Businesswoman and Community Leader Eve Robinson Talks About Challenges and Opportunities for Blacks in the Marijuana Business

By Bo Tefu | Impact Alameda

Paralyzed and fighting for her life in a hospital bed, Oakland native Eve Robinson battled the rare and lethal neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome for more than a year until medical experts included marijuana as part of her treatment.

Five years later, Robinson is now the business owner of online cannabis stores Green Leaf Collective and Kingston JamesPrivate Collection. Both outfits specialize in medicinal marijuana to treat mentaland physical illnesses.

Medicinal marijuana helped Robinson restore her appetite and alleviate the pain associated with the disorder. Robinson’s gradual recovery sparked her curiosity to further research the medical use of cannabis and its health benefits.

“I was on a feeding tube and couldn’t eat. I was actually dying,” Robinson says.“The medication wasn’t working so I tried marijuana and it stimulated myappetite.”

Robinson also started experimenting with cannabis oil while undergoing physical and occupational therapy to soothe the pain and frequent spasms in her legs and joints.

“I had never really consumed cannabis. But knowing that it saved my life, I was pretty curious,” she says.

Robinson recalls her physical therapist noticing that she stopped crying from the pain during sessions. Even her friends saw how well the cannabis oil was working for her and started ordering their own supply.

From righting the wrongs of the War on Drugs that harmed generations of Black and Brown people to the legalization of marijuana – even unlicensed sellers of the plant are still incarcerated — Robinson says achieving equity in the cannabis industry will take time. It is a marathon and not a race, she Says.

The city of Oakland’s Equity Program helps minority-owned cannabis businesses get funding and licenses to kick start their business.

Robinson, a beneficiary of the program, says it helped her as a cannabis manufacturer compete with White-owned established businesses with deeper pockets and more resources that usually have theeconomic upper hand in the industry.

Hundreds of equity applicants have received licenses since the start of the program in 2017, but there is still room for improvement. To maintain their competitive edge and stay afloat, minority businesses will need morehelp.

Robinson also runs Ella B. Jenkins an online art and retail store based on the life and adventures of   Ella, a fictionalized Black girl who teaches African American children about identity, self-love, and how to embrace their heritage.

The winner of the 2011 Jefferson Award, Robinson shows that passion for the Black community pairs well with her entrepreneurial drive and natural leadership ability.

She has received recognition for her initiatives from local churches in Oakland  and the Fruitvale district. She continues to serve minority communities by donating masks and supporting local food pantries that help low-income families affected bythe pandemic.

Her community service and vocational talents are a testament to her passion for Black and Brown communities.

In this interview, Robinson sheds light on what it is like to be a business owner in the cannabis industry, the war on drugs, and some of the challenges of entrepreneurship.

What successes and challenges have you experienced as a minority owner in Oakland?

 A year after I started my business, the city of Oakland came up with the Equity Program designed to help people of color apply for cannabis licenses — and they assist with the license fees.

It was a very long process, after two years, a group of us received cannabis licenses. Now, I’m a cannabis manufacturer of medicinal products.

My business has grown through word-of-mouth. My products are not in a dispensary because dispensaries aren’t really motivated to buy products from people of color. Most of them promised that they would when they obtained their license, but they haven’t. The city can’t force them to do so.

What kind of support did you receive from the city’s Equity Program?

The city promised to help equity licensed candidates launch their businesses by providing rent-free incubation for three years. Once the three years are over, people with dispensaries are successful but a lot of the equity business applicants are either out of business or about to be out of business.

The city’s loan and grant program helped us kick start our business. However, it’s hard to keep up with the competition when youdon’t have a distributor.

We need our products in the marketplace, getting our products in a dispensary is a real challenge. Dispensaries should be encouraged to buy from equitybusinesses

How did the war on drugs affect you and your community?

It’s unfair that there are brothers and sisters who are still incarcerated because of the buying and selling of marijuana. Non- people of color are being successful, they have growing houses and dispensaries in Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley while our fellow black and brown people were punished and are suffering.

How has the pandemic affected your business?

It’s been really hard, I used to go to senior centers and give speeches about mybusiness. I can’t do that now. The senior centers are closed so I can’t reach most of my clientele.

I also used to get vending opportunities at festivals and other events. I can only run the business online and a lot of our clientele are seniors and they have limited access to the internet.

The dispensaries are doing really well. People can still go in there and buy what they want. It’s always harder for us because we don’t have outlets to sell our products. I have a good referral base that’s helped our business stay afloat, but to be really successful in this game you have to be in the dispensary.