Queer owned and operated, an LGBTQ+/BIPOC community-based cannabis business is opening this month in DTLA
BT MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM
It’s time to reclaim LGBTQIA+ space in cannabis,” states nightlife guru Andrés Rigal, one of the owners and founders of Green Qween, a cannabis dispensary company on a mission to use cannabis as a vehicle to support the queer community, slated to open this month in Downtown Los Angeles.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but the movement to legalize cannabis and the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights are intrinsically intertwined,” reveals Rigas in an interview with THE FIGHT.
“The first medical cannabis dispensary in California was founded by the LGBTQIA+ community by medical marijuana advocate Dennis Peron who championed its use as a way to alleviate the suffering of AIDS patients and the harmful side effects of the drugs prescribed at the time to fight the disease. This helped pave the way for medical marijuana in the state under Proposition 215 which then led to medicinal laws across the United States.”
“We want to use Green Qween as a vehicle and economic engine for change, funding the construction of a DTLA Proud Community Center, which would offer services for those community members in need.”
Rigal, along with former public sector employee Taylor Bazley, decided to open Green Qween because “there is not a lot of authentic Queer representation within the cannabis industry. It’s important that we as queer individuals continue paving the way for others to follow and use our space for marginalized brands to enter an industry that’s almost impossible to successfully break into. We had to fight tooth-and-nail to get where we are today. We hope that we are paving what was a rocky, hard path with a smoother road for others to follow and also laying the bricks of a robust gayborhood in cannabis.”
The duo recently connected with cannabis entrepreneur Andrew Modlin who through his firm, Red Workshop, will run the operations of the store bringing his experience as co-founder and past President of the cannabis retail chain, MedMen, to the company.
“I’m so grateful to be connected with these two fine individuals,” says Modlin. “As a gay man who also happens to have dedicated my life to bringing cannabis out of the shadows, this was a gift from the Universe. Taylor and Andres are manifesting an intention to make sure there is queer representation, participation and ownership in this new cannabis economy and I’m excited to do my part to help them run world class operations.”
“We partnered with Chrysalis to create a workforce development program to get low-income and homeless individuals into cannabis retail employment,” reveals Bazley. “We’re seeking to give space to LGBTQIA+, women and BIPOC-owned brands to help diversify the industry. While we’re just one store (for now), if we can use our power to support all these consumer brands that can be sold in our store where we might be the first contract for a few of them, that’s a big win because those brands can use those sales as demonstration to get more contracts—it all starts somewhere and for queer entrepreneurs we want it to start with Green Qween.”
“We hope together with our community to end this inadequate under-representation with Green Qween which is intentionally centered on supporting the local LGBTQIA+ BIPOC community in Downtown Los Angeles,” says Rigal. “We want to use Green Qween as a vehicle and economic engine for change, funding the construction of a DTLA Proud Community Center, which would offer services for those community members in need.”
When asked if he feels that his background in nightlife gives him more insight into operating an LGBTQ+/BIPOC community-based cannabis business, Rigal says that perhaps not directly, however it provides him with “a fresh perspective and allows me to`enter into an industry that more often than not seems to be producing more of the same year after year. The world of nightlife is fiercely competitive and greatly over-saturated. In order to be successful you must create brands that are unique, compelling, dynamic, fluid and aggressively creative. I’ve always felt that it is my responsibility to create content and safe spaces that not only entertain, but more importantly, connect and elevate our community at large. It has always been my objective to create compelling and creative brands that we as a community can build out and grow together.”
The difference between a queer owned and queer run business from a straight one—says Bazley —“is our connection and commitment to community… In an environment where most dispensaries’ interest in the community starts and ends with capturing the pink dollar we stand out as an outlier. Instead of donating ten or twenty thousand here or there during Pride month, we have baked into our standard operating procedures a consistent and year round commitment that aligns the dispensary’s success with the community’s.”
Green Qween is scheduled to open this month on 4/20 (of course!) The dispensary is located at 1051 South Broadway, in DTLA. For more info visit www.thegreenqween.com.
