Marijuana Business Magazine

132 • Marijuana Business Magazine • November / December 2017 other council members over how the L.A. marijuana market will be regulated – including working on how longstand- ing black-market businesses can gain entrance to the legal industry. Grant is also planning his own cannabis brand and currently runs three dispensaries in Los Angeles. Moreover, Grant is planning to expand his current MJ operations to include growing, extracting and more, which means he’ll be a force in both cannabis politics and business. Xavier Becerra: Attorney General, California While not directly involved in the marijuana business or in shaping state cannabis policy, Becerra will be the first line of defense should U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration come after California over its MJ laws. Becerra has made no secret of the fact he relishes the prospect of battling Sessions over cannabis. “I would love to see Jeff Sessions come to California and tell us we’re not going to move forward on cannabis. Something tells me it’s not going to happen,” Becerra said in May. But if Sessions does take on California’s MJ industry, Becerra added: “I’d probably be the 1 millionth person in line to fight Jeff Sessions on that.” Hezekiah Allen: Executive Director, California Growers Association A native of Humboldt County, Allen represents over 1,200 members of the California Growers Association, which makes it one of the largest marijuana trade organizations in the nation.That also means he’s going to be influential in shaping state industry regulations, which is his primary goal as a Sacramento-based operative.The regulations – and any future changes to the rules – will be crucial for California MJ cultivators. Lindsay Robinson: Executive Director, California Cannabis Industry Association As the relatively new head of the California Cannabis Industry Asso- ciation – she was hired in early 2017 – Robinson will be running point on organizing the industry’s voice at the Capitol in Sacramento and in other halls of power across the state. Behind her, she has nearly 400 member companies. That number will almost certainly skyrocket as the regulated market progresses in coming months, lending the association more muscle in Sacramento as policymakers continue writing – and rewriting – laws to govern MJ businesses. Lynne Lyman: California State Director, Drug Policy Alliance A Los Angeles native, Lyman cut her policy teeth working for local and statewide political efforts. She later served as a consultant and policy expert in criminal justice and juvenile justice reform and violence reduction, includ- ing six years in Boston. Lyman returned to California in 2012 to head up DPA’s state office. Lyman was a major player in the 2016 campaign to legalize rec- reational marijuana, and she’s been working just as hard to ensure it’s implemented swiftly and properly. In that regard, her priorities include pushing for more funding of cannabis research, making MJ political movements more diverse and ensuring licenses are affordable for – and equitably awarded to – small marijuana businesses and those owned by people of color. Amber Senter: CEO, Leisure Life/ Executive Director, Supernova Women, Oakland Senter is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and web and marketing specialist who got into cannabis after being diag- nosed with lupus. As the current CEO of Leisure Life, an infused product company, and the long-time COO of Eureka Management Services and Wellness Collective, Senter is one of the leading African-American women in California cannabis. But Senter is also blazing new trails as one of the founders of Supernova Women, an Oakland-based advocacy group with a national focus on creating more opportunities for women of color in the cannabis industry.The group holds networking events and business education workshops and has also consulted with MJ regulators in Oakland as well as Maryland and Pennsylvania on social-equity policies. As California’s huge new MJ market gets off the ground, Senter and her peers at Supernova could play a pivotal role in making the industry more inclusive. ◆ C alifornia D reamin'