In July, my partner Ricardo and I had the opportunity to sell our legal cannabis products at the California State Fair in collaboration with The Equity Trade Network and Embarc. After spending a decade and a half in federal prisons for running a state-legal dispensary, it wasn’t lost on us how big of a moment it was that cannabis is so legitimate now that you can smoke it at the state fair. It’s inspiring to us because this is part of the reason we both served over a decade in federal prison—we wanted cannabis to get to as many people as possible. The California State Fair served 750,000 people over two weeks. That’s huge. 

The Equity Trade Network made it possible for dozens of different equity and legacy cannabis brands like ours to collaborate with Embarc—the only dispensary at the State Fair—and it was a profound experience. The State Fair was able to have the first dispensary of its kind because of the sacrifices of all those who operated before legalization and were impacted by the War on Drugs. The stories behind brands like ours are heart-wrenching, yet they are what opened America’s eyes and ultimately changed the laws. 

The stories of those still incarcerated are the number one motivating factor for why Ricardo and I have to keep telling ours. Trust me, it is exhausting and I know some have already grown tired of hearing it. We have had to tell it thousands of times but will always tell it again because it needs to be heard. We can’t let the stories of how we got here get lost in the taxes, profit, and investment narratives. There are still people sitting in state and federal prisons today for nonviolent cannabis crimes. If it weren’t for the people behind these equity brands and those still in prison, we wouldn’t be celebrating this new freedom at the California State Fair.