SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Crystal Nugs recently became the fourth cannabis storefront under Sacramento's Cannabis Opportunity and Equity (CORE) program — and the city's first Black woman-owned dispensary.
“Knowing that Crystal Nugs is setting a precedent and creating opportunities for others feels truly empowering,” said CEO and co-founder Maisha Bahati. “CORE provided me with close to $200,000 in both grants and loans. That helped substantially with the financial costs incurred for our construction build-out phase of Crystal Nugs.”
Initially launched as a delivery-only cannabis dispensary, Bahati celebrated the storefront's ribbon-cutting ceremony in recent weeks.
The dispensary on midtown's J Street now joins three other storefronts opened with the help of the CORE program; The Pocket Dispensary, Off The Charts and Embarc.
According to city officials, the program was launched in 2018 to address communities of color impacted by the War on Drugs and offer them assistance in starting cannabis businesses.
Crystal Nugs first opened in 2019, with Bahati telling ABC10 her dispensary brought a "feminine touch" and crushed stereotypes of what the cannabis business looks like.
“It’s an incredible honor to break barriers and pave the way for diversity and representation in the industry,” Bahati said.
As for the total number of dispensaries in the city, Sacramento city councilmembers approved 10 new storefront dispensary permits in 2020, increasing the number of cannabis storefront permits from 30 to 40.
Six more cannabis businesses are working toward obtaining their permits, city officials said.
