Joshua Chase and Oakanna stand out when the smoke clears
The Oakanna hashish retailer bears fairly just a few distinctions. For one, it’s the primary hashish dispensary accredited to be on Oakland’s busy Lakeshore Avenue promenade. Oakanna proprietor Joshua Chase, who describes himself because the CEO/janitor, was co-owner of different spots, however understands this distinction.
“I’ve strived for this location to have costs that individuals like, not simply Piedmont individuals, not simply the Lake Merrit individuals, but additionally as a result of we’re proper right here by the 580 Freeway and since most of Oakland is East Oakland, all of Oakland,” Chase mentioned. “I’m from East Oakland, and I need my very own neighborhood to return over right here. We would like the those who go to the cloud periods and folk who normally simply go to their native weed man.”
Chase, who only recently has gotten off of a wheeled crutch, nonetheless walks with a limp as a result of an tried theft simply as the shop opened.
“Weed is a really attention-grabbing area. It’s a really up and coming area. And we’re in a time proper now the place the police simply do not need a finances to guard all weed companies. I actually put blood, sweat and tears into all my companies, and weed has all the time been focused,” Chase mentioned.
“I had a state of affairs during which we had a theft and I obtained hit with a ricochet bullet. On the finish of the day, I needed to shield my enterprise. I needed to shield the individuals in my enterprise, and I additionally needed to shield the livelihood of my staff. As a pacesetter, I’ll all the time try this, and I really feel like each good CEO would put themself into that type of hazard to help and be an excellent chief for his or her individuals.”
Chase’s outlook on this incident is a distinction as properly. As a substitute of anger or bitterness, his compassion for the underserved solely grew in mild of the circumstances persons are going through.
“Being an entrepreneur is harmful. Residing in a metropolitan space, interval, regardless of the place you’re, all throughout the nation, goes to have a component of hazard. Using an airplane is harmful. Driving a automobile is harmful. So me selecting the weed business, sure, I did decide one thing harmful, however weed these days is not any totally different than Jamba Juice,” he mentioned.
“We’re not the one ones being focused. All money companies, from High Canine to Buckingham Liquors, are getting robbed on Lakeshore. Even the 76 gasoline station obtained robbed. We should contemplate the younger youngsters that do not need an outlet to work and earn a living and have to show to different sources to outlive. We’re going to be on this state of affairs till we as a neighborhood can uplift our youth and provides them sure kinds of jobs.
“We’re going to take care of issues like ‘bipping’ or automobile break-ins and petty crimes till then, and it’s not simply occurring in Oakland. It’s occurring in San Francisco, it’s occurring in Los Angeles, it’s occurring in each place that has over 500,000 individuals in inhabitants. Different dispensaries have had these sorts of incidents each couple of weeks, so for me to solely have one run-in tells me that I’m very blessed. Oakanna feels very protected, and I’m virtually at a full restoration at this level.”
What makes Chase and Oakanna stand out is expertise and maturity. As he mentioned on the finish of this interview, “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“I’ve been in authorized weed for fairly a while,” he mentioned. “I graduated faculty with a monetary and economics diploma from Santa Clara College in 2011, in the course of the recession. It was a very onerous time for a younger Black particular person to get a job within the monetary sector. Once I obtained again to Oakland, I ended up performing some short-term placement and accounting work, simply no matter I may do. However then, I mentioned to myself, ‘I don’t decide the wave. I all the time simply journey the wave.’ I’m not making this wave, I’m simply using it out, and that should change.
“Then, simply once I was graduating faculty, they legalized weed in Washington in 2012. I dropped all the things I used to be doing in California, due to the passing of Measure Z and Proposition 215, and began doing little develop spots in Washington, however wished to take it to the following step.”
Chase spent from 2012 to 2017 in Washington, the place he opened a 30 acre farm with a 30,000 sq. toes develop cover. He additionally had one of many first extraction licenses in Washington State, which was one of many first within the nation.
“I obtained my footing there,” he mentioned “And what finally ends up occurring is the federal government gave out too many develop licenses and never sufficient retail retailer licenses, so there’s a loopy quantity of provide, however you’ll be able to’t actually promote it. When your price-point goes from $15 a gram to $7, that actually modifications what you are promoting mannequin, proper?”
As a substitute of seeing this oversight as a setback, Chase noticed a chance.
“When Washington’s motion was type of fizzling down, the recognition was beginning to enter California, New Mexico, Arizona, New Jersey, New York. Washington for me was only a brief time period alternative, and once I got here again to California, I requested myself, ‘How can I take advantage of this to my profit?’
“The best factor for me to do is to begin one other weed model, and be just like the Jungle Boys, the Backpack Boys, the favored avenue manufacturers, or I may take a lottery on retail as a result of it doesn’t matter what lot retail floats. If the business will get to $5 an eighth, I can nonetheless promote it and make my identical margin as if I had been promoting a $10 eighth or $15 eighth. I noticed in Washington that the retail shops had been recession proof.”
Like many Black individuals within the rising hashish market, Chase benefited from Oakland’s Hashish Fairness Initiative, however even then, there was a distinction.
“With out the fairness program, I wouldn’t be the place I’m right this moment,” he mentioned. “I’ve been given numerous help from town, however the cause I’m a little bit bit totally different as an fairness recipient is as a result of Okanna isn’t an fairness enterprise. We competed with everybody from all throughout the North Bay space that did a course of during which you utilized and it was a degree primarily based system. We really beat out a whole lot of candidates as an fairness for this location, which could be very uncommon.”
Chase isn’t solely distinctively inexperienced in the case of hashish. Oakanna has a novel neighborhood clear up plan that’s already seeing constructive outcomes.
“Everybody else was cleansing the lake,” he mentioned, “They had been cleansing these areas of Oakland that individuals see, like Piedmont, Rockridge, Claremont. Our plan was to begin on the lake, right here at 3238 Lakeshore, and clear all the best way to East twelfth. Our objective is each three months to take a brand new patch of Oakland and clear it, and inside two years we wish to have the ability to say that we’ve cleaned all sections of Oakland. Proper now, we’re going from the lake to East twelfth. Then we’re going from east twelfth to The Dubs (twentieth Avenue and past).
“As a collective, we are able to say we’re not just for the neighborhood; we’ve helped clear the complete neighborhood. It’s a straightforward course of that makes us be ok with what we do as a result of it’s not nearly getting cash in a spot you’re from; it’s additionally about giving issues to the place you’re from. We try to be a neighborhood asset. We would like our neighbors to really feel protected and see that we’re a constructive presence. Simply by us simply being right here, automobile burglaries have declined.”
As the vacation season approaches, Chase and Oakanna are providing the reward of inexperienced to the whole thing of Oakland in a number of methods. One of many specific curiosities will probably be their thriller containers.
“We’re working a particular this Christmas with $100 thriller containers. It’s an ideal deal,” he mentioned. “We’ve got two tiers of thriller containers. One tier would be the decrease finish of out of doors merchandise, cartridges and pre-rolls. The upper tier will embrace excessive grade merchandise and it’ll come wrapped in a package deal. Plus, there will probably be deep reductions by shopping for the field in your family members.”
Because the East Bay Specific typically reviews, the hashish business is fraught with problems, setbacks and disappointments. For this reason it’s essential to focus on the triumphs of this burgeoning business and its contributions to the state, town and the neighborhood. Whilst readers see the struggles, Chase and Oakanna present the expansion, positivity and presents that may be discovered there.
“Going into 2023, I’ve opened one of many largest areas in Oakland. I’ve been capable of promote that location. We are actually the third largest dispensary in Oakland already inside our first six months,” Chase mentioned, beaming. “We’ve gained over 11,000 prospects as a result of our advertising and marketing, our customer support, us being pleasant and exhibiting that we actually care about our prospects. We’re regularly rising and rising and rising.
“Weed for me has been an extended journey that I didn’t essentially decide, but it surely was the time. It was this sleeping large. I’d say if I used to be within the Nineteen Twenties, it could’ve been homes. If I used to be within the Nineteen Forties, it could’ve been alcohol. Within the Nineteen Nineties, it could’ve been in tech. This was simply my sleeping large. I don’t consider myself as a weed man. I’m a enterprise proprietor that’s working weed operations at the moment; that is what it’s now. After this, I hope to get into industrial actual property and preserve snowballing my total entrepreneurial way of life.”
