A BUDDING INDUSTRY
The legal cannabis industry generated nearly $7 billion in revenue in 2016, a figure that is expected to more than double by 2020. Some of the arena’s most forward-thinking leaders—investor and entrepreneur Benjamin Bronfman, consultant Andrew Freedman, delivery service founder David Hua, and attorney Tsion “Sunshine” Lencho—talk with Gossamer’s Verena von Pfetten about the sector as a hotbed of innovation.
You’ve all done a multitude of things. David, you’ve launched several companies. Andrew, you were in government. Sunshine, you’re a practicing lawyer, and Ben, you’re an entrepreneur and a musician. Why get into the cannabis space?
BEN BRONFMAN: For me, it was deeply personal. My family [which founded the Seagram Company] made its wealth in Prohibition, so there was this historical mirror. My mom’s side was African American, and I saw that they were, in the United States, locking up African-American and Latino youths on this issue. I decided that I had to dive into this space. And once I got in, I couldn’t get out.
SUNSHINE LENCHO: In law school, I took a wine-law class. There was a footnote on marijuana prohibition that I turned into a research paper. I realized that Prohibition was founded in very racist animus that you see perpetuated in law enforcement throughout our country, and we were repeating some of the patterns. I felt it was important that we create a space for people of color to come to cannabis and feel comfortable operating businesses in it.
ANDREW FREEDMAN: