Educate. Learn. Talk about Marijuana in Florida. |
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Let’s Talk About Cannabis
and Religion
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How Minority Entrepreneurs Could Break into the Legal Cannabis Industry |
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How to get a Florida Medical Marijuana ID Card |
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Let’s Talk About Cannabis and Religion |
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Centuries before it became illegal in America, cannabis was long used for spiritual or religious ceremonies worldwide. In some religions, it still is. In some minority communities, and especially the Black church, marijuana is taboo. But that appears to be changing as more and more states make it legal for medical use. Register to join the next Conversations on Cannabis virtual forum on Thursday, April 29 at noon to hear from Pastors Erta Livingston, Lonnie Wesley, and Leo Stoney talk about cannabis and religion, with a focus on the changing attitudes in the Black church
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How Minority Entrepreneurs Could
Break into the Legal Cannabis Industry
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The Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) at Florida A&M University receives dozens of calls and emails each week from people in the minority community asking for insight on how to start a business or get a job in the legal cannabis industry.
Roz McCarthy, Erik Range, and Rebecca Colett are good sources on this topic. Each has made inroads in the billion-dollar cannabis industry and are working to help more minorities do the same.
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“Florida is the number one state with regards to career opportunities in this industry,” said McCarthy, founder of Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) Inc., an Orlando-based 501c3 nonprofit she started to help people of color get into an industry that lacks diversity and inclusion. Although a Marijuana Biz Daily survey shows less than 5% of legal marijuana businesses are Black-owned, McCarthy sees a nascent industry full of opportunities for non-white entrepreneurs and job seekers.
“Cannabis is at mile marker number three or four compared to other industries, so there are many opportunities from an entry point,” she said. “If you're someone who wants to enter, really look at your skill set and figure out how that transfers over into the cannabis industry. That's where we as an organization can help you figure that out.”
Erik Range, an Orlando entrepreneur in the cannabis space and chair of M4MM’s board, has and now encourages minorities interested in entering the cannabis trade to consider taking on a supporting role.
“Not everyone needs to be in a dispensary or in a grow business. Minority businesses can get involved in cannabis with everything from janitorial services to landscaping to general contracting. We have minority businesses that provide services across the gambit,” said Range.
Rebecca Colett, a Florida A&M University graduate, is the owner and CEO of a medical-grade, plant-based business, just not in the Sunshine State. She is the first African American women-owned and operated cannabis cultivation brand in the Midwest. The company, Calyxeum, is based in Detroit. She said she’s often asked how to get into the cannabis industry.
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“First, do your research. Do your research and see what the opportunities are,” Colett said. “You have to equip yourself with the education of the business and what it’s going to require from you. If you’re in a city with dispensaries everywhere, who’s supplying them? Who’s distributing to them? Look at the supply chain and see where the gaps are.”
To learn more about business opportunities in the legal cannabis industry, click here to watch MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum featuring Roz McCarthy, Erik Range, and Rebecca Colett on YouTube. For more information on medical marijuana, visit MMERI’s website at http://mmeri.famu.edu/
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How to Get Medical Marijuana in Florida |
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Only a qualified physician can recommend medical marijuana in Florida, but a patient still must get a Medical Marijuana Use Registry Card to obtain the drug from an approved treatment center.
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find a qualified
physician
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Medical Marijuana Use
Registry Card
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to find a Medical
Marijuana Treatment
Center near you
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What People Are Saying About Marijuana |
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“Medical Marijuana changed my life. For 15 years, I was prescribed Adderall, Ritalin, Antidepressants and Nuvigil. I felt that I was a walking Zombie, numb to my emotions. I want to educate others with my journey,” M.H. in Jacksonville, FL.
“I am a fibromyalgia patient. Without cannabis my life would be a bedridden, disorganized, and depression-filled mess. I advocate every day so people learn about cannabis and don't take their own lives. I've emotionally been there and nobody deserves that,” C.B. in Cambridge, MI.
“I stopped smoking marijuana because my jobs do random drug tests, but it helped with a lot of things,” B.G. in Sanford, FL.
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How to get a Florida Medical Marijuana ID Card here.
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Join the Conversations on Cannabis on
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Contact us directly by phone at 850-561-2456 or by email at
625 East Tennessee Street, Ste. 210, Tallahassee, FL 32301
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