NJ CANNABIS INDUSTRY ALERT: BLACK CANNABIS EQUITY INITIATIVE AND CANNABIS INDUSTRY HOLDS BLACK HISTORY AND SOCIAL EQUITY IN NJ ZOOM EVENT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 3:00PM-5:00PM

The Black Cannabis Equity Initiative(BCEI), African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, New Jersey CannaBusiness Association,  National Cannabis Industry Association, American Civil Liberties Union, Minorities for Medical Marijuana, NJ NAACP, Capital City Area Black Caucus, Columbia Care-New Jersey, Pure Genesis, EAZE and a host of other organizations, faith leaders, businesses and cannabis advocates are sponsoring a Black History Month cannabis awareness event on “Black History and Cannabis Social Equity in the Garden State.” This social equity zoom event will be held on Friday, February 19, 2021 from 3:00pm-5:00pm[See attached flyer]. The purpose of this gathering is to bring together cannabis stakeholders[Elected Officials, industry leaders, businesses, black community organizations and advocates] from across New Jersey to discuss the cannabis legalization journey in the context of history, social equity, awareness and opportunity.

Confirmed speakers include NJ State Senator-Nicholas Scutari, NJ Assemblymen Jamel Holley and Andrew Zwicker, Mercer County Commissioner-Sam Frisby, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, NJ CannaBusiness Association President-Ed Deveaux, African American Chamber of Commerce of NJ President, CEO & Founder and US Chamber of Commerce Member-John Harmon, National Cannabis Trade Federation DEI Task Force Member & CEO, The Phax Group-Tracey Syphax, Founder Salvation and Social Justice & Pastor Bethel AME Church-Rev. Dr. Charles Boyer, Director ACLU NJ-Amol Sinha, NJ Cannabis Advocate Ed “NJ Weedman” Forchion, Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana NJ-Ken Wolski, NCIA Business Development and DEI Manager-Tahir Johnson, President, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation-Dr. David Nathan, NJ NAACP Political Action Chair-Todd Edwards, Pure Genesis CEO-Faye Coleman, NJ Medical Marijuana Advocate-Edward “Lefty” Grimes and more.   This third monthly cannabis legalization in NJ zoom discussion will include two Fireside Chats with CCABC members, cannabis industry and state leaders, a series of four(4) social equity panels that will address an Elected Officials Perspective[hearing from NJ Elected Officials], Business/Industry Perspective[Hearing from business leaders], Community Perspective[hearing from Black community leaders] and a Medical Perspective[hearing a social equity medical viewpoint]. In addition, there will be a “Social Equity and Black History” presentation from nationally recognized social equity expert, educator and anthropologist Dr. Sharon Brown Bailey”, a presentation of a Social Equity Business Accountability Report Card and a BCEI NJ Cannabis Social Equity Business Spotlight on cannabis thought leaders, elected officials, industry advocates and community sharing their perspective on moving the social equity cannabis needle forward in NJ.

John Bailey, Convener for the BCEI said, “this Black History Month Social Equity zoom is an important and necessary cannabis conversation that needs to be held. I have stated it many times and that is, we don’t know what social equity looks like as a nation,  because historically speaking, we have never seen it. This upcoming BCEI Black History Month social equity event will be another opportunity to educate NJ cannabis industry stakeholders on what they don’t know about social equity and Black communities. Hopefully, these stakeholders will embrace this Black History Month Social Equity event as the Black community’s contribution to the social equity discussion and a value-added in the NJ cannabis landscape.”

Anyone wanting to join the conversation can use this link: Join Zoom Meeting[2/19 Only]https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84907660983?pwd=elNmcWVEYXZFQ0VXdHU0Z3pEell3QT09Meeting ID: 849 0766 0983Passcode: 005434