RAW Rolling Papers Cultivates Opportunities with $100K Donation to JUSTÜS Foundation

RAW Rolling Papers is donating $100,000 to The JUSTÜS Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to facilitating the entry of legacy cannabis operators to the legal cannabis market. The RAW Seeds Fellowships aim to provide opportunity to legacy cannabis operators – those involved in the cannabis industry prior to its legalization – who are trying to navigate the new, legal market.

“The men and women who carried cannabis through the dark years of Prohibition should be treated like heroes—not criminals,” said Steve DeAngelo, founder of The JUSTÜS Foundation, and a Global Cannabis Times Top 100 of Cannabis winner for activism. “Instead of being excluded from the legal cannabis industry, legacy operators should be warmly welcomed into it.”

The RAW Seeds Fellowship grants will be awarded to three Legacy Operators who were negatively impacted by the justice system due to cannabis laws. To be eligible to apply for the fellowship, a Legacy Operator will be defined as, “An individual who commercialized Cannabis for the majority of their income, or sacramentally or ceremonially distributed Cannabis, outside of the legal framework, during the period of prohibition, predating legalization by 5 years.” The three grants will be up to $20,000 per awardee and will be used to start legal cannabis businesses.

“We take great pride in supporting and empowering the pioneers who laid the foundation of this industry,” said RAW’s founder Josh Kesselman. “While major companies are rushing to take advantage of new laws legalizing cannabis, we need to support the small entrepreneurs who are the true lifeblood of this industry.”

Also included in the program, up to $15,000 may be awarded in smaller grants to multiple legacy operators. This grant will also be used to launch legal cannabis businesses, or to facilitate a career in the legal cannabis industry.

The grant window will open on August 1st. Those eligible for the RAW Seeds fellowship grants can read more about the rules of the contest at www.RAWJUSTUS.com. Applications will be accepted through August 31.

To keep the joint rolling, awardees will be encouraged to “pay it forward” with their own similar donations upon achieving success in the legal cannabis industry.