A cannabis industry organization is collaborating with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, also known as the CBCF to present internship events to black students and recent college graduates who will receive first-hand work experience at significant cannabis companies in 2022.
The U.S. Cannabis Council, also known as the USCC is backing the spring 2022 presentation, which will arrange for nine interns at one of eight major cannabis firms such as Weedmaps Canopy, Curaleaf, the Cannabis Policy Project, Columbia Care, and others.
For upwards of 30 years, the CBCF has been backing internships to help strengthen leadership skills and give young people the real-world experience to get involved directly in public service. The foundation’s “Pathways to C-Suite Internship Program” is a recent emphasis that assists in placing black undergraduates and graduates in the private cannabis sector.
Today, in another sign of the modernization of the cannabis industry, CBCF and USCC are working concurrently to groom the next generation of cannabis entrepreneurs and cannabis reform advocates.
‘Black Americans are underrepresented in today’s cannabis marketplace,’ Donna Fisher-Lewis, co-interim chairman and CEO of CBCF, stated in a press statement. ‘We’re thrilled to join forces with USCC and its constituents to help create a diverse talent pipeline for the private cannabis industry.’
Interns chosen for the cannabis internship program will be able to network with cannabis industry specialists and learn the ins and outs of cannabis policy reform while gaining real-world experience, and they will be granted a stipend and housing credit.
Applications for the internship were due last week on December 3rd at 5pm.
‘Realistically, the primary goal of the cannabis internship program is to create roadways for future leadership in the private cannabis industry, particularly in upper management and future executives of weed,’ Tahir Johnson, executive of social equity and inclusion at USCC, informed a notable cannabis news outlet.
‘We understand that there’s a shortage of [black ownership in the private cannabis industry], so we need to be able to make certain that we’re teaching, developing, and giving chances to get their foot in the door at cannabis firms to help to lessen that break and be able to generate chances for entrepreneurship and prospective leaders and executives in cannabis industry’ he said.
Cedric Haynes, who worked as associate vice president for government relations at Weedmaps and ventured through the CBCF Emerging Leaders internship program eleven years ago, stated he is ‘a covenant to the influence of these cannabis internship programs and the various opportunities that such a cannabis internship bestows.’
‘I held a front-row seat to the national legislative process while residing in Washington, D.C.,” Haynes said. ‘The experience that CBCF rendered jump-started my career in cannabis public policy, and I am forever grateful for [the opportunity.]”
CBCF was established nearly five years after the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) joined together back in 1971. Its committee is comprised of private industry executives, teachers, and various current members of the congressional caucus, like Reps. Dwight Evans (D-PA), Colin Allred (D-TX), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).
‘The roadways to the C-Suite internship program will grant our members with grade A talent while assisting and building a more inclusive cannabis industry,’ Steven Hawkins, CEO of USCC, stated. ‘Interns will get precious work experience in a dynamic, cultivating, and evolving field like cannabis. Their on-the-job experience paired with the professional growth provided by the cannabis internship program will prepare them for success in cannabis and other professional ventures.’
As more states continue to enact pro-cannabis laws and abolish cannabis prohibition, the cannabis industry is expanding every quarter. This type of market expansion grants those who participate in the cannabis internship program better chances of landing employment.