Jay-Z is launching a fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis startups to bolster Black participation in the industry.
He says he is motivated by what he calls an imbalance in the marijuana business: People of color, who have been disproportionately punished where the drug is illegal, comprise only a small number of those making money from the multibillion-dollar market in legalized pot.
“It’s really unbelievable how that can happen,” said the rapper, born Shawn Carter. “We were the ones most negatively affected by the war on drugs, and America has turned around and created a business from it that’s worth billions.”
In the 25 years since California first legalized medical marijuana, cannabis has grown into a $20 billion legal U.S. business that could surpass the $70 billion market for U.S. wine by 2030, according to an estimate by the New York investment bank Cowen & Co.
Mr. Carter, who is starting his fund with $10 million in seed funding received as part of a merger, joins a broader push for equitable economic opportunity in the cannabis sector, as studies show that minorities have been punished more than whites for using drugs.