Over the last month, we have had incredibly constructive and insightful conversations with leaders in the BIPOC communities to understand how MedMen can best affect change in the communities affected by the War on Drugs. As a leader in this industry, we have a responsibility to demand criminal justice reform, as well as ensure the communities affected by the War on Drugs are involved in the shaping of the future of this industry. We recognize that we have fallen short. Our community and our industry deserve better. There is work to be done, and here is the beginning of our commitment to you.
I. Industry Support Black and Brown-owned brands through the dedication of retail space, marketing value, mentorship, and access to our buyers.
As a start, dedicate a minimum 15% of all shelf space to Black and Brown-owned brands in partnership with the 15 Percent Pledge
Amplify Black and Brown-owned brands through $1M in marketing value per year
Think Tank: Dedicate a minimum of 500 hours of VP and above to support yearly mentorship of Black and Brown-owned brands
II. People Further MedMen’s internal Diversity and Inclusion Program with defined commitments.
Ensure all new hires share a commitment to diversity and inclusion
Actively recruit from communities affected by War on Drugs and partner with job re-entry organizations to identify these candidates
Require that all SVP and above hires have a proven commitment to diversity and inclusion through past work and/or pro bono
Cross-departmental education programs for employees through mentorship, paid internships, and scholarships
Engage Cannaclusive on diversity initiatives
III. Community Build out the MedMen Foundation, which will organize all efforts focusing on job re-entry, record expungement, and strengthen our existing social equity program.
Dedicate a portion of sales from our house brand, MedMen Red, to the MedMen Foundation for distribution to BIPOC organizations that align with foundation goals
Dedicate 2,500 employee hours for volunteerism per year
Further our social equity program which currently consists of five dispensaries and over $5M committed in Boston, LA and SF
We would like to emphasize that this is just the beginning, and we are prepared to be held accountable to our commitments. This is the future of MedMen and we are excited for you to be a part of it.