Florida A&M University (FAMU) Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) will host its seventh episode of Conversations on Cannabis with a virtual forum at noon Thursday, March 25, featuring three African American professionals who are thriving in the business of marijuana.
The episode will be streamed on Streamyard and Facebook live, beginning at noon with the introduction of the panel, featuring Rebecca Colett, Roz McCarthy and Erik Range who have made inroads in the billion-dollar cannabis business and are working to open the door for others.
Colett, a FAMU alumna, is the CEO of the first African American female owned and operated cannabis cultivation brand in the Midwest. She has over five years of experience in the medical cannabis industry and has been featured at countless national cannabis conferences and has lobbied Congress and the state capitols for Michigan, Georgia, California and Maryland for equity in cannabis as well as veteran access to medical cannabis.
McCarthy, founder/CEO of Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM), was named High Times Magazine 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis in 2017 and earned the 2020 “Blood, Sweat, & Tears” Cannabis Philanthropist Award from the Crohn’s Charity Service Foundation. In addition, she led M4MM as the 2018 & 2019 Cannabis Industry Organization of the Year.
Range is the board chair of Minorities in Marijuana based in Orlando and has consulted with several cannabis companies and start-ups in seeking access or expansion in the industry. His role in the 2017 Florida Legislative Session contributed to the inclusion of “diversity language” in the bill to implement Florida’s Medical Marijuana Program.
“This very informative episode of MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis, presents an opportunity to engage minority communities and help them to better understand the issues, concerns, and lessons learned, when starting up and securing businesses in the medical marijuana industry,” said MMERI Director Patricia Green-Powell, Ph.D.
The Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum is designed to educate Floridians about the basics of marijuana for medical use and the unlawful use of marijuana. This month’s conversation will focus on the business of marijuana and its impact on the minority community.
In this forum, host Heidi Otway will facilitate a consumer-focused conversation about the medical marijuana industry and how it is booming in Florida and many other states. In addition, less than five percent of all cannabis businesses in the United States are minority-owned.
To submit questions and register for the event, visit https://bit.ly/3s0cIkc and to learn about the MMERI program, visit mmeri.famu.edu.
