THE IMPACT List

Highlighting The People And Companies Changing The Cannabis Landscape

Eugene Monroe

FORMER NFL PLAYER | FOUNDER OF HEART COMMUNITY

Chosen as the eighth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Eugene Monroe had a brief but eventful, seven-season career as an offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens. He was the first active player to publicly challenge league policy on Cannabis for pain relief and brain injury treatment in March of 2016, and also championed the plant as an alternative to highly addictive opioids. Monroe was also named chairman of the "Yes on 4" campaign that legalized Cannabis for recreational use in Maryland and formed Heart Community Capital to “build the leading Black-owned MSO.” heartcommunity.com | @eugenegreenmonroe

luke scarmazzo ADVOCATE

As a young father who was sentenced to 22 years under the Kingpin Statute for operating a state-legal Cannabis dispensary in Modesto, Calif., Luke Scarmazzo immediately became a lightning rod for the emancipation and legalization movement. The Cannabis advocate worked from within the system to fight to end the harassment and imprisonment of people for the plant, and advocacy group The Weldon Project (run by Scarmazzo’s former prison mate Weldon Angelos) worked with the White House on commutation of his sentence. After more than 14 years in prison, Scarmazzo was finally freed and has since rejoined his family. He and Angelos’ Project Mission Green continue to fight for the rights of Cannabis consumers and for the emancipation of Cannabis prisoners. @lukescarmazzo

Weldon Angelos

FOUNDER | THE WELDON PROJECT & PROJECT MISSION GREEN

Advocate Weldon Angelos embodies the concept of impact, both in how he benefited from powerful people who advocated for him, and how he then passed along the power of that advocacy in his work for others. The music producer was sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 55 years after a confidential informant testified that he possessed a weapon in the commission of a Cannabis sale – serving 13 years before pressure from his friend Snoop Dogg, other celebrities and high-powered politicians, led to a commutation of the remainder of his sentence. These days he’s a tireless advocate for law reform and clemency for Cannabis prisoners, founding both The Weldon Project and Project Mission Green. projectmissiongreen.org | theweldonproject.org | @weldonangelos

brian "box" brown

CARTOONIST & ILLUSTRATOR | LEGALIZATION NATION

Brian “Box” Brown wondered why legal Cannabis in his native Pennsylvania didn’t hold up to the stuff he found in his travels among other “legal” states. He decided to use his background in visual arts to create a relevant and sometimes scathing comic strip that depicts the pitfalls of over-regulation and consolidation in the licenced industry. Box speaks truth directly to power, simplifying complex topics into easy-to-digest cartoons. His Legalization Nation strip is now syndicated by Hearst Media’s King Features. boxbrown.com | @boxbrown

"fab 5 freddy

brathwaite DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER GRASS IS GREENER DOCUMENTARY

Iconic hip-hop elder statesman, first host of Yo! MTV Raps, video director and Cannabis advocate, Fred Brathwaite has been at the cusp of major movements since the late 1970s. Better known as Fab 5 Freddy, he recently teamed up with pot prisoner Bernard Noble and Curaleaf to create the social equity brand B Noble – drawing attention to the disproportionate impact of the drug war on minorities. His documentary film “Grass is Greener” further articulates the injustice and brutality of prohibition on disadvantaged communities. fab5freddy.com | @fab5freddy

Julio Zenil

EDITOR, REVISTA CÁÑAMO MÉXICO | EVENT PRODUCER, EXPOWEED MÉXICO

Julio Zenil has been at the forefront of Cannabis legalization efforts in Mexico for many years and organized the first Million Marijuana March there 23 years ago. As the editor of Revista CÁÑAMO México and producer of the Expoweed México event, he educates the Spanish-speaking public and politicians on the medicinal and spiritual benefits of marijuana, as well as the excessive negative effects of global prohibition on the Americas. He’s also the founder of Museo del Cáñamo y la Marihuana de México and proprietor of Cañamo Shop – a Cannabis museum and hemp store in Mexico City. canamo.mx | @juleszengram

Jackie Bryant

HOST, THE PLANT LADY PODCAST | MANAGING EDITOR, SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE

Based in California, Jackie Bryant is an acclaimed journalist, the managing editor of San Diego Magazine and host of The Plant Lady – a podcast about modern Cannabis culture. Bryant's bylines include The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, and Cannabitch, her very own newsletter with more than 2,000 subscribers. A frequent panel speaker, moderator and judge at conferences and events – her unique voice touches every aspect of the industry. jackiebryantwriting.com | @jacqbry

Garyn Angel FOUNDER & CEO | MAGICAL BRANDS

A thought leader and entrepreneur in the Cannabis industry, Garyn Angel created Magical Brands to transform the way people perceive and use the healing flower. His first development, the Magical Butter machine, streamlines the extraction process and allows consumers to create their own infused Cannabis edibles. Their Magical Gummy Maker transforms extracts into delicious, easy-to-dose Cannabis gummies. The newest arrival, Magical Grow, is an AI-powered smart garden designed to simplify the process of cultivation. Altogether, Garyn Angel’s vision and innovation revolutionized home growing and processing for everyone. magicalbutter.com | @magicalbutter | @garynangel