New York Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced that the state’s cannabis social equity fund has secured a $150 million investment to support entrepreneurs licensed to open recreational marijuana retail shops. Under the terms of the deal, Chicago Atlantic Admin, LLC will invest up to $150 million in secured capital to provide loans to business owners negatively impacted by years of cannabis prohibition.

“New York has always strived to lead the nation in providing opportunities for those who have been unjustly denied privileges and opportunities,” Hochul said in a statement from the governor’s office. “Today’s announcement reinforces New York’s commitment to building partnerships that benefit New Yorkers and setting right the wrongs of the past. I welcome Chicago Atlantic’s participation in this program and applaud their recognition of the value that New York’s cannabis program will provide to so many.”

Fund Created Last Year

Last year, Hochul included the creation of the New York State Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund in the state budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The provisions of the public-private partnership set a goal of $200 million, including $50 million from state cannabis taxes and $150 million in outside investments. The investments are designed to fill a gap in investment funding available for cannabis businesses, which face difficulty securing capital because of the continued illegality of cannabis at the federal level.

The fund will be used to support individuals impacted by the inequitable enforcement of cannabis laws who have received Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensary (CAURD) licenses from the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the Cannabis Control Board. Under the state’s cannabis regulations, at least 300 of the state’s first CAURD licenses have been reserved for justice-involved entrepreneurs.

Chicago Atlantic manages a diversified portfolio of credit investments in the cannabis industry and has deployed over $1.8 billion across more than 50 investments. The company’s flagship investment vehicle, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, is a mortgage real estate investment trust that offers secured loans to state-licensed cannabis operators.

“Thank you to Chicago Atlantic for investing in New York’s first adult-use retail licensees,” New York State Office of Cannabis Management executive director Chris Alexander said. “This infusion of capital will provide necessary support to licensees and will help New York further its work of establishing an inclusive cannabis market that creates opportunities for entrepreneurs harmed by prohibition and locked out of markets in other states.”

Loans For New Pot Shops

New York’s cannabis social equity fund will help those who have a CAURD license meet the costs of establishing recreational marijuana retail dispensaries, including the identification and leasing of suitable retail locations and the design, construction, and furnishing of the spaces. The Social Equity Servicing Corporation (SESC), a subsidiary of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), is executing the work to develop dispensaries as an agent for the Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund.

Last year, DASNY put out a request for proposals for a team to manage the cannabis social equity fund and raise the additional $150 million through private investments. In June 2022, the agency announced that it awarded the contract to Social Equity Impact Ventures, a joint partnership between Webber Willis Ventures LLC, a company headed by NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber and his business partner Lavetta Willis, and a firm affiliated with Siebert Williams Shank.

“We are honored by Chicago Atlantic’s recognition of the Fund’s role in fostering social equity within the NYS cannabis industry. With our dedicated partners, we are committed to breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive landscape,” said Webber. “This transformative collaboration marks a significant milestone in our collective journey towards a future where every individual has equal access to opportunity and funding therefore empowering communities and driving positive change.”

While the goals of New York’s cannabis social equity program have been lauded as a way to ensure participation in the legal recreational market by those who have borne the brunt of decades of prohibition and disparate enforcement, critics have derided the slow pace of dispensary openings. The first adult-use cannabis retailer opened its doors in the final days of 2022. But since then, less than a dozen shops have opened statewide, according to information from the OCM. 

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Smacked Village owner Roland Conner is New York’s first dispensary owner with a cannabis conviction. After his new pop-up store becomes permanent, Conner plans to pass the store down to his son.

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NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber announced the launch of his cannabis brand Players Only with his business partner, Lavetta Willis—and he’s bringing several familiar faces along for the ride including Quavo, Raekwon, Royce da 5’9″, Matt Barnes, and Jason Williams.

The new all-star brand was first announced on August 11. Players Only will feature an array of strains, cannabis oil cartridges, pre-rolls, vapes, as well as sport recovery and performance products. Players Only will also roll out branded apparel and footwear.

Last March, TerrAscend secured exclusive retail rights for Players Only products in Michigan through the acquisition of Gage Growth Corp, securing the way for the brand to drop.

“Players Only is more than a cannabis brand—it’s a lifestyle brand,” Webber said. “We truly have a unique opportunity to change the narrative around cannabis, empower rising entrepreneurs and set a new standard in this growing industry. We’re thrilled to launch our versatile offerings and begin the process of creating meaningful economic change in communities across Michigan. Shout out to TerrAscend and Gage—our Michigan family. Much love to Cookies and Berner, let’s go!”

In October of last year, Webber unveiled a cannabis facility in Detroit complete with a cultivation facility, dispensary, and private consumption lounge. The 180,000 square foot Players Only facility was named the Webber Wellness Compound.

The first strains to roll out include C4, Time Out, and G.O.A.T.’s Milk, as well as Non-Laters and Whipped Cherries. Later on, the brand will roll out additional strains including Blueberry Hotcakes and Ray Jackson’s Black Sox within weeks. While C4 can give off a hashy, Afghani-like appeal, G.O.A.T.’s Milk leans more sativa with a balanced amount of THC and CBD, according to reviewers. Whipped Cherries, on the other hand, tastes exactly how you’d expect it to.

“We have been working with legacy cultivators and operators seeking to establish their place in the regulated market for quite some time,” said Lavetta Willis, co-founder and President of Players Only. “The opportunity to incorporate legacy strains and expertise into the Players Only platform and menu furthers our goal of uplifting black entrepreneurs who have been building brands and intellectual properties for decades.”

The brand also announced a partnership with Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan to launch Compliments of the Chef and his partnership with Citizen Grown. Another collaboration involves Hassim Robinson and Winner’s Circle Genetics, to bring the PB&J strain as well as Quavo’s BIRKINZ to Michigan’s cannabis market. Detroit’s legacy brand “Lil Stupid” will also launch for the first time in the adult-use market while Detroit’s own Royce da 5’9″ will roll-out his “Heaven” brand as part of an NFT. Webber’s former Sacramento Kings teammate Jason Williams will also unveil the White Chocolate strain.

Webber recently appointed Matt Barnes, former NBA star and teammate, as Chief Collaborations Officer while launching “The Smoke” with his partner and co-host, Stephen Jackson. The offering’s name is a nod to Barnes’ and Jackson’s award-winning SHOWTIME series, “All The Smoke.”

The “All the Smoke” podcast features “the brash and unapologetic NBA champions, delivers authentic, unfiltered perspective on the most polarizing topics in and around the game of basketball, including culture, social justice, politics, music and more.”

Episodes of “All the Smoke” drop each Thursday.

The launch of the brand will kick off with a limited edition brand collaboration with the Players Only x Packwoods 2.5-gram Blunt, which will be available in select stores. Learn more at the Players Only website.

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The league first suspended testing during 2020 playoff bubble.

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The Webber Wellness Compound will provide consumption zones, job training, and expungements for the NBA All-Star’s hometown.

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NBA Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Chris Webber on Tuesday broke ground on Players Only Holdings, a $50 million cannabis production and training facility in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Once completed, the new facility sitting on nine acres near the Detroit River is expected to create hundreds of jobs over the next three years.

Co-founded by Webber with fellow entrepreneur Lavetta Willis, Players Only is a Black-owned business focused on cannabis cultivation, real estate development, brand partnerships and creative content development and management. The 180,000 square foot Players Only facility, dubbed the Webber Wellness Compound, will include a 60,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation operation, an 8,000-square-foot cannabis dispensary and a private consumption lounge. 

At Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Webber announced the creation of a distribution partnership for Players Only branded products with Gage Growth Corp., a leading, Michigan-licensed cannabis operator headed by CEO Fabian Monaco.

“This will be the shining jewel of Michigan. Everything great in Michigan starts in Detroit, and I am excited to collaborate with Gage to bring our premium line of Players Only products to this community,” former Detroit Piston star Webber said in a statement from Players Only. “Gage is the HOF of cannabis operations. With Fabian Monaco as a teammate, this relationship is a winner on every level.”

Cookies U Comes To Michigan

Webber also took the opportunity to reveal the Detroit expansion of cannabis training program Cookies U, founded by rapper and cannabis mogul Berner in partnership with The WebberWildWillis Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on uplifting and enriching Black and Brown communities negatively impacted by the War on Drugs. In a statement, Berner characterized the state of Michigan as “one of the most important markets in the cannabis industry.”

“Detroit is the first city we opened a flagship store in, outside of California. I have to salute Chris Webber, Jason Wild and Lavetta Willis for supporting our vision to build out Cookies U in Humboldt California and extending the program to Detroit, which happens to be Chris’s hometown,” said Berner, co-founder and CEO of Cookies. “Michigan has always been an advanced and educated market, and we couldn’t be more excited to offer underrepresented people an opportunity to learn the industry from seed to sale.”

Cookies U is a hands-on, fee-free training program that will recruit students from underserved communities and prepare them for jobs in the cannabis industry, including access to a GED program with a financial literacy component. In addition to the educational curriculum, a job-placement program will help graduates find employment in Michigan’s booming legal cannabis market.

“This Detroit training and operations facility is only the first step in bringing tangible opportunities to the people of this city—one that means so much to me—while eliminating barriers to an industry with unlimited economic potential,” Webber said. 

“We will create, foster and provide a cannabis ecosystem that celebrates diversity, creates jobs and benefits this community—focusing intensely on those who are being left behind. As social equity programs struggle in many states, we are here to support legacy operators who created the foundation for this industry so that they are included in future iterations of it while we wait on the politics to catch up.”

Construction on the first phase of the Webber Wellness Compound is expected to begin this fall, with work slated to wrap up by March 2022. A $125 million second phase, which as of yet has no announced timeline, will expand the cultivation area by 80,000 square feet.

“This is my biggest priority in life,” Webber said. “I’ve seen who (Willis) and I have helped across the country and the lives that have been disrupted by cannabis. Hopefully, we can do a little bit of repairing. Hopefully, we can help the city.”

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