Al Harrington's ViolaMO Brings A Decade Of Cannabis Commerce To Missouri Via Two New Weed Shops

ViolaMO (VMO), a cannabis company focused on providing premium cannabis products as well as jobs and training for minority communities in the weed space, announced the opening of two new St. Louis dispensaries. VMO is a partnership with Larry Hughes and Village Brands, a Chicago-based multi-state operator.

“Both VMO dispensaries, operating under the ViolaSTL brand, will be located in the City of St. Louis and will be the only Black-owned dispensary in the downtown/central business and entertainment districts,” according to a press release.

The company’s plans include hiring/training about 300 racially diverse employees (including a BIPOC management team).

Inclusion In The Missouri Cannabis Marketplace

Founded by local entrepreneur Larry Hughes and Al Harrington (Viola founder/CEO), VMO aims to bring diversity and inclusion to the Missouri cannabis marketplace through these openings.

“Since founding, our mission has been to bring diversity to the cannabis market while providing opportunities for those most impacted by the war on drugs to support their families legally, and I’m proud to finally bring that to the people of Missouri with my brother Larry,” said Harrington, who attended Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago this past September.

According to the news release made available to Benzinga, "VMO is proud to be a pioneer in creating opportunities for people of color to have representation and ownership in this dynamic and expanding market."

Here are the Missouri locations:

• 2001 Olive Street – Across the street from the newly opened Major League Soccer stadium and less than a mile from the Illinois border.
• 3420 Iowa Street – In the Cherokee district. The only dispensary offering drive-thru ordering/ pick-up.

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Image by Benzinga