Store
by Zaire Saunders
The War On Drugs has had a huge impact on and within the Black community. It was – and still is – another battle waged against us by white supremacist forces meant to decimate our communities and people. Nonetheless, to say that we’re down and out would only live up to be a lie. There have been countless stories of triumphs and failures, re-dos and redemptions detailing the trials and tribulations of those most affected by drug criminalization here within the City.
One such story of triumph recalls the life of Shawn Richard. Having made it alive through the War on Drugs, native San Franciscian Shawn Richard’s has broken through all social hurdles placed in front of him, and I’m blessed to say I’ve had the privilege to speak with him about his work and life.
We met on a Tuesday, at his store Berner’s On Haight, during the afternoon. Initially I was impressed with his business sense; the brother, standing tall cladded in a black leather jacket, was being bombarded with business calls and ordeals. Finally, after a bit of a wait, I was able to sit down with him to get his story.
His start in the cannabis game came during the years 2018 to 2019, when he joined a group called The San Francisco Equity group, a program that serves underprivileged and underrepresented neighborhoods within SF to “fulfill the promise of cannabis equity programs.” Kim Mitchell and Rudy Corpuz Jr., both members of the Equity Group, were the two to bring Richard on board.
“I didn’t know too much about it (legal cannabis), but I was able to get equity verified,” said Richard. It was through a conversation with Mitchell, Corpuz and his three business partners that Richard learned the city of San Francisco was opening up permits to get an equity Dispensary license.
Deciding to open up a dispensary was no small feat. From there still lay a journey ahead, “We had to apply for the permit and we were competing with others to get our store on Haight street,” Explained Richard, but he was hungry for it: “Everyone else took forty five minutes to an hour – we got ours done in six minutes.”
Once Richard was squared away on that end, he had to decide on what the actual store would be. Was it a mom and pop shop? Was the end goal to expand out? Richard’s business partner offered an answer: “My business partner linked up with Parker (Berling, president of Cookies) and we collaborated with Cookies. They soon became our branding partners.”
Sitting and chatting away with Richard, the impression of the War on Drugs and the counterculture legacy collided before me. Which led me to wondering, was there any racial strife when it came to him opening up and running his own business there? With the Cannabis industry being dominated by white business, was there any push-back against him operating out of this location?
“Well, in the beginning I did. You can’t open up a dispensary – as a white owner – because there has to be equity. So the City of San Francisco and State of California has put an equity plan in place.”
“ I grew up here, cole street right on the corner – my Grandfather lives two blocks up and owns two duplexes. I grew up at the Boys Club at Page street. Since I was 7 years old.”
Although he has his roots firmly planted here, Richard notes the many changes since his youth. “It ain’t nothing like it used to be back in the days versus how it is now. I grew up here, so being an owner of a marijuana dispensary is beautiful.”
One thing that is less than beautiful are the taxes. “Taxes are kicking my butt. We gotta do something about the taxes, we gotta figure out how to lower them. We really are not making no money, the State of California already has high taxing as it is and so the cannabis tax is two times the amount of normal taxes!”
Lastly, as we went around and explored his inventory briefly, he imparted me with some advice on how Black folks can get in the business. “Well I advise anybody that’s trying to start up a cannabis business to just go forward with it. It’s a lot of work. It’s time consuming, so have patience. It took me three years to open up from the time I applied for it.” But there was something more alluring than the cliche mention of patience. “But also, there’s more than just opening up a dispensary. There’s cultivation, delivery services – You can even put your own brand out!”
Stopping at a section of the store with a variety of marijuanna products, Richard explained, “These are all equity brands, all these brands here are local to SF. Even I have brands here. Presidential Presents, The Rico Act, Traphouse – all these brands. You can do it this way too.”
Zaire Saunders is the copy editor and reporter for the SF Bay View Community Journalism Program, which is funded by the California State Library
