It’s Black Cannabis Week! These Black Women Are The Masterminds Behind The Initiative

Black Cannabis Week is run by three Black women dedicated to advocating for equity and inclusion in the cannabis industry.

Black Cannabis Week 2024 kicked off on Sept. 22, and with only days left to celebrate, it’s a great time to spotlight the Black women who run the initiative and advocate for equity and inclusion as they empower Black people within the cannabis industry.

Founded by Cherron Perry-Thomas, MBA, co-founder of the Diasporic Alliance of Cannabis Opportunities (DACO), Black Cannabis Week is one of DACO’s programming initiatives dedicated to educating, celebrating, and elevating the Black cannabis community. Perry-Thomas is also the creator of the Cannabis Opportunities Conference, the first and only free cannabis conference focused on uplifting Black and Brown communities. “So much of what this industry has done has excluded us,” she told CannaBiz in a 2022 interview.

She shared that people like herself and her family play an integral part in the growth of the cannabis industry in the United States, and through her initiative, she makes sure it’s “always centering Black.” The wellness agent has grown Black Cannabis Week into a global platform offering discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate Black voices worldwide and advocate for equity and inclusion in the industry.

To uphold its mission to stand as a collective web of educational and informational experiences for Black communities, Black Cannabis Week is organized with the help of visionary leader Kristal Bush and educational consultant Brandi Hester-Harrell, M.Ed. Bush’s advocacy stems from her childhood as a three-year-old with an incarcerated parent. Her personal experience prompted her desire to support families who have experienced the effects of incarceration and the War on Drugs.

As the former CEO and founder of Bridging the Gap Transportation, Bush reunited incarcerated individuals with their families, witnessing over 3,500 reunions. She also established the Free My Weedman initiative to address the War on Drugs through storytelling and community building. Hester-Harrell has also reached thousands of lives through her advocacy. She co-founded Entertaining and Elevating with Cannabis (EEWC) and developed the inaugural courses surrounding cannabis branding and entrepreneurship at Genesee Community College in New York. In 2024, she led the release of the policy reform report Community Voices: Advancing Social Justice and Equity in Pennsylvania. As a PhD candidate, Hester-Harrell has focused her research on merging cannabis with higher education.

As previously covered by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Black Cannabis Week is a highly anticipated initiative packed with several signature events designed to take guests on a journey of the industry as they engage in conversations and experiences under the theme of “Deeply Rooted, Growing Together.” Running the initiative allows all three women to expand on their advocacy for cannabis and social justice, working with legislators and leading initiatives that move inclusion and equity in the industry forward.

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Keep up with Black Cannabis Week as the 2024 East Coast tour continues throughout Sept. 29, visiting Virginia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey — areas affected by the War on Drugs. This year’s lineup features over 30 speakers and panelists, including cannabis executives, elected officials, policymakers, influencers, and advocates. Events include The Daily Dose Tour, The Policy Breakfast, Blaze the Runway, and the Rooted in Justice Film Festival.