Currently, I am the President of the United CORE Alliance (UCA), a non-profit organization in Sacramento, CA that restores the rights of formerly incarcerated individuals through the records expungement process. I have been deemed “Top 25 Black Change Maker” by the Sacramento Bee’s Equity Lab. Formerly a City of Sacramento Measure U Tax Oversight Committee member, I assist small for-profit and non-profit businesses with their business plans, overall structure, financial plans, and identifying funding opportunities. I am also a proud alumnus of Sacramento State University and a current student at McGeorge School of Law.
Get to know KHALIL
What does it mean to you for cannabis to be added to the California State Fair’s roster of annual competitions?
I am extremely happy to have the cannabis exhibit return to the California State Fair. With the 2022 State Fair being the first time, we have had a cannabis exhibit in the history of the state fair. I am excited to continue to be a part of history. Having a cannabis exhibit as a part of the state fair for a second year demonstrates the tenacity of our industry to remain resilient through turbulent market forecasts and political volatility.
What do you think makes the California cannabis landscape/industry unique?
California’s cannabis industry is the pioneer of the world’s cannabis industry. The culture of cannabis consumption and usage emanates from California. What makes us unique is that cannabis connects communities on a foundational level from the craft cultivators in the emerald triangle and surrounding areas to the urban centers. Cannabis commence in California can be observed as unequivocally connecting supply chains that reach multiple demographics but rely on each other to thrive in the same fashion that we recognize the law of supply and demand in economics. And to top all of this off – California cannabis cultivators grow the best weed to the point that strains that are not even grown anymore are in high demand throughout the United States and beyond.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about cannabis?
While the recreational cannabis industry is going on seven years officially, the cannabis community has a very rich and well rooted history in California that myself and other diligent advocates are still working to illuminate to the public. However, we are really only in year seven since the passage of Proposition 64 and the legal ending of cannabis prohibition. So, we have much work to do to get the cannabis market and ancillary support programs to be efficient, effective, and sustainable. Lastly, we must do much more to promote equity and inclusion in the cannabis industry if we truly do care about correcting the societal behaviors, trends, and outcomes that resulted from the war on drugs.
