The tea pad gallery

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. "

" I think that we've come a long way, what we've charted out here in our state, and I think it's significant that we're one of the very few states in the nation that really put a marker down around social equity and inclusion when it comes to cannabis. "

Delegate Wilkins shared a bill she introduced that deals with the fact that employees are still able to be penalized and have adverse employment actions against them due to testing positive for cannabis.  

She also spoke about a bill that will block municipalities that seek to zone cannabis businesses to industrial zones only. Prince George's County Councilmember Wanika Fisher joined us later and spoke about the work that she is doing to stop Prince George's County zoning restrictions. 

A dynamic Q&A session with Delegate Wilkins followed. One question focused on achieving social equity in Maryland's most historically discriminatory part, the Eastern Shore. Another focused on reimbursement for health providers making recommendations for and treating Maryland veterans. Del Wilkins encouraged attendees to bring that to her attention for 2025 legislation. 

Shortly after, The Eric Scott Band, joined by vocalist Dyra Wolf, turned the volume up for Tea Pad Foundation Board member Carl "Slim C" Koebel, who joined the band and rapped to a very enthusiastic audience, "It's a Tea Pad Thing," which he wrote.

"We're gonna change the way the game is played

Elevate the world and make a change

Share the science

and educate

with cannabis, Baby, 

It's a Tea Pad thing."

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.