Hi, I'm Dan Premak, host of Axios Recap.

Today, we're bringing you the latest episode in our special Hard Truths series on structural racism.

I'll now turn it over to my Axiose colleague, Naila Boodoo.

Hi, I'm Naila Boodoo of Axios today.

And welcome to our special Saturday Hard Truths edition,

examining systemic racism in the U.S.

Today, the obstacles two black Latinas had to overcome

when they chose to start their own businesses

in the overwhelmingly white marijuana industry.

In 2018, almost 700,000 people in the U.S. were charged for possession of marijuana.

Black people were almost four times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people,

despite the fact that both groups use marijuana at similar rates. For a long time,

because of the so-called war on drugs of the 80s and 90s, these disparities were the primary story of marijuana and people of color in the U.S. But now that story is changing. As marijuana is

legalized in more states across the U.S. and growing into a

multi-billion dollar industry, black entrepreneurs are trying to reclaim the plant that crush their

communities for so long. Black entrepreneurs like Gia Moron. I saw this as an opportunity to say,

if I watch people in my community get arrested for this,

why can't I help people in my community enter from the legal, quote unquote, right,

the governmental legal standpoint of this and seeing where we can seek those opportunities.

Gia runs her own PR firm, GVM Communications, offering public relations services

for marijuana businesses. She started her company in 2012 after working at Goldman Sachs for 15 years.

Three years after starting her company, she moved into the marijuana industry.

...