Black-Owned Cannabis Drink Launches Best Dirty Lemonade In Massachusetts

Homemade beverages were a staple in the home of Omari Anderson, owner and founder of Best Dirty Lemonade, when he was growing up. The recipes he grew up watching his mother make evolved into his own vision for a Black-owned cannabis-infused beverage that’s launching in Massachusetts with plans to get the party started everywhere.

According to MassLive, creating the “dirty” lemonade was a personal quest for Anderson, who added cannabis extract to the nostalgic drink to help his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, gain her appetite and restore her sleep patterns. Anderson’s becoming an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry stemmed from this homegrown mission.

“Our journey really started from a place of love and desire to help my mother. She wasn’t really sleeping or eating. And as a casual cannabis user at the time, I knew how cannabis made me feel.”

When his mother refused to partake in the traditional smoking method, Anderson considered the medicinal properties of cannabis in liquid form.

Crystallizing cannabis by forming a sugar to sweeten and heighten his lemonade provided the health benefits to his mother while honoring her decision to abstain from smoking.

Due to Anderson’s invention, his mother’s final years after suffering from the early-onset form of the progressive disease were well cushioned. After she passed, the tastiness of the lemonade was remembered by his friends, prompting them to advise Anderson to put it on the market.

Through his partnership with New England Treatment Access, also known as NETA, Best Dirty Lemonade was finally made available for purchase as a Black-owned brand on June 30, after its official Juneteenth launch. Anderson hopes to offer other cannabis-infused juices under the “Best Dirty” brand in due time.

The drink is expected to be a hit in Massachusetts dispensaries, but Anderson makes it clear he’s not just trying to make a buck—he’d rather make an impact.

With NETA, Anderson helped expand Let’s Talk Weed, a community-based organization that guides the discussion around dismantling the stigma on the cannabis plant and boosts awareness of its health advantages.

This is especially important to Anderson, as a Black business owner within the cannabis industry, as the history of the plant’s usage and criminalization has primarily targeted Black and brown people.

Anderson and Let’s Talk Weed are holding a panel in July to strategize how to legalize cannabis lounges within the state and to have safe spaces, especially for marginalized groups, to partake in the drug without the threat of criminal action.

His holistic mission of using cannabis for good while also doing good is partly why he chose to begin this venture in Massachusetts. Anderson, one of few minority business owners in the state, aims to inspire more Black cannabis entrepreneurs in the area.

To learn more about his beverage and where to buy it, visit The Best Dirty Lemonade store here.