"We are the first Black and women-owned cannabis retailer here in Sacramento. I am from Sacramento. I am 100% owner of this business. That's true social equity... For me the equity program changed my life. Obviously, it got me a storefront dispensary but in addition, I got a lot of help."

"Being in the industry for a very long time, you know, I've seen a lot. Some people aren't willing to share that space, so the access to the grants and loans have been really helpful for us as small businesses to be able to compete in the market.'

"Our greatest motivation for Humble Root is to be able to use the plant kind of as a way to provide to the community. CORE's been able to provide us with grants, and loans as well. They also provided consulting services. That way we know we are on the right path."

"The CORE program benefited our business with the grants and the CORE loans. Second, it helped to highlight the integration of all the different races that we had working for us. I think that helps to bring light to what kind of company we are, who we have working for us, and where we started from."

"I believe we deserve to be in this industry and I just think that this is a chance to change things in our community. That's why I wanted in. I was really scared of going under, trying to enter this industry. CORE helped us by preparing us for what was to come."

"We were able to use some of the grant funds to help fund the building of our shared-use space. CORE has helped us get some introductions to some great operators and utilize our facility and our infrastructure to do that in a way that nobody else can."

“CORE was just a program that was about to kick off. Every single week there were more resources that they were putting in front of us. Services like allowing someone to have access to a consultant, their grants, their loans, and it was perfect. Being licensed, it gives me that confidence that I can make it in this industry.”

“The CORE program has supported us through different sorts of assistance to help learn the emerging market and be able to stay current and competitive against the rest of the industry.”