Born and raised in Crenshaw Boulevard, Gorilla RX, founder Kika Keith, has been sitting on her retail store for over two years and finally opened this week. Kika Keith worked hard to bring a Black-owned cannabis dispensary to her community, with the goal to level the playing field, and erase the stigma associated with cannabis use.
Although may cannabis dispensaries opening around the Los Angeles, the complexities of both opening and operating a cannabis dispensary is a learning curve, as well as licensing for retail takes a-lot longer and costs are high for small businesses.
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Kika Keith has shown that she is an example of community reinvestment. Many cannabis dispensaries in Black communities do not hire people in the local areas, however, Keith has hired 20 employees from the Crenshaw District.
An example of this was LA Cannabis Co, that was boycotted by the Crenshaw District, because they were “existing in [the] community for 10 yeas. They didn’t hire from our community.”
Portions of the revenue produced by Gorilla Rx will be awarded to local non-profit organizations that benefit the surrounding areas.
