Carmelo Anthony has launched a cannabis brand that can donate a portion of its proceeds to a nonprofit that wishes to offer back to the identical community harmed by the federal government’s war on drugs that has jailed people selling cannabis.

Former player of the National Basketball Association fired StayMe7o (pronounced Stay Melo) Cannabis April 20, a day celebrating the usage of marijuana. The brand’s name is “Stay Melo” and is a reference to his nickname Melo and the number seven he wore while playing within the NBA for the New York Knicks, Oklahoma Thunder and Houston Rockets.

StayMe7o hemp debuted under the umbrella of a recent cannabis agency called Grand National. The company is a collaboration between Lowd Cannabis CEO and founder Jesce Horton and Brandon Drew Chief Creative Officer Jordan Pierce. The agency will concentrate on branding, expansion, strategy and marketing activities within the cannabis space.

“I have always been interested in the benefits and science and education of cannabis,” Melo stated. “I’ve been studying it for years, paying attention to the industry, seeing where it’s going, the trajectory, getting feedback. Considering all the research, why not do it? Talk about the benefits of cannabis, what to consume and how to consume it.”

Melo also recognized the importance of representing Black entrepreneurs within the space and partnered with NuProject, founded by Jeanette Ward. Its website describes the corporate as a corporation that works to “build generational wealth through the legal cannabis industry for communities most harmed by the criminalization of cannabis – Black, Indigenous and Latinx/o/x communities.”

“This is a space with a long history where Black entrepreneurs have been punished and prosecuted and arrested and locked up for cannabis,” Melo said. “Now, in order for it to be legal, it is right to reopen this door to those who want to participate in this game who are already participating in it. Instead of being one thing, how can we unite and work together to achieve a common goal? Everyone here has marijuana. What sets you apart?”

There are two black-owned locations in Oregon where you should buy StayMe7o marijuana: Green Muse AND Wonders of natureeach in Portland.

In a recent interview, Cash Money co-founder Birdman stated that he has at all times been the entire owner of his works and releases; and still does it.

According to , Birdman, who co-founded Cash Money Records (once home to Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Drake, Nicki Minaj and lots of other recording artists) in 1991 together with his older brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, said Steve- O in his “Wild Ride!” podcast where you will see “100 percent” music issued by Cash Money is its property.

Steve-O, who revealed that he recorded “From the Ghetto to the Swamp” with Birdman at his home a few years ago, discussed Birdman’s business approach. The label’s owner says he has “never allowed” labels to own any part of his music catalog.

“Everything was my property. I never let any label don’t have anything. Universal never owned anything. We had all our own music and releases. He also stated that “I still own 100 percent of my company.”

He admitted that when he first got here into contact with music, he had no idea what publishing was, but he knew that he was not going to present up anything. He knew immediately that he would own all of his work and expressed this to his then-lawyer after they went to Universal Records before signing a distribution deal.

“When I went to (Universal), I didn’t even know anything about publishing and stuff like that. I do not know about that. I went to them with… a lawyer… Whatever his name was, I thought, “I’m not going to give up anything.” Because I felt like I had already lost everything. I lost my family. Nothing can compensate me for what I have already lost. I lost my mom, dad, brother, sister. … I lead a hellish life as a child, so I don’t think anything can replace it. So I thought: this is what I want to do. … I want to (own) my shit. I will own 100 percent of my shit.”

The variety of black-owned businesses is prone to be small grow with fresh federal trade Commission (FTC) a ruling prohibiting the conclusion of non-competition agreements.

That’s the view of John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of the advocacy group Small Business Majority (SBM). He assured BLACK ENTERPRISES with an e-mail comment on the brand new judgment.

Essentially, on April 23, 2024, the FTC voted to dam most non-compete agreements. These arrangements currently prevent employees from working for competitors or starting a competing company after leaving their job.

At the identical time, the FTC’s decision has already been made get some opposition. On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and national tax firm Ryan LLC filed lawsuits in federal court protesting the mandate, reported. Therefore, legal disputes may delay the implementation of the ban.

Arensmeyer identified that, in keeping with the FTC, roughly 30 million American employees are covered by non-compete clauses.

Arensmeyer said the ban on non-compete agreements is a victory for the U.S. economy since it will help fuel small business growth. He said SMB research shows that 33% of small business owners they couldn’t hire an worker as a result of the non-competition agreement.

The ante is potentially high. About two-thirds of SBM’s greater than 85,000 business owners are BIPOC, a lot of them Black-owned. Moreover, owning a black business could be a source of wealth. Black entrepreneurs allegedly generate greater than ten times the typical net value than Black people without businesses.

He said it is not known exactly how that number breaks down demographically, but SBM is aware that Black entrepreneurship has grown rapidly lately. He reported that the FTC estimates that after the implementation of this rule, greater than 8,500 recent businesses will appear within the American economy annually. The federal agency also said the ruling could help raise employees’ wages, lower health care costs and spur innovation

“Given the growth of entrepreneurship in the Black community, it is likely that even more Black people would start businesses if they were not held back by factors such as non-compete clauses,” Arensmeyer says.

He added that SBM doesn’t know exactly what number of aspiring black entrepreneurs failed to start out small businesses. However, SBM’s own scientific opinion survey shows that just about 50% of small business owners reported that a non-compete agreement prevented them from starting or growing their very own business.

“We have also heard anecdotally and through our research from a significant number of people of color whose entrepreneurial dreams have not been realized or have been delayed due to non-compete agreements.”

He says the FTC has found that “the enforceability of a strict non-compete clause has very different effects on different demographic groups. He stressed that this included “little or no impact on men and a much greater impact on women and black men and girls.”

He explained that employment opportunities for Black employees are sometimes more limited as a result of systemic racism. This means they’re more likely to just accept a job covered by a restrictive non-compete clause than other employees who could have more job opportunities.

He says the FTC’s decision will level the playing field for small businesses in a way that will help them grow without threatening the health of existing businesses.