BALCA’s logo. Photo credit: balca.live.
One of the biggest issues with the rapidly-growing cannabis industry is diversity.
Back in 2017, a Marijuana Business Daily poll reported that 81% of all cannabis business owners are white. Additionally, Hispanics/Latinos made up 5.7%, African-Americans 4.7%, and Asians 2.4% of ownership rates.
As a result, one group, the Bay Area Latino Cannabis Alliance (BALCA), came together in an effort to make a change. Their vision focuses on supporting and building their five pillars; education, professional development, business ownership, civil rights, and culture.
BALCA states that these pillars “are critical in developing a healthy cannabis industry and developing a strong voice for Latinos/as in cannabis.”
Origins
BALCA, formed in 2020, is a volunteer-run organization. Their top priority is giving a voice to Latinos/as in the cannabis industry. It was co-founded by Cynthia Villamizar, Javier Armas and Daniel Montero.
“The tokenization, exploitation, overworking, and exoticization [of Latinos/as] was very rampant in 2018 with the rush of recreation[al cannabis in California],” Javier Armas tells Emerald by email.
Consequently, prominent Latinx entrepreneurs, equity businesses, marketing managers, budtenders, floor managers, and drivers came together to discuss these issues.
As a result, the group united to address these growing issues within the Latinx community. The founders also decided to unite on five principles/pillars: education, professional development, business ownership, civil rights, and culture. These pillars are critical in developing a healthy cannabis industry and developing a strong voice for Latinos/as in cannabis.
Additionally, their mission statement, which can be found on their website, states: “whether it is the Latinx entrepreneur struggling to get on the retail shelf, the Latinx field worker who toils under the hot sun for minimal pay, the Latinx budtender who helps hundreds of patients a day, we are building a voice that articulates these experiences and contributions made to cannabis.”
Education
Their first principle — education — involves the group’s commitment to “developing quality educational content about Latinos/as in cannabis, as well as educating the community with our bilingual newsletter, and other platforms,” their website adds.
BALCA’s newsletter — The Voice or La Voz — is the first bilingual cannabis newsletter in the U.S. They are currently on their sixth and final issue for this year.
Post from @balca_bayarea on Instagram.
The current issue features its lead article on Soldaderas. Soldaderas, according to History, was a term for women in the military in the Mexican Revolution, some of whom distributed cannabis, including to military barracks. The publication also features stories on the Mexican Revolution and cannabis, and Cindy De La Vega — the first Latina to own a cannabis dispensary, STIIIZY, in San Francisco’s Union Square.
BALCA helps support STIIIZY and also, other regional, Latinx-owned businesses through marketing efforts, and “[…] educating their budtenders with a dynamic class that goes over cannabis science and cannabis history,” Armas further explains.
Professional Development
BALCA also consists of champions for upward mobility. Specifically, they strive to “provide resources needed for our community, pursue growth opportunities, and build towards cannabis business ownership,” according to their website.
“We have developed leadership titles for our community,” Armas explains. “A skilled grower is BALCA’s Latin America Director, and they produce a bilingual video once a week.”
Additionally, BALCA also hosts monthly mixers, Armas explains. “Our monthly mixers are a place for members to receive community support for their entrepreneurial efforts.”
Business Ownership
As previously mentioned, Latinos/as only make up 5.7% of cannabis business owners. As a result, BALCA aims to push this number as high as possible to create a diverse atmosphere within the industry.
“There is way too little Latinx cannabis business ownership,” says Armas.
In order to help increase these rates, the group works to “support Latinx entrepreneurs in building their own businesses, and developing unique products or services for the industry,” according to their website.
“Any BALCA member who has a start-up business is welcome to write for our newsletter for exposure and announce it at our monthly mixers,” Armas explains.
Additionally, the group has increased business with BALCA-associated companies. This includes STIIIZY Union Square, Taste dez Treatz, Native Humboldt Farms, and more.
Next, BALCA will host Bianca Starr at their next mixer, showing support for her local, Latina and equity-owned business.
Civil Rights
BALCA also works to challenge civil rights violations in the industry including racism, sexual harassment, sexism, and tokenism. They aim to remain uncompromising in their search for full rights for Latinx community members.
For example, the group worked to stop massive wage theft. They challenged a Koreatown workers center, shedding light on wage violations.
Post from @balca_bayarea on Instagram.
Furthermore, “we have helped several Latinx workers who have been subject to not getting regular pay, overtime or final paycheck,” Armas explained. “We send to appropriate worker centers or plaintiff side law firms with a history of helping their clients in non-predatory ways.”
Additionally, BALCA also has helped connect other workers to Bay Area-based employment firms.
Culture
As BALCA’s website states, “we Latinos have our own distinct, dynamic culture fusing Indigenous, Spanish and African cultures, and celebrating our culture with cannabis is central to our mission.”
As such, BALCA puts on community events and fundraisers.
“We executed three public fundraisers [in] Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco, selling our newsletter and uniting our community,” says Armas. “Each fundraiser, our crowd gets bigger and bigger.”
Post from @balca_bayarea on Instagram.
One of their most dynamic cannabis-community fundraiser events in San Francisco, Honor La Soldadera (honor the female soldier), was held on September 19th this year and had over 1,100 attendees.
For example, “we had Aztec dancers, Mariachis, United Playaz (community organization) with their youth singers, and a Salsa band,” Javier explains.
The event also featured five local Latinx owned cannabis brands.
In addition to promoting “cultural expressions” and “celebrating Latinx Indigenous, Spanish and African roots,” Armas explains; “BALCA also promotes the historical meaning behind marijuana as a word, linked to its indigenous plant-based medicine”
Additionally, the alliance is consolidating all of its newsletters into a bilingual book for cannabis retailers and community spaces. Additionally, they plan to release it in December 2021.
In the meantime, BALCA makes frequent use of their Instagram. Here, audiences can learn more about their cause and stay up-to-date on their plans.
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