The air smells of weed, and a soft haze of smoke blankets the room. People sit at tables chatting, laughing and puffing as they smoke, roll joints and grind their weed. Everyone here knows each other. Or at least it seems they do. In this place, no one is a stranger.
This is Cola Private Lounge (2834 Cherokee, 314-884-1699), a members-only cannabis lounge that became the first of its kind in Missouri when it opened on Cherokee Street in 2019. Cola’s slogan aptly describes itself as a “place where buds meet.” But on this evening, a chill Monday night, Cola Lounge is more than that. It’s the center of organizing for Minorities for Medical Marijuana.
Minorities for Medical Marijuana, or M4MM, is an international organization with chapters in 27 states, including Missouri. Here, members have had plenty to talk about. For some, the state’s roll-out of legal adult-use cannabis was as disappointing as it was for medical marijuana, when few people of color were able to get into the industry.
At the time of M4MM’s mixer in November, it had been about a month since the state’s Division of Cannabis Regulation announced the winners of its lottery for micro-business cannabis licenses. What were supposed to be “social-equity” licenses intended to allow minority cannabis professionals a pathway into the industry ended up being flooded by out-of-state interests.
A Missouri Independent investigation found that out-of-state entities recruited people eligible for the licenses through Craigslist and convinced them to sign away potential profits in exchange for a small, upfront fee. The state’s department of health has since said it will determine if micro-businesses are majority owned by the applicants through a post-licensure verification process.
Micro-licenses aren’t a huge focus of M4MM’s meeting tonight. About an hour into the mixer, Cola Lounge’s proprietor and M4MM rep, Brennan England, walks up to the front of the room, greeting the crowd with a “welcome home.” This place is “authentically, and unapologetically, a home for Black people where everyone is welcome,” he says.
Soon into his speech, England says he wasn’t going to talk about micro-business applications much. “You know why? Because the last time I asked if anyone had applied, there was not one fucking hand that raised in the room,” he says. “It just showed the amount of distrust and the amount of concern that our community has with the system.”
Brennan asks how many are interested in the next line of licenses. A couple of the 30-some people in the room raise their hands.
The point of these mixers isn’t to trash on any perceived injustices. England started gathering people in August 2021 so they could network and build a united voice. Every month, new and old attendees come to get informed about politics, meet other business owners, market their products or just hang out.
“Black and brown folks make up less than 4 percent of the industry, even though we’re at a 400 percent likelihood of being targeted for the plant,” England says. “That’s getting better, but as the industry grows, our inclusion doesn’t unless we organize and fight for it.”
At the very least, the mixers are one of very few free informational cannabis sources, according to Abrahama Keys, who owns a cannabis networking company called We Cann. Applicants for micro-businesses can spend thousands of dollars on consultants to beef up their applications. Others, including England, try for the licenses through a grant accelerator program. Though England did not win in the latest round.
“It’s an extra edge up,” Keys says of the mixers.
Keys didn’t apply for a micro-license during the first round, when the state issued six licenses per Missouri’s eight congressional districts in October. By 2025, the state will issue 144 licenses through three rounds of lotteries.
“Until you know whether or not the playing field will be leveled, it’s really hard to get excited and put all the time and effort into it,” Keys says.
But there are some exciting things developing. The constitutional amendment that legalized recreational cannabis gave control to local governments on where cannabis consumption could be allowed. There’s been talks of canna-friendly picnic areas, cafes, temporary consumption permits for events such as concerts and more.
And as the industry evolves, England tells the people in Cola Lounge they’re always able to leverage their expertise and get into the industry in creative ways. Many in the room, from cannabis chefs to artisan “glassware” makers, already have.
“The biggest opportunity we have are the skills we already possess,” he says.
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