The tea pad gallery
It's live jazz, good eats, plentiful libations, & provocative conversation at every tea pad!
Welcome to Tea Pad !
"... Elevate the world and make a change. Share the science and educate with cannabis baby.
It's a Tea Pad Thing" - Slim C
Tea Pad Atlanta September 12, 2024 I One Flew South Beltline
Tea Pad march 24, 2024: Progress + Priorities
Tea pad with delegate JHEANELLE k. Wilkins, March 24, 2024
It was a historic day for maryland cannabis industry social equity
We celebrated history on Thursday, March 14, 2024, thrilled to be again with Maryland State Delegate Jheanelle K. Wilkins at the Light House Bistro in Maryland's capital city, the same spot we were in when the room was filled in February 2023. It was another night of live jazz, good eats, plentiful libations, and provocative conversation every Tea Pad is famous for!
Del Wilkins (D-20)is the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, the largest Black cause in the nation. On Thursday morning, a lottery took place for 179 new cannabis business licenses (the awards are not yet final, with one more review to determine social equity ownership and company management). This historic moment for social equity in the cannabis industry would not have happened without the work of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus.
" When I was with Tea Pad in February 2023, we were putting words to the paper, doing our best to figure out how can we have the most equitable program in the entire nation, having the largest black caucus, a black governor, a black speaker, and so on, and making sure that for the first time in Maryland, we actually really get it right when it comes to ensuring just equitable distribution of our licenses when it comes to cannabis. And so I would say, and I hope you would agree, that we've come a long way since last year."
Tea Pad March 14, 2024, with DelegateJHEANELLE k. Wilkins
Tea Pad November 11, 2023, with Chris Jackson
Tea Pad Annapolis, MD may 11, 2023
Tea Pad with delegate C.T. Wilson
On May 11, 2023, Tea Pad was back in Maryland's state capitol Annapolis with the Dyra Wolf band and hosted Delegate C.T. Wilson. The room was packed!
“The goal in Maryland wasn’t to get our Marylanders high,” Delegate C.T. Wilson, a Democrat who chairs the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee. “It was to take cannabis out of the criminal stream of commerce, protect young Black men from being arrested and dying and, additionally, give back to the communities that were most disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.”
Delegate Wilson wrote the bill Cannabis Reform which became law in May and stands up Maryland’s cannabis adult-use industry. Thecannabis adult-use market goes live on July 1, 2023.
While speaking at Tea Pad, Chair Wilson shared that he personally did not vote for adult-use legalization but fully understands the critical need to prioritize opportunities for social equity applicants with a sound economic policy to combat the illicit cannabis market as well as address the criminalization of cannabis. He answered questions about the different types of licenses and the 9% tax rate on adult-use cannabis. As he answered several questions (there was a line!) from Tea Pad attendees, he repeatedly shared that this law is just the beginning. There are regulations to be established.
In 2010, Chair Wilson was elected to represent the 28th District in the House of Delegates at the Maryland General Assembly. During his first term, which officially began in 2011, he served on the Environmental Matters Committee and as a member of the Black, Democratic, and Veterans Caucuses. Delegate Wilson has brought forth and supported numerous pieces of legislation that have now become Maryland law.
TEa Pad May 11, 2023
Tea Pad Annapolis, MD February 9, 2023
Tea Pad with delegate Jheanelle wilkins
On February 9th at the Light House Bistro in Annapolis, we were joined by our featured guest, human and civil rights advocate Chairwoman Jheanelle K. Wilkins. Chairwoman Wilkins shared goals for the 2023 Maryland General Assembly and for the Maryland cannabis industry.
Along with prioritizing opportunities for Maryland individuals and communities most harmed by the War on Drugs in the new adult-use industry, Chairwoman Wilkns said establishing a criminal justice policy that prevents police officers from stopping drivers and searching vehicles just because they smell cannabis are priority for the 2023 Session.
Chairwoman Wilkins' legislative achievements include legislation related to addressing maternal health disparities, justice transformation and curbing racial profiling, and advancing educational equity. She is the first Black woman to represent Maryland's District 20 (Montgomery County) in the Maryland House of Delegates. Today, she leads The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc. (LBCM). LBCM is an organization of 60 members who dedicate themselves to the mission of ensuring that Black people in the great state of Maryland are equally protected and benefited by the promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as afforded by the United States Constitution. LBCM is the largest Black Caucus in the U.S.
LCBM has been instrumental in the advocacy and passage of legislation that has benefited Blacks, and all Marylanders, since the 1970s. The Black legislators and community leaders, who serve as members and partners of the LBCM have stood steadfast and united in articulating public policy positions that promote Black progress in Maryland.