Jamie Lea, model, fashion influencer, former Division 1 college volleyball player and Uber Technologies Inc UBER executive, just burst onto the CBD wellness market with the launch of Toastyy.
The inaugural line includes broad and full spectrum tinctures in Vanilla and Orange flavors, energizing daytime supplements made with hemp and B12 vitamins, nighttime supplements made with pure CBD isolate, chamomile and melatonin as well as a hemp oil broad spectrum hand and body lotion for glowing, hydrated skin.
“To be completely honest, whether it's manufacturing, product development, packaging, marketing, etc., I am 99.9% the only woman and/or woman of color in a meeting,” Lea told Benzinga. “I strive to make a change and to be a role model for old and young women of color that may want to enter into the space. It’s almost like the industry became a white males' paradise with no consideration for the people who have been and continue to be damaged by it, and full of microaggressions. Women of color must continue to bring a cultivating change in cannabis. I.e., paving the way for a different future for themselves and our communities.”
For Her People
As a Black woman and ambitious entrepreneur, launching Toastyy to the masses is just the beginning for Lea. What’s most important to her is making an impact for all women of color in the cannabis industry.
When CBD boomed, it was touted as a self-care supplement for all. Its healing, non-psychoactive properties meant that everybody, from your parents to your pets, could partake in cannabis without experiencing that tabooed cerebral sensation the plant is so intrinsically tied to.
Still, cannabis criminalization makes this promise difficult to materialize.
African-Americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite usage rates being comparable. And now, as cannabis sits in various states of legalization throughout the U.S., that number pops up again, but inversely: Only four percent of cannabis businesses are owned by Black people, while 81 percent are owned by their white entrepreneurial counterparts.
Statistics are even lower for Black females in the CBD wellness industry.
As the country moves away from marijuana criminalization, giving rise to a major industry, there still remains the fundamental injustice inflicted on those who have suffered criminal convictions and the lasting consequences of those convictions. People of color are consistently overrepresented in marijuana arrests. Areas with the highest weed possession arrest rates nearly always have proportionally larger demographics of POC.
Most companies still have not seriously undertaken and put into effect their diversity, equity or inclusivity plans. Those that have implemented such plans still manage to exclude African American men and women from the equation, and when it comes to equity, they waver. In the cannabis space, women of color lack support and a community.
“Most importantly, WOC like myself are changing the stereotypes surrounding cannabis and opening the public’s eyes to how the cannabis industry can serve communities of color rather than oppress them,” continues Lea. “It is important that WOC continue to take a stand for what they believe in. To today, the cannabis industry is dominated by men, white men and African American ownership account for 4-6%. It's time to make a change and to allow our voices to be heard,” Lea added.
What will Toastyy do?
Toastyy is dedicated to using its platform, voice and resources to help the cause. They will be giving back a portion of sales to criminal injustice reform and encouraging all Toastyy Babes to do the same. Toastyy is currently partnered with the Last Prisoner Project, allowing customers and Toastyy Babes to donate to the 'Roll It Up for Justice.’
Más contenido sobre cannabis en Español en El Planteo.
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