{"id":4616,"date":"2022-03-04T17:20:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T17:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=196022"},"modified":"2022-03-04T17:20:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T17:20:03","slug":"actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4616","title":{"rendered":"Actor Malik Yoba has big plans for NYC\u2019s legal weed scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Actor Malik Yoba has big plans for NYC&#8217;s legal weed scene | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. 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You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<h3 id=\"h-the-former-new-york-undercover-detective-shares-his-lifelong-love-for-the-plant-with-leafly-as-the-empire-state-prepares-to-legalize\"><strong>The former <em>New York Undercover<\/em> detective shares his lifelong love for the plant with Leafly as the Empire State prepares to legalize.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In the 1990s, Malik Yoba starred as detective J.C. Williams in the hit Fox drama <em>New York Undercover<\/em>. He also played a role as a Jamaican bobsledder in the classic comedy <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/1046227-cool_runnings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cool Runnings<\/a><\/em>.&nbsp;Since then, Yoba has kept busy writing and acting on hit shows like <em>Empire<\/em> and <em>Girlfriends<\/em>, while ramping up to participate in New York\u2019s highly-anticipated legal cannabis market.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/dispensaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leafly<\/a> caught up with the veteran performer in New Orleans at the Black CannaConference, where he shared his feelings on how legal weed will impact his hometown of New York City. Yoba also spoke about his plans to de-stigmatize cannabis on the big screen and behind the scenes using his decades of media and real estate experience.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/legacy-nyc-art-gallery-legal-cannabis\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Legacy NYC\u2019 art gallery gifts legal cannabis with local art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2>Catching up with Malik Yoba in New Orleans <\/h2>\n<p>When I met up with Malik in late 2021, he was a featured speaker at the Black CannaConference in New Orleans. He told me that this was just his second ever canna-conference, adding that he felt \u201clike a student.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Thanks to his years of experience in film and television, Yoba has considerable expertise and talents to bring to the budding field of legal cannabis. While speaking on a panel at the conference, Yoba revealed plans to enter the weed industry. \u201cI\u2019ve always been into cannabis,\u201d he told me in a one-on-one meeting after his panel. \u201cI\u2019ve known about cannabis all my life. Certainly, since I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first time Yoba consumed cannabis was in middle school. \u201cI was 12 or 13,\u201d he remembers. \u201cIt was always about relaxation. But I don\u2019t know if people even realized that\u2019s what they were doing it for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was also about being an artist,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s a tradition you hear about. My father was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/learn\/legalization\/marijuana-illegal-history\">jazz musician<\/a>. He smoked weed. His friends did. It was just around. I didn\u2019t start thinking about it for medicinal purposes until more recently. As I mentioned from the stage, now I use it for pain management and also for sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Welcome To New York City: Malik Yoba Talks NYC, Legalization &amp; Making Scripted TV Shows Inspired by Cannabis\" class=\"wp-image-196040 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Welcome To New York City: Malik Yoba Talks NYC, Legalization &amp; Making Scripted TV Shows Inspired by Cannabis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With legal weed on the horizon in his home state, the Bronx native still laughs recalling how much stress once came with the plant. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did try to sell once in high school,\u201d he remembers. \u201cThis dude that was dealing in the street in Washington Square Park, he dropped his whole bag. It was like bush weed with a bunch of seeds and sticks. I took it, but I was too scared to sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>On the opportunities he sees for NYC\u2019s legal cannabis market<\/h2>\n<p>New York will soon be home to one of the world\u2019s largest legal weed markets. And Yoba is optimistic about his ability to help expand the industry. He wants to de-stigmatize the plant on the screen, and behind the scenes, by opening career opportunities in cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(We) see the writing on the wall, man,\u201d he tells me as we discuss the possibilities of legal pot in Gotham City. \u201cThere\u2019s just too much money. New York is the financial capital of the country. So I\u2019m excited to be a part of it. Especially from the real estate side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cannabis industry has already created a massive amount of jobs (see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/industry\/cannabis-jobs-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jobs Report<\/a>) and tax dollars in states that have legalized. But New York\u2019s commercial and cultural influence is <em>different<\/em>. And Yoba believes green could bring a new golden era to his city.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/industry\/cannabis-jobs-report\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>The US cannabis industry now supports 428,059 jobs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I\u2019m appreciating about what\u2019s happening is that people are thinking about business in a different way. People are saying, \u2018I don\u2019t have to just do one thing.\u2019\u201d His passion boils over when speaking on the abundance of ancillary opportunities available in the legal cannabis industry. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s good to see that people want to do more than just get a dispensary. There\u2019s the legal aspect. There\u2019s the marketing aspect. There\u2019s the media aspect\u2026 There\u2019s the growers, the distribution, the construction\u2026 There\u2019s a whole ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite><strong>\u2013 <\/strong>Malik Yoba<em> on the wide range of opportunities in New York\u2019s legal cannabis industry<\/em><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Selling pickaxes in a gold rush has been a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/selling-pickaxes-during-a-gold-rush-2011-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proven business strategy<\/a> for centuries. And Yoba intends to use his real estate and media skills to lead others into the bountiful field of legal weed he sees clearly ahead once the plant can be legally exchanged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(People are) sharing information. They\u2019re saying, \u2018I don\u2019t just have to do one thing.&#8217;\u201d He continues, \u201cBecause most peoples\u2019 point of entry has been the flower itself, they forget about all that other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"641\" alt class=\"wp-image-7160 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>New York, NY, USA \u2013 November 13, 2014: Union Square and New York City shot from an office building just south of Union Square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>On New York\u2019s approach to social equity<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t really been invited to the party at the same level,\u201d Yoba says of Black and Brown inclusion in other legal states. But so far, he is happy with New York\u2019s Office of Cannabis and its approach to maximizing access and social equity in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing from the state are all the efforts that are being made to make sure that there is greater equity and inclusion. Specifically, the hundreds of licenses set aside for individuals who did time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yoba feels a deep responsibility to give back to the communities that sacrificed to make the current industry possible. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor most of us (in the cannabis industry), it\u2019s mission work. People aren\u2019t just going to the job to do the job, they\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna meet my expectations and make my money. But I\u2019m making sure that I\u2019m bringing our folks along.&#8217;\u201d <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/new-york-city-weed-dealers-on-legalization-theyre-not-worried-about-competition\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how New York City\u2019s weed dealers are preparing for legalization<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Barriers to entry like real estate and access to capital have lead to legal oligopolies in states like Florida, where less than 20 licensed retailers serve over. But New York\u2019s Office of Cannabis Management and residents like Yoba are intent on not letting a similar scenario play out on their watch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI care about the freedom of our people,\u201d Yoba told me at Black CannaConference. \u201cWe have to know that certain things are possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>On his potential for influencing NYC\u2019s legal weed industry<\/h2>\n<p>Yoba doesn\u2019t intend to be a taker in this budding field. He wants to contribute his wide range of talents (both in media and as a property developer) to help the whole industry grow. <\/p>\n<p>In the next five years, he intends to \u201chelp a lot of people [get in the door] and wants to be a leader on the ground floor of building America\u2019s next great industry. \u201cWe heard about prohibition back in the \u201920\u2019s,\u201d he says. \u201cThey knew it was only a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"photograph of New York Governor Kathy Hochul holding a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-175179 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Gov. Kathy Hochul has the opportunity to make legal cannabis in New York a success from day one. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s why he\u2019s already working to secure a couple locations in the city for legal cannabis enterprises. And he\u2019s confident in the will of the state and the people for NYC to be just as big as California within the next decade. <\/p>\n<p>Yoba says he\u2019s privy to the plans for the state\u2019s first 150 dispensary locations. And he has faith that the Office of Cannabis Management and new Governor Kathy Hochul will be able to avoid the road bumps other states have run into since legalizing.<\/p>\n<h2>Fulfilling the dream of a greener New York<\/h2>\n<p>Yoba, like many New York residents, had a hard time envisioning how the legal weed industry would play out at first. <\/p>\n<p>Some residents are growing less optimistic, as medical and recreational shoppers patiently await the legal market\u2019s sluggish rollout. But Yoba is seeing firsthand that it takes time to build out a successful market anywhere\u2013 let alone a state that\u2019s home to the financial capital of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I get to see it from the business side.<strong> <\/strong>There are people who have been positioning themselves that I know for years, over a decade in some cases to be successful in this space.\u201d And the more I\u2019ve started paying attention to friends nudging me towards this space.\u201d So far, he\u2019s in on CBD beverage company with a childhood friend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce it became legal in New York, I said, \u2018Let me take a close look.\u2019 And then I jumped in with both feet recently\u2026 I have a piece in a company called So Cloud Water, a CBD beverage,\u201d he told me, before adding, \u201cThere are already major beverage companies trying to get into that side of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img width=\"618\" height=\"412\" alt class=\"wp-image-196093 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-4.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-4.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-4.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene-4.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Malik Yoba is a Bronx native with a bright vision for New York\u2019s upcoming legal weed scene. (Lars Niki\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ultimately, Yoba wants to impact this wide-open field on as many levels as he can. \u201cI think these stories are important, not just from a documentary standpoint, but fiction as well.\u201d He says he has \u201ca couple of film ideas (and) series ideas\u201d related to cannabis that will remove the stigmas that still linger around the plant. <\/p>\n<p>His plan is to attack the stigmas \u201cfrom all levels. So at a certain point, it becomes ubiquitous everywhere you look. And it\u2019s not this weird thing anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene.jpg\" alt=\"Mehka King's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Mehka King<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Mehka King has spent his professional career as a journalist and content creator. Since 2017, he has interviewed cannabis activists, politicians, business leaders, athletes, and entertainers about their views on cannabis for CashColorCannabis.com network.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/mehka-king\">View Mehka King&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-03-05 04:29:58 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Actor Malik Yoba has big plans for NYC&#8217;s legal weed scene | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The former New York Undercover detective shares his lifelong love for the plant with Leafly as the Empire State prepares to legalize. In the 1990s, Malik Yoba starred as detective J.C. Williams in the hit&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/actor-malik-yoba-has-big-plans-for-nycs-legal-weed-scene.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}