NBA Vet, Viola CEO Al Harrington Wants To Build A Black-Owned Cannabis Industry

National Basketball Association star and Viola CEO Al Harrington is tireless in his quest to help and empower black ownership in the cannabis industry.

"We're pioneering something," the founder of the cannabis brand Viola told Rolling Stone in a recent interview.

He is dedicated to creating 100 black millionaires through a new social equity initiative — Viola Cares — which launched last year.

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In October, Harrington introduced an incubator program that provides operational support to black entrepreneurs in the cannabis space. The program is poised to create over 10,000 jobs and generate hundreds of new business owners.

"Some black-market brands have a massive following, but they just don't have the wherewithal to get licensed, as they can't get through the regulations," Harrington said.

By utilizing Viola's licenses and resources, the newly created black-owned cannabis brands are poised to debut on the legal market after facing a lack of access to capital and economic racism.

Viola Cares is also working side-by-side with Root & Rebound to help formerly incarcerated people get back into society.

Eliana Green, an Equal Justice Works Fellow, working in the non-profit advocacy group, says the "goal is to dismantle the collateral consequences that come with having a criminal record."

In addition to providing legal services, Root & Rebound also works on delivering public education and changing drug policy.

Related Link: Al Harrington — Pot's Path To Legalization Is Plagued By 'One Major Issue'

The collaboration with Viola Cares yielded "A New Leaf: A 'How-To Guide' for Successful Reentry After A Cannabis Conviction," a toolkit aimed to help those imprisoned for marijuana offenses.

Harrington emphasized that Viola is not a celebrity brand.

"It's not a money grab," he disclosed, highlighting that they "want to talk about impacting people affected by the War on Drugs."

Viola recently strengthened its team of brand ambassadors by naming rapper Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (aka T.I.) as the company's social justice and reform ambassador.