DEWITT, N.Y. — The first Black-owned cannabis dispensary in Onondaga County opened on Friday.
Loudpack Exotics hosted its grand opening to the public.
Owner, Jonathan Maxim said the road to get here was tough.
Years ago, Maxim’s mom was sick. He said the only way to take away her pain was with cannabis.
That’s when he started buying weed – later leading to selling it illegally – and eventually, getting arrested.
“Of course, that got out of control, got caught. Ended up losing my job at the Syracuse City School District behind it,” said Maxim.
He went on to change his life around. First, he started a transportation company and now he owns Loudpack Exotics.
This has been a major struggle, just trying to get through to the Office of Cannabis Management. It’s difficult because it’s new for everybody. The Office of Cannabis Management employees are new because it’s a new industry so, they’re struggling.
Maxim found ways of getting in contact with the leaders within the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), through social media, and asked them why his application was being held up.
“They’re doing a good job but the rollout was just wrong, and mistakes were made. I shared that with the leadership of OCM and
