Black-owned San Francisco cannabis business at risk of closing

SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) – San Francisco's first and only Black woman-owned cannabis shop is at risk of closing. Right now, the shop's owner is trying to raise enough money to keep the dispensary open, but it's a daunting task.

Owner Reese Benton has just weeks to come up with the money to buy the space. The building's current owner said they're selling it when the lease is up.

Benton says her dispensary Posh Green Cannabis Boutique has become something good in the neighborhood, and they don’t want to become another small business tragedy. The dispensary, which is the only one in Hunters Point, needs $200,000 to keep the dream alive.

"I want to remain here so we can have a Black woman-owned business in this community as we should," Benton said.

Benton says she's endured several hardships like crime and the COVID-19 pandemic to keep her Innes Avenue business afloat. Benton now faces another obstacle as her landlord wants to sell the space when her lease is up on May 31.

"We turned this into a community, so why should we be shut out after we stood through a storm and then helped bring other businesses here?" she asked.

Benton says she understands it's difficult for small businesses everywhere, but even more so for cannabis shops that are still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. Benton was born and raised in San Francisco and says her boutique has become something positive in the neighborhood.

“Nobody believed in this neighborhood,” she said. “Nobody wanted to be on this block when I got here because of the crime. I took a chance on this neighborhood, and now we have bus drivers waving, we have police, they wave, we have people that don’t even come in here saying hello.”

Benton says it makes her uncomfortable having to ask for money to keep things going, but the fight is worth it.

"I'm confident because I didn’t ask for this journey," she said. "I'm faithful, so I know that God never comes when I want him to, but he always makes a way and he's always made a way at the last minute."

Posh Green Cannabis Boutique has a GoFundMe set up, and as of this report they have raised more than $8,000.

That number is still pretty far off from the goal. Benton, though, says she's really thankful for the support they have gotten.

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