Each year, as we celebrate the historical contributions from women in our society, the month of March is themed in both observance and call to action for Women’s History Month. For the year of 2022, the theme for Women’s History Month is “Providing healing, promoting hope,” tapping into the importance of the vital roles women play in history and today’s social and political movements.
We’re excited to kick off Women’s History Month with a celebration of canna-business pioneers who have overcome obstacles while trailblazing the path for themselves and others. We’ll be highlighting those making HERstory in the cannabis industry all month and no better way to kick off the festivities than with Crenshaw’s own, Kika Keith of Gorilla RX.
Founder of Life Development Group, Kika Keith is a social equity retail license holder and the first Black woman to own a dispensary in Los Angeles. After the missteps of LA’s social equity program found Kika (and other social equity applicants) in limbo, paying exorbitant amounts of rent on empty buildings while the city and county slowly rolled out the program, the activist and advocate came up with a plan of her own.
The then-empty building officially turned into a classroom for social equity applicants who came together to learn regulation, business development, and helped social equity applicants obtain verification. For more than two years, Kika served the community and continues to advance the people in her community with educational resources, health and wellness.
