What's going on everyone, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host "IRON" Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought-provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business.

With the legalization of recreational marijuana in 15 states and the opening of medical dispensaries all across the country, the rapidly growing cannabis industry is plagued with more questions than answers from black Americans, with regards to criminalization and equity in the space.  To get a better understanding of the landscape, I invited on the show Jacquie Cohen Roth, Founder & CEO of Tea Pad, a social enterprise and a professional networking group for the cannabis industry. Tea Pad is a change-maker, whose mission is to break down barriers to entry and to empower people to participate in the cannabis industry - no matter gender or race. Tea Pad is actively challenging the industry to walk the talk of diversity and inclusion. In the following episode, Jacquie and I discuss the history of marijuana in the United States, the criminalization laws that led to mass incarceration, and the systemic racism plaguing today's cannabis industry.  This topic is very near to my heart, as a black American who's witnessed countless young black men & women go to prison for selling marijuana. While black Americans continue to fight for representation in the military and corporate America, the cannabis industry is repeating the same pattern of systemic exclusion. As always, I appreciate you for sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy today's show.