“Being one of those people that has been directly affected by the marijuana laws in Virginia, I just feel like me and people like me deserve to be in this business. I’ve risked my life for the plant, basically. I’ve done time for the plant. I feel there’s a lot of people out there like me and we probably have more knowledge about the plant and the effects of it, how to maybe market it and package it, those sorts of things. So I definitely feel like we should be at the forefront of this in Virginia.” - Mike Thomas . Fifteen states and three territories have approved legalizing the adult use of marijuana. But few have found much success in spreading the wealth generated by sales to people and communities who’ve been disproportionately targeted in the War on Drugs. A 2017 survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily found that 81% of marijuana business owners and founders were white. . More information is available at our profile link. . Photo credit: Alex Scribner