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Business-based racial inequality in this country is far from the distant memory it should be at this point in our social development. Legalization isn\u2019t necessarily changing the demographics of people involved in corporate cannabis; the industry is still made up of predominantly white, middle-aged men who are the gatekeepers to inclusion. There are many examples of bias from cannabis stakeholders, which prevent post-legalization dreams of a cannabis utopia from being truly realized. No one knows this better than Ron Brandon. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gangster, but it\u2019s clean. \u2019I thought it\u2019d be more trappy. I\u2019ve heard it all,\u201d Brandon said, alluding to the type of ignorance and prejudice many experts face when entering the regulated cannabis market. <\/p>\n
Impeccably dressed and frustratingly chivalrous, Brandon returns a knowing smirk. We\u2019re sitting at a cafe discussing how the lack of education in the cannabis industry poses challenges for those trying to enter the legal marketplace. Brandon has big plans for the future of cannabis. <\/p>\n
While he\u2019s not yet a household name, Brandon is on his way. For more than a decade-and-a-half, he\u2019s worked with at least 20 cannabis companies in an industry that is in many respects new, but also inherently old. He has partnered with the likes of Ball Family Farms and Headstash, bringing high-quality cannabis to the legal market directly from the people who created this corporate landscape before the governance caught up. Most are members of California\u2019s Social Equity Program (SEP), which launched in 2018 with the passing of Senate Bill 1294, the Cannabis Collaboration and Inclusion Act. <\/p>\n
Designed to repair the impacts of prohibition and the War on Drugs, the program offers a greater degree of government support as individuals with past cannabis convictions or arrests, or those who live in disproportionately impacted areas, attempt to start their legal cannabusinesses. The brainchild of a liberal playbook, the program\u2019s priority access to applications and help in this journey rarely occur the way they\u2019re pitched on city websites. Although cannabis.LACity.org<\/a> details the technical and business assistance offered through the program, many believe it to be a complex process. <\/p>\n In recent years, the myriad problems facing social equity applicants have come to a head. \u201cPeople run out of resources in a system that\u2019s very difficult to navigate,\u201d Brandon said. \u201cLaunching a social equity enterprise is so much more than qualifying for assistance. A serious barrier to entry is that cities grant licenses based on the organization already having a building lease, but so few of these applicants have the means of paying tens of thousands of dollars in rent on commercial space before finding out if they qualify to monetize their work.\u201d <\/p>\n Clearly frustrated by such overtly impractical hurdles, Brandon goes on to note that these issues are only exacerbated by so-called \u201ctechnical experts\u201d at the city level who have little understanding of the industry\u2014 it\u2019s a case of the blind leading the blind.\u201c<\/p>\n Legalization in California just hasn\u2019t worked like it was supposed to, and the SEPs aren\u2019t effective in mitigating the issues faced by the Black community in all areas of business,\u201d Brandon said, choosing his words carefully.<\/p>\n After a career as a professional football player spanning six years, Brandon retired in 2007 due to a knee injury. Soon after, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a lifelong passion for the arts. \u201cI\u2019d always been really into hand-sketching, but I missed my opportunity to follow that seriously,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n Brandon is the last person to admit that he\u2019s a multi-talented creative. He\u2019s more than dabbled in music, and he started finding real success just as the 2008 financial crisis hit. \u201cI love getting involved in anything that pushes the message of non-conformity with what society is dealing with,\u201d Brandon said. \u201cThe failing economy disrupted my own existence, but because I was looking to connect cannabis and music, I started to supplement my income by brokering cannabis. Cannabis is used in music as a tool, and it was fulfilling to be on both sides of that journey.\u201c<\/p>\n As the Green Rush hit California, Brandon was presented with an opportunity to become involved in corporate cannabis. Motivated to represent diversity and maintain the integrity of his cannabis work, Brandon moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco, where he entered cannabis politics. There, he co-founded the San Francisco Cannabis Licensing Group, a subchapter of the California Growers Association. He was instrumental in shaping the group\u2019s policy to fall in favor of the operators rather than policymakers. <\/p>\n While Brandon remained committed to removing the stigma around cannabis, he kept hitting the same walls: time and money. <\/p>\n The slow growth of distribution for cannabis products was getting in Brandon\u2019sway, so he hacked the system. Killing two birds with one stone and avoiding the three-year wait for business licensing, Brandon\u2019s new distribution company took SEP applicants to market in 30 days as brands. This gave them the clout and proof-of-concept to raise the same money as their non-SEP counterparts. The process also made the difference between a few million-dollar investment cap, to less than a $100,000, streamlining the journey to licensing. As a point of purpose, Brandon built a sense of community in all the operations he partnered with, which naturally led to the creation of his own flagship brand, Kingston Royal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kingston Royal was founded on a desire to enhance creativity through cannabis. Championing the notion that \u201cyou are the creator of all things,\u201d the purpose-driven cannabis and lifestyle brand aims to inspire. Kingston Royal isn\u2019t going for an instant money grab like many other mainstream brands; they\u2019re aiming for longevity by embracing cannabis\u2019 roots while supporting originality, innovation and unrestricted thinking in their team. <\/p>\n \u201cMainstream brands started earlier because that\u2019s the SoCal system; people who have money could get in early, but their top-down approach has made their businesses irrelevant in less than half a decade,\u201d Brandon says. <\/p>\n Colloquially known as \u201cHollywood\u201d brands, these products are quickly fading from dispensaries. Brandon attributed their failure to a lack of understanding around the origins of cannabis, noting the exact pressure point these brands missed: the culture. Cannabis is no longer derived from Cheech and Chong stereotypes. The modern cannabis narrative is rooted in Black American history and the music that normalized consumption as a daily activity. <\/p>\n Brandon says that just as hip hop was birthed from backyards and community centers, so, too, was the shared experience of peace, relaxation and creativity from cannabis. America has the likes of Snoop Dogg<\/a> and Dr. Dre to thank for the current state of legalization, but corporate brands and dispensaries ignore their forefathers at their own peril.<\/p>\n This leads Brandon to the core component of social equity that\u2019s ignored in the governance: Many dispensaries aren\u2019t carrying enough social equity products. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s supposed to be 20-25% of shelf space dedicated to SEPs. Dispensary owners aren\u2019t being held accountable,\u201d he said. While this isn\u2019t a law, dispensaries must dedicate 20-40% of shelf space to equity brands to qualify for Equity Trade Certification by OEG, the first federally recognized social equity certification program for cannabis and other goods. <\/p>\n According to Brandon, this is due to a concern over aesthetics, as well as the uphill battle to market that most social equity applicants are facing. He says the largely white-owned dispensaries don\u2019t want edgier items taking center stage on their carefully curated shelves and that these biases are based on a common misconception that white-washing cannabis will draw new customers. <\/p>\n And that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. A new consumer is almost always introduced to cannabis through a friend or family member who partakes rather than seeking out products themselves. No question about it. The branding is important in a general sales way, but customer loyalty trumps the conversion metrics every time. <\/p>\n Most social equity products boast significant customer loyalty and could expand the market appeal of many dispensaries, but they\u2019re not given a seat at the table. This occurs while brands and business owners cozy up to musicians, producers, rappers and artists who are far more closely aligned with the root of cannabis in America \u2014 a root defined by social equity applicants. <\/p>\n \u201cBlack social equity applicants make up the majority of in-fluence of this industry, and we\u2019re asked to show up at the events, but there\u2019s always a guest list we miss when it comes to shelf space,\u201d Brandon said. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a bizarre picture that Brandon\u2019s painting: Social equity products and brands are more likely to be consumer-friendly in terms of cost, quality and consistency. Consequently, because these products are more aligned with the reality of the consumer, they\u2019re more likely to garner customer loyalty and drive sales. More than that, because of the macro psycho-social nature of cannabis use, SEPs are also more likely to be the first brand used by new consumers, and therefore generate longevity. <\/p>\n A true gentleman, Brandon doesn\u2019t dismiss his peers in any pointed fashion, but simply picks up on a consistent psycho-logical failure of leadership. <\/p>\n \u201cHollywood brands may find it easier to get into retail space, get into parties,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to duplicate, it\u2019s easier grow, but when you can\u2019t maintain your consumers, and more importantly can\u2019t maintain your in-house talent, then you\u2019re\u00a0a pointless brand, and you\u2019re only in cannabis to look cool. If you\u2019re not looking to achieve anything else, you\u2019re going to fail. That\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing now.\u201d <\/p>\n When corporate businesses ignore the people who historically drove primo product from Canada to California \u2014 who grew in the hills of NorCal, and who sat in cells for smoking a joint \u2014 they seem to flounder and fade from sight. Put simply: People who never grew up in the real cannabis culture are trying and failing to make a profit, while the people who know cannabis best still largely sit inside of the American prison system. <\/p>\n Though the true metric likely won\u2019t be realized for a few decades, it appears that a key to longevity in cannabis is association with the traditional market and the people who brought cannabis to the forefront of our legal, adult-use activities. <\/p>\n \u201cSuccess streams from developing brands and operations like your developing artists,\u201d Brandon says. \u201cThe mainstream industry is too busy trying to rethink cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Brandon\u2019s next big undertaking in the cannabis industry as Chief Business Analyst at NatureTrak transcends his supply chain expertise. \u201cA very close friend in tech asked if there was a play in cannabis, and it took until the passage of Prop 64 for us to pivot our concepts to focus on banking,\u201d Brandon said.<\/p>\n The first Black-owned FinTech SAS company, NatureTrak is changing the global business landscape by making it possible for cannabusinesses to operate with financial institutions. The tech company\u2019s free track-and-trace software can follow the complete lifecycle of a product\u2014from seed to bank\u2014giving banks an easy way to ensure their cannabis clients are legally compliant. Brandon is a consultant on the operations side, offering guidance on how the software speaks to social equity operators and the government. <\/p>\n \u201cWe help social equity operators get compliant banking so they can have some stake in the game, \u201che said. \u201cWe really built the airplane in the air. Had it not been for my life-long history in this business, I\u2019d never have understood the needs of all the key stakeholders.\u201c<\/p>\n With a finger on the pulse of change, Brandon is a true trailblazer. He understands the importance of cannabis\u2019 place in history while still being able to identify future opportunities and take advantage of the present moment. <\/p>\n \u201cMy personal belief is that it exists today, but it\u2019s not a promise it will exist tomorrow,\u201d said Brandon, speaking to the state of California\u2019s Social Equity Program. \u201cWe need to utilize funds while the government is being supportive. Let\u2019s get these people to the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published in issue 42 of the\u00a0print edition<\/a>\u00a0of Cannabis Now.<\/em><\/p>\n The post The Color of Money<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Business-based racial inequality in this country is far from the distant memory it should be at this point in our social development. Legalization isn\u2019t necessarily changing the demographics of people involved in corporate cannabis; the industry is still made up of predominantly white, middle-aged men who are the gatekeepers toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":549,"featured_media":62850,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9897,50,16994,3046,6459,1660,657,85,15940,16995,16996,16997,4166,16998],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/549"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62851,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62849\/revisions\/62851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ron](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Ron-Brandon-Bag.jpg\")
<\/a>Changing Course<\/h4>\n
![\"Ron](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Ron-Brandon-Kingston-Royal-Product.jpg\")
<\/a>Kingston Royal\u2019s Long Game<\/h4>\n
![\"Ron](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Ron-Brandon-Smoking-802x1024-1.jpg\")
<\/a>The Struggle Is Real<\/h4>\n
![\"Ron](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Ron-Brandon-Couch.jpg\")
<\/a>What Now?<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: The Color of Money<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"