The JUSTÜS Foundation has received a donation of $100,000 from RAW Rolling Papers to create the RAW Seeds Fellowships, which aim to provide opportunities to legacy cannabis operators.
The JUSTÜS Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organisation that is dedicated to facilitating the entry of legacy cannabis operators to the legal cannabis market.
Three Legacy Operators who were negatively impacted by the justice system due to cannabis laws will be awarded up to $20,000 of RAW Seeds Fellowship grants to start legal cannabis businesses.
RAW’s founder Josh Kesselman stated: “We take great pride in supporting and empowering the pioneers who laid the foundation of this industry.
“As the industry undergoes a significant transformation, emerging from the shadows and embracing legality, it is crucial that those who built it from the ground up are the beneficiaries, along with the communities they come from.
“While major companies are rushing to take advantage of new laws legalising cannabis, we need to support the small entrepreneurs who are the true lifeblood of this industry.”
Steve DeAngelo, founder of The JUSTÜS Foundation, commented: “The men and women who carried cannabis through the dark years of Prohibition should be treated like heroes—not criminals.
“Instead of being excluded from the legal cannabis industry, legacy operators should be warmly welcomed into it. They should be honoured as the brave pioneers and accomplished experts they truly are, not ostracised or excluded because they have been convicted for breaking unjust laws that should never have been passed.
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“These grants will help return opportunities to legacy cannabis entrepreneurs that shouldn’t have been taken away from them in the first place. We look forward to seeing our grant recipients thrive and rise, to become leaders of the industry, and to inspire and assist other members of the legacy community to follow their example.
“Together, we will build a cannabis industry we can truly be proud of.”
Chief Operating Office of The JUSTÜS Foundation, Scheril Murray Powell, added: “We are in the barrier removal business at The JUSTÜS Foundation.
“Legacy Integration is the fast track to diversifying the Legal Cannabis Market. By giving Legacy Cannabis Operators the tools and resources needed to succeed, we contribute to the creation of a robust, compliant, inclusive, and high-performing industry which provides health and wellness to society.
“By empowering these undervalued Cannabis Business Executives, we propel them to the front lines of the health equity movement and the creation of economic growth for jurisdictions around the world.
“The JUSTÜS Foundation outreach and support of underserved communities such as Rastafari community, Social Equity Participants, and Legacy Operators is unprecedented.”
The program may also award up to $15,000 in smaller grants to multiple legacy operators to launch legal cannabis businesses, or to facilitate a career in the legal cannabis industry.
The grant window will be open from 1 August to 31 August.
