Black Cannabis Magazine founder Hazey Taughtme started his company with an Apple Card he just got approved for, a mock magazine cover, and connections. Connections that ended him up in Whoopi Goldberg’s kitchen talking about cannabis! Unscripted, raw conversations with topics ranging from women’s health and rights; to social equity and retail dispensary owners giving back to the communities they set up shop in.
Ninety minutes into the conversation, Haze realizes that he could do this for a living. Talk to his peers about cannabis and show the world a different perspective about minorities in the cannabis industry. Here he is sitting with his favorite actress, Whoopi Goldberg, host of ABC’s The View most known for Sister Act 1 & 2 and Ghost. Haze is the first person in the media Whoopi talks about cannabis since her contract with the network ABC prevented her from doing so.
Imagine owning a brand and not being able to market or promote it because it contains banned substances made essential businesses during the pandemic.
“Our first interview was about Whoopi and Maya, Whoopi’s first brand that helped women with their menstrual pain,” Haze explains. “Whoop was so pissed that nowhere in the country could you go to a doctor and say I have menstrual cramps and get licensed for medical marijuana. Can you believe that?”
Whoopi even reached out to Governor Christie and asked for change, but she was met with hesitancy. Whoopi said it is a Women’s rights issue, and they are discriminating against women. Upset with Christie, she had all her fans from The View send the Governor’s Office maxi pads for months until it was flooded.
Haze has been in the legal cannabis industry since 2017. He was first interested in pheno hunting to find strains for celebrities—the process of selecting the best phenotype of a strain for mass production. Hazey met 805 Farmily, searching for the perfect strain for his previous client, Freeway Rick Ross. They explored strains and even CBD product lines. But that project was later scrapped.
Haze linked with Bonita Money, producer of the box office smash “Cradle to the Grave” and founder of The National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance, and began studying the legal cannabis industry by shadowing Bonita and volunteering for her non-profit organization.
During this time, Haze quickly learned about local ordinances in Los Angeles, how to get licensed, and social equity and expungement work.
Haze created Black Cannabis Magazine because he noticed a trend in cannabis media of only mentioning people of color during Black History Month or to fill a quota. Many of the stories reported about BIPOC people in the media are arrests of people being caught with large amounts of cannabis. Its been going on since the 70’s.
“I believe when the other cannabis media companies realized there was a market for this information; positive and uplifting stories about people of color in the cannabis industry, they all began to follow suit,” says Hazey Taughtme. I went from 1 follower to 21,000 really fast on clubhouse, and these media companies were shocked. Traditional marketing is being disrupted all the time. Clubhouse showed us that. I literally launched Black Cannabis Magazine on that app and followed up with a print magazine with the Biggest. Ms. EGOT herself, Whoopi Goldberg!“
Haze went on to having a cannabis commercial with Spectrum Reach on channels like CNN, OWN TV, NFL Network, VH1, BET, and ID Channel, searching for the next big ancillary BIPOC brand with Humble and Fume, Canada’s largest distributor of products to smoke shops and dispensaries, mentoring them and launching them in a trade show!
Haze says next year he will be focusing more on the “Hazey Taughtme” brand and he’s currently looking for the perfect manager. “We can expect a full year of issues for Black Cannabis Magazine, podcast partnerships, tv/film deals, and product lines for Black Cannabis Magazine brand to market the platform and ensure growth. I’m looking forward to kicking down doors for people of color in the cannabis industry! Pretty soon you will see all of the other media follow suit in telling positive and uplifting stories.”
Until then you can find me at Blackcannabismagazine and on Instagram at @Blackcannabismagazine
