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Kebra Smith-Bolden: Pursuing state's equity promise.
With the help of a $3 million investment, a leading medical cannabis entrepreneur in New Haven has plans to expand into recreational cannabis now that Connecticut has legalized it.
The business owner, Kebra Smith-Bolden, 45, has worked in the cannabis industry since 2017 when she opened her medical cannabis certification company, CannaHealth. CannaHealth has certified thousands of people primarily through PTSD diagnoses for medical cannabis cards. Smith-Bolden has also advocated for equitable, recreational cannabis legislation, organizing with WomenGrow CT and serving as president of CT United for Reform and Advocacy, which helped convince the state to pass “An Act Concerning the Equitable and Responsible Regulation of Cannabis.” The act legalizes cannabis use for adults 21 and older, expunges past records for cannabis-related charges, and reserves 50 percent of the licenses for equity applicants. Smith-Bolden also served on governor’s Social Equity Committee following the creation of the committee through the passage of the law to ensure that entrepreneurs of color have a chance to share in the business opportunities springing from legalization.
Now Smith-Bolden is seeking to be one of those entrepreneurs. She has launched NoirEnVerte, LLC, a cannabis manufacturing and distribution joint venture.
She announced this week that Acreage Holdings, Inc, a Canadian-based cannabis operations company with operations in states across the U.S., has signed up as a partner for the company to seek to open both a cannabis cultivation site and cannabis dispensary in New Haven. She said Acreage has committed to invest $3 million to cover cost of the application fee as well as the upfront costs for the cultivation site and dispensary. Smith-Bolden will run the company and hold a 65 percent stake in the cultivation site and split the dispensary ownership 50 – 50. She brings the community knowledge to the table, while Acreage brings experience in the industry.
“Kebra’s community-based business model seamlessly aligns with Acreage’s values, and we are thrilled to partner with such a prominent and successful industry advocate,” Acreage CEO Peter Caldini stated in the company’s release announcing the joint venture. “As Acreage expands its operations in the Northeast, our team will continue to pursue meaningful opportunities to support entrepreneurs and areas affected by cannabis prohibition.”
The state Department of Consumer Protection oversees the licensing and regulation, including cultivation sites and dispensaries. NoirEnVerte has sought a license through the department-run Social Equity Council. For the cultivation site, she has applied for the Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivator License; for the dispensary she plans to apply for an Equity Joint Venture license. As Equity licenses, these are approved directly by the Social Equity Council rather than through a lottery, the way other recreational cannabis licenses will be awarded. As of June 2, the Department of Consumer Protection has received 41 applications for the Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivator License and an unspecified number for the the Equity Joint Venture license. They will be selecting successful applications over the next few months.
Smith-Bolden has been scoping out potential sites in town, with two as-yet-undisclosed locations in mind. She hopes to locate both the cultivation site and the dispensary in New Haven, she said. Born and raised in the city, Smith-Bolden comes from a lineage of community leaders focused on giving back and uplifting the community. With the cannabis project, she said, that will mean providing 100 – 125 good jobs, medicinal cannabis, and opportunity, particularly for those who have been most affected by the War on Drugs and incarceration.
While she praised the creation of the Social Equity Council to include people of color in the new industry, Smith-Bolden said the overall evolving state plan for regulation is far from perfect. The lottery system for licenses perpetuate inequality, she said: a large corporation might have millions to put in as many applications as they like, increasing their chances of winning the lottery, unlike smaller local competitors. She also spoke of upfront costs that serve as a barrier for those from directly-impacted communities.
“Even I, with all my skills, knowledge, and abilities, cannot engage in this industry without needing partners to bring millions of dollars,” she noted, “because I can’t get a loan from a bank, because it is cannabis and I’m black and I’m a woman.” Still, she said, she recognizes the opportunities she has been provided through the state legislation and hopes that “those that can take advantage of the limited opportunities will expand and create opportunities for the greater community.”
Smith-Bolden, a certified nurse by training, developed her belief in the medicinal power of cannabis from her own experience treating her wheelchair-bound grandmother. Thanks to cannabis, her grandmother began to be able to walk again with a walker and communicate in ways she has previously been unable. This experience led Smith-Bolden to formally study the medicinal powers of cannabis at the Northeast Institute of Cannabis.
“What most engaged me was putting together prohibition and the history of cannabis and the War on Drugs and seeing it become legal, and knowing that people I knew were in prison for it,” Smith-Bolden said. “I felt it was really important to bring all that information back to my hometown … and tell people about it as medicine.”
While she works on launching her new enterprise, Kebra Smith-Bolden is continuing to spread awareness and education around cannabis through a Northeast Cannabis Nursing Conference scheduled to take place at the Omni Hotel on June 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The conference will include speaker panels, a “Cannabiz Pitch Contest” with a $1,000 first prize and $500 second prize, and free medical certifications for up to 30 qualified applicants. Find more info about the event and register here.