Who is Kika Keith? – The first black woman to open a pharmacy in Los Angeles

On August 25th, Kika Keith beat the chances of starting Gorilla Rx Cannabis Dispensary, the first black-owned cannabis store on Crenshaw Boulevard. According to the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation, there are hundreds of cannabis dispensaries across Los Angeles, but only one is owned by a black woman – Kika Keith.

Although the cannabis retail industry in Los Angeles and California is dominated by black consumers as a whole, it is mostly made up of white and Caucasian pharmacy owners. Since the recreational industry was legalized in 2016, non-black owned pharmacies have moved into black communities only to withdraw funds from local communities and invest in non-black communities.

Kika Keith was born and raised in the Crenshaw District of the Los Angeles area. Growing up, she saw firsthand how black communities were suffocated by the drug war. The incarceration of many breadwinners makes income and employment opportunities difficult.

All of her life, Kika has fought to get the black and disadvantaged communities involved in urban projects. When Los Angeles launched a social justice program for cannabis companies in 2017, black communities were exempted for the first time. Thanks to their immense efforts, as well as the efforts of other cannabis advocates, the black community gradually became involved. And now she’s opened her own cannabis dispensary south of Stocker Street in a prime location next to Maverick’s apartment.

Kika gives something back to her community through Gorilla Rx. She worked hard to make sure her community finally had a black-owned cannabis store owned by someone inside rather than a non-black owner. With this facility, she is setting a good example for young black children in the area and removing the stigma that comes with cannabis use.

Kika Keith is a co-founder of the Social Equity Owners and Workers Association (SEOWA). She also took part in the 2020 Weedmaps documentary series “Uprooted”.

Kika started the Gorilla Rx formation process three years ago and was struggling to get a pharmacy license. This process dragged on until a lawsuit was filed against SEOWA. The matter was settled nine months after the lawsuit was filed, with 100 rental licenses granted to the applicants involved. During that time, the rented storefront on Crenshaw Boulevard remained unused and Kika had to pay to keep the area.

The stigma associated with cannabis use cannot be removed automatically. It is gradually being wiped out with the involvement and education of the younger generation.

In an interview, Kika Keith mentioned that the majority of people in colored communities are stigmatized by cannabis. It doesn’t matter whether you smoked it or not; People always think they smoke it.

Kika believes that people need to move away from focusing only on the negative aspects of cannabis and focus on the positive aspects instead. Cannabis has so many uses and medicinal benefits. So many diseases can be treated and managed with cannabis through a variety of application methods.

Kika added that the public needs to study how cannabis affects our endocannabinoid system (ECS).

The goal of every black cannabis advocate is to remove the stigma and show everyone that cannabis is not a bad thing. It can improve a person’s wellbeing and be a regular part of their lifestyle.

Smoking cannabis is just one of many ways the plant can be used. There are so many products out there, such as tinctures, drinks, edibles, pills, etc. Cannabis is much more than just smoking a joint and getting high. The community has to realize this before outsiders can.

LA cannabis dispensaries are highly profitable businesses, especially those based in black neighborhoods. This is the main reason many non-black owners settle in these communities. You are about to make a profit and get rich without investing in the territories again.

Kika Keith stated that Gorilla Rx was founded primarily to give back to the community. She stated that the profits from the business would be reinvested in the neighborhood. Their main goal is to ensure that the Crenshaw District’s prosperity and health grow and grow significantly. Failure by the community would pose a problem for this generation and the next.

To further prove her point, Kika made sure all Gorilla Rx employees were from the Crenshaw district. This is unusual as most cannabis dispensaries in black communities tend not to hire any local staff. Efforts like this encourage other local activists and community development associations to request that other cannabis dispensaries in the area give back to the community.

An example of one such pharmacy that failed to give back to the neighborhood is LA Cannabis Co … This brand operated in Crenshaw for about 10 years before residents boycotted it. During their stay, they failed to hire employees on site, to beautify them or to donate to the community treasury. According to Kika’s words, they came to Crenshaw, brought their family members, took money from the residents and invested it in their part of the state.

Gorilla Rx has a community benefit plan. A percentage of total sales are donated to charitable organizations in the community. Kika added that Sweet String, their nonprofit, will be used for this. that it is a better sustainable model in the long run.

It was an uphill battle from the day Kika Keith started editing the files for her store to the day she finally opened the doors of the Gorilla Rx Wellness Center to the public. As Kika said, seeing a black company thrive in the cannabis sector would be a source of motivation, hope and positive stories for the younger generation in the community.

The battle for inclusion and social justice is far from over, but with more success stories like Kika Keith’s, victory would be one step closer.

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