“Social equity in the community means that money that is being made from cannabis goes back to those communities,” he says. “They get to share in the wealth.”
A 2005 graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., Johnson is leveraging his background in wealth management to help influence policies and laws regulating cannabis markets across the country.
There are currently no Black-owned medical cannabis cultivation businesses in Florida, where the license application fee ranges from $61,000 - $146,000 — the highest in the country (at the writing of this article).
To help expose Black college students to opportunities in the marijuana industry, Johnson says the U.S. Cannabis Council partnered with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to start an internship program.
“We had eight amazing young people, all Black interns, at some of the largest cannabis companies in the country,” he says. “We are planning to do another cohort in the fall or spring. You do have to be 21. So, if you are a college senior or recent graduate, please apply for the internship program through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. We have to get more opportunities for our folks.”
