How Cannabis Companies Can Be Held Accountable On Diversity, Social Commitment

Cannaclusive recently released “The Accountability List–Cannabis and Hemp Brands,” a multi-sourced catalog of cannabis and cannabis lifestyle brands and media companies.

The goal is to show how these companies measure up when it comes to standards of diversity and social commitment.

According to one of the team members behind it, the general response in the cannabis community has been a thumbs up, with a few brands recognizing that they still may not be doing enough.  

“There may be some misperceptions that The Accountability List is a ‘call-out list,’" Kassia Graham, Cannaclusive’s director of national projects and social media, told Benzinga. "But we look at it as a call-in-to the brands and consumers of our cannabis community."

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Graham said Cannaclusive is waiting for state governments to "keep their promises" and make social equity a foundation of their legal cannabis programs.

"It’s up to all of us in the cannabis industry to lead the way and demand these changes from the inside out," Graham said.

Previously, Cannaclusive partnered with Kieryn Wang of Almost Consulting to build a related directory of cannabis businesses to serve as a similar guide for consumers called InclusiveBase, which continues to be updated with new listings.

The Accountability List, like InclusiveBase, will be vetted and updated by a team of cannabis professionals, including Cannaclusive’s Graham and co-founder Mary Pryor, joined by Savina Monet, Maya Shaw, Natasha Przedborski, Nichole Graf and Amarie Baker.

“As large entities make millions in this billion-dollar industry,” Graham added. “Black, Latinx, and other marginalized people continue to be incarcerated and face systematic oppression due to the continued war on drugs. The purpose of The Accountability List is to show that the cannabis community can lead the way where the government continues to fail us.” 

Photo by Frankie Cordoba.