Clinton Hill Church Is Unlikely Venue For Cannabis Conference

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — To some, a church may seem like an unusual place to host a conference about the marijuana business. But, the way advocates see it, the pulpit's history of bringing new ideas to the community actually makes it the perfect place to discuss the burgeoning industry.

That was the thought behind a national marijuana conference called the "Business of Cannabis Mini Summit" that was held at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill over the weekend.

The five-hour conference, organized by Women Grow, brought hundreds of people to the church to discuss everything from the health benefits of marijuana to how legalizing it in the city should be done with minorities in mind. The goal of the event was to highlight and help address the lack of people of color that make up the cannabis industry, event organizers said.

And although it was the first cannabis conference held in a church, the one of the speakers Dasheeda Dawson, chief strategy officer of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, sees it, it was the perfect place to do so.

Just as it was with the Civil Rights movement, churches are often able to bring ideas that seem radical at the time to the masses in a way that helps normalize them. That was part of the hope behind bringing a discussion on marijuana, that has been "demonized" in the past, to the congregation, she said.

"Church has historically been in our community a place where new information (reaches the community)," she said. "These are prominent leaders in the community and they’re starting to hear from advocates and thought leaders like myself. They want to make sure their communities are being educated properly."

Dawson was one of many expert speakers that participated in panels throughout the day at the conference. The event also included medical clinicians, grassroots health organizers, elected officials, attorneys and cannabis or hemp entrepreneurs.

The audience was a mix of those who are already in the industry and those who were curious about getting started, Dawson said.

Minorities so far are disproportionately underrepresented in the cannabis industry, she added, in large part due to its history of illegality. Communities that have been "preyed on and over-criminalized" when marijuana was illegal are hesitant to enter into the business, and often have a practical barrier from doing so, she said.

"Black and Hispanic men in part are more disproportionately arrested than their white counterparts," she said. "As a result of that alone, you have a criminal record that is preventative to get into the industry...(or) have post traumatic stress disorder from it and don't want to do anything that is perceived as illegal when it comes to marijuana. That sort of history has been a challenge to overcome."

Dawson also participated in a panel that discussed how this history should be addressed in any plan to legalize marijuana in the city or state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo started laying out his plan for legalizing marijuana this year.

Advocates at the conference discussed how the law should be written with social equity in mind and not just commercial profits, Dawson said. She hopes the conversation will continue as the laws move forward.

"There’s a contingent of us who really do want to have legalization happen in New York, but we want to see it happen smartly," she said. "This was the first of probably many events. You’ll see more in Brooklyn and across the board."