Jazmín Aguiar has been involved in the cannabis business for almost 10 years. And although he had always had an interest in this product to commercialize it, initially he did not do so due to the negative connotation that the plant has among the Latino community.
“When talking about cannabis, the stigma of cartel and I knew that changing that perspective was going to be a huge job, ”Aguiar said. “Mexico has suffered a lot from the war with drugs.”
What I did not imagine is that when he moved to the state of Colorado, where cannabis is legal, he found an impeccable order in business that It motivated us to learn more.
“Now the entire market is regulated and when you enter the dispensaries they are very nice. They are not clandestine, ”Aguiar said. “That empowered me and I thought if this is legal in Colorado, then why don’t we legalize it in California so that they stop persecuting people.”
Cannabis has been legal for medicinal use in California since 1996, but in the 2016 its recreational use was approved .
She is now the president of The Working Group, a cannabis consulting and wholesaling agency, and is an ally of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council (NHCC), a national organization that supports the use of recreational, medicinal and industrial cannabis.
Aguiar is also part of the board of directors of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, where he provides his experience, gives consulting and support throughout the application process to obtain the
She stressed that she supports these groups to prevent other Latinos from facing obstacles that she faced. He explained that when he moved back to Los Angeles he tried to start on his own in the cannabis business, but the road was not easy. He learned that the Latino community is underrepresented in this business and could not find someone to identify with. So she was in charge of reading all the regulations and her interest in legal cannabis advocacy grew.
Aguiar assured that cannabis can be taken like any other product, but if it is not taken with measure it can have repercussions; such as alcohol, tobacco and even medical prescriptions.
“In the case of marijuana, people should be more responsible when using it for the first time because you do not know how you are going to react,” said the
Now applaud the work being done by the NHCC, a group of progressive Latinos who recently came together to launch the first national Hispanic cannabis group in the United States.
Antonio Valdez, executive director of the NHCC, said that the main objective is to educate the Hispanic community about the economic, health and wellness aspects of cannabis to enhance their support and participation in the industry.
In the United States there are already 36 states and four territories that have legalized cannabis for medical use which, according to the non-profit organization profit, can increase Latino participation and leadership in the industry.
Valdez said the organization is led by the industry int erna focused on better understanding the nomenclatures of common Latino differences.
“One of the intentions of this council is to better educate people in the cannabis industry about the Latino market,” he said Valdez.
He added that the council defends the legalization of cannabis and everything that is not legal does not interest them because it is not part of the work they want to do.
“Only the word Cannabis has a bad connotation. But many do not know that the Latino community has knowledge with a lot of antecedents about cannabis, ”said Valdez.
Among this knowledge is the positive perspective, the medical perspective, the economic perspective and the sense of learning to integrate the Latino community. It is these aspects that they want to expand to give more vision to Latinos in this industry.
Brian Valiente, founder of the NHCC board of directors and partner of the national law firm on cannabis Vicente Sederberg LLP , said in a statement that the prohibition of cannabis in the United States was founded in large part based on prejudice towards Mexican immigrants. Since then it has had a disproportionate impact on the Hispanic community.
“The NHCC will work to repair the damage caused by the old prohibition policies and to ensure that the Hispanic community benefits from the new legal systems that are in line to replace them, ”said Valiente. “We are excited to launch this organization at a time of unprecedented economic opportunity in the emerging legal cannabis industry.”
The NHCC will be comprised of individual and business members from across the United States and will be organized at through local groups with educational events and a professional network of contacts. You will also have national opportunities to interact with subject matter experts, in the fields of medicine, product policy, promotion and other areas.
To learn more about the organization, visit: https://nhccouncil.org/