Amber Littlejohn steps down as Minority Cannabis Business Association chief

Amber Littlejohn, a national advocate for equity in the marijuana industry, has stepped down as executive director of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) to pursue new opportunities in the industry.

Littlejohn did not say what’s next for her or respond to an MJBizDaily email seeking comment.

“MCBA is grateful for the years of service that Amber has given to the cause of a more equitable cannabis industry and the concrete progress on policy she has helped secure on the state and federal level on behalf of Black and brown cannabis entrepreneurs,” Kaliko Castille, MCBA board president, said in a news release announcing Littlejohn’s departure.

Castille will serve as interim executive director of the 7-year-old national organization.

Littlejohn, an attorney and policy advocate, started as MCBA’s policy director before being appointed executive director in 2020.

Her accomplishments included:

• Writing MCBA’s National Equity Report and Equity Map, a comprehensive review of marijuana social equity programs and legalization policies across the country and their shortcomings.
• Overseeing the submission of nearly 30 pages of comments to a draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, a comprehensive marijuana reform bill introduced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Some of the suggestions were incorporated into the final draft.
• Testifying to a congressional committee about the importance of cannabis banking reform to the survival of small and minority-owned businesses. As part of that effort, she and SAFE Banking Act sponsor Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat, established SAFE4Equity, an education campaign to support the passage of banking reform.

“I am grateful for my time with MCBA and look forward to continuing to work with the MCBA community to end prohibition and create an equitable cannabis industry,” Littlejohn said in a statement.