DEI is a non-negotiable in cannabis. This industry exists today because of a long, painful history of criminalization that has disproportionately impacted Black, Brown, Indigenous, and marginalized communities for decades.
Though the cannabis industry is making progress through legalization, it doesn’t erase history. If anything, it calls us to do better and be intentional about who benefits, who gets access, and who gets heard. While other industries are slashing DEI, it’s our responsibility to keep it going.
In this blog, we’re getting into why DEI matters in cannabis, where the industry stands now, what meaningful action actually looks like, and how brands, businesses, and individuals can be a part of building something better.
Why DEI Is Necessary in Cannabis
The cannabis industry once thrived in communities that were over-policed, over-incarcerated, and under-resourced. So when the War on Drugs began, it devastated Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighborhoods—tearing families apart and locking people up for doing what’s now legal in half of the country.
So if we’re building a new industry on the ashes of that injustice, we owe it to those same communities to lead with equity. Legalization without equity is just gentrification in a new form: replacing underground pioneers with well-funded corporations and leaving the most impacted and ultimately influential people out of the picture.
DEI in cannabis is about:
- Repair
- Representation
- Access to capital, licenses, leadership positions, and generational wealth.
If we don’t build systems that prioritize those things from the ground up, we’re just repeating the harm in a shinier package.
What Real DEI Looks Like in Action
Throwing a Pride flag on your packaging or working with one client who is a person of color isn’t what DEI looks like. Real equity is ongoing, structural, and intentional. It’ll show in your hiring practices, your partnerships, your policies, and how you show up in the community when no one’s watching.
Some brands and orgs are getting it right. Expungement clinics, similar to those hosted by groups like CAGE-Free Cannabis, actually help clear cannabis convictions offering a tangible step toward repair. Grant programs, like New Jersey’s Cannabis Equity Grant Program, are giving underrepresented entrepreneurs a shot at success in an industry that’s historically kept them out. Inclusive hiring and leadership pipelines make sure that equity is built into the business.
It’s also about who’s at the table when decisions are made. Lived experience matters. People who’ve been directly impacted by the War on Drugs bring a depth of insight that can’t be taught. They deserve more than advisory roles, they deserve ownership, leadership, and equity.
Real DEI shifts power and opportunity, not just public image. When you’re doing it right, it’s steady, rooted, and deeply felt without being loud or flashy.
The Role of Brands, Agencies, & Media
Brands shape culture, media shapes perception, and agencies shape the message. In cannabis, all of those things carry weight, especially in an industry still fighting to overcome stigma, misinformation, and injustice.
The narratives we amplify can either reinforce the status quo or disrupt it. When we’re intentional about whose stories are told, how they’re framed, and honest about who often gets left out, we’re making a statement about who this industry truly serves.
Let’s be clear: greenwashing and performative allyship aren’t it. Slapping equity language on a press release while gatekeeping access behind the scenes doesn’t move us forward. People see through it, and they deserve better.
Moving Forward: What You Can Do
DEI is a daily practice, a long-term commitment, and a lens you apply to every decision, every hire, every message, and every dollar spent.
If you’re a business in cannabis and you want to do better, here’s where to start:
- Invest In Education & Training: Learn the history, unpack bias, and bring in experts (especially those with lived experience).
- Partner With Equity-focused Orgs.: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Collaborate with groups already doing the work, and support them with your platform and resources.
- Diversify Your Hiring Pipelines: Look beyond your network. Create intentional pathways for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and system-impacted individuals to access jobs and leadership roles.
- Pay People Equitability: Full stop. No one should have to negotiate their way to basic respect.
- Create Space, Don’t Just “Give” It: Share power and decision-making. Make sure underrepresented voices are not only heard but centered.
- Amplify the Work of Others: Share orgs like The Hood Incubator, Cannabis Impact Fund, Supernova Women, BIPOCann, and Equity Trade Network. Support them however you can.
This work isn’t focused on being perfect. It’s an ongoing process that’s about being accountable, intentional, and in it for the long haul.
A Better Industry Is a Collective Effort
This industry doesn’t get to move forward without all of us showing up. Building a truly inclusive, just, and diverse cannabis space requires collective action, not just good intentions. As a brand founder, budtender, an investor, or an agency, you have a role to play.
It starts with reflection, but it has to lead to real change. Especially for those with power and privilege, now’s the time to listen, learn, redistribute resources, and actively create space for those at a disadvantage to thrive.
DEI isn’t an add-on, it’s not a department, and it’s not just something HR handles. DEI is the work. If we want an industry that truly heals, uplifts, and reinvests, then this is how we build it. Together.
