington, House of Tyne owned by Ralina Shaw, Justice Tree owned by Mama Clark, Biko owned Timeka Drew, and Wyllow owned by Camille Roistacher.

The box contains:

Ball Family Farms, Daniel Larusso 3.5g

Ball Family Farms, Laura Charles Pre-roll 1g

Ball Family Farms x Sixty Four & Hope, Clubber Lang 3.5g

Wyllow, 5g pre-roll 2pk

Biko, Juseyo Wedding Cake PreRoll 1g

Justice Tree, Cherry Gelato 1g 

House of Tyne, 510-thread rechargeable battery

Viola, 10ct Pre-Roll Pack 3.5g

Gorilla RX, House Cured Resin Concentrate 1g

With the clear value in the boxes, expect there are 200 other people in the greater Los Angeles area that realize it for sure. We don’t expect these to last long. The two eighths of Ball Family Farms alone can easily run $100. 

Many Black cannabis entrepreneurs currently are stuck in the whirlwind of social equity licensing. Some of them have spent their life savings on rent, as they wait to get the doors open on their operations. This makes celebrating the people that have made it as far as those in The Black Box Project all the more important. We’ve spoken with many of the business owners involved over the past couple of years. Keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks, as we catch up with them individually. 

 

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