According to the ACLU’s 2020 cannabis analysis, black Americans are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis crimes, than white Americans are.

It’s a sad statistic that’s had a huge impact on the color of the cannabis industry in America. You can’t participate in the legal cannabis if you’re behind bars — and until recently, in Colorado, you weren’t allowed to participate if you had a felony on your record. Meaning that many of the black innovators and entrepreneurs pioneering cannabis on the black market, were effetely boxed out of the legal one.

The lasting effect of that has been systemic inequality in cannabis industries from Colorado to California. Systemic inequalities that companies like VIOLA are working hard to break down.

VIOLA, founded by former Denver NBA athlete Al Harrington, has the largest black-owned footprint in the cannabis industry — spanning four legal states. Their mission is rooted in building social equity throughout cannabis, empowering minority ownership in the industry, reinvesting in their community and building opportunities for those who have been most affected by America’s failed war on drugs. VIOLA recognizes the people who are intricately linked to the plant that drive both the industry and the culture forward.

This year VIOLA celebrates their 10-year anniversary of making ultra-premium cannabis products (like their brand new live extract vape cartridges) and affecting change in America’s cannabis industry.

VIOLA celebrates Black history by making history, they acknowledge the strength and resilience of those who made their success possible. It is the inspiration that emboldens the work they do. Buy Black this Black History Month. Ask for VIOLA at a retailer near you!