Welcome to Neighborhood favorite Today we're in the vibrant heart of An exploring a unique business shaping the community.

Let's step into Anacostia Organi One of the first medical cannabi dispensaries east of the river.

We'll meet Linda Green, her tea and hear how they're impacting l right here in DC.

Hey hey hey hey hey.

How are you?

Welcome to Anacostia.

Oh, my God, this is so good to...Tamia and Linda.

Oh, my God, you're the owner, and you run everything so I'm excited about being here at Anacostia Organics.

And I understan that you're going to take us on A little tour?

Yeah, to show you what we have.

Yeah, yeah.

You ready to get started?

I'm r All right, let's do it.

Okay.

Le This is going to be great.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in the.

Showcase, I'm happy to show you.

So this is our, our display area this is where people will come once they're registered.

Okay?

And we have everything that we h on sale for display, and then they'll do a consultat with the patient care specialist And we'll find the right thing So let me just ask you something You say register.

What does that mean?

When they c in, they want you to.

Have you have to have a medical in order to shop at a license medical cannabis dispensary in D Okay.

It's very easy to get one if you don't have one.

Okay.

You know we could do it in like ten minut You can self attest I'm 21 year or older and I need medical cann And then we can get you shop.

Ok So they can do it here.

Don't have to do it any place el Oh that's cool So they come here so.

They come And this is where we have our fl display for people who like to, either roll their own or smoke i This is the menu where we'll hav what's flower is on what we have that week for them.

Okay, okay.

And the.

Price list and every.

Price list, we always have great Again, no sale price whatsoever.

No, they would have a sale.

So some of these are like 30, 35 and 40%.

Oh.

So you do sales.

Wow.

You do a lot of sales for folks.

We like to try to keep things af for people.

Okay.

You know, and what I'm loving as we take how well lit and how wonderful i I had the impression, you know when you come in to some place l would be like kind of low lighti and things like that but that's not the case here, ri Well, you know we've never wanted to have a pla made it feel like it was tabo in some way to come and get cann You know, cannabis is medicine for the world.

And my mother was very consciou about opening here in our own ne to provide this type of wellnes for the people here east of the Anacostia.

That's right The main strip.

Yeah.

That's rig I love it.

So, you know, when you wanted a that's inviting and warm and welcoming and where you feel your wellness is being.

Lifted and not just you're doin something illegal and you should Doing.

That's right.

Because there's nothing wron with using this plant as medicin which is what we're doing here, what we're providing here.

How does it feel?

I kno you all are impacting the commun How does it feel to work for fam for your mother?

How does that fit?

Well, you know, this is not my f working for my mother.

I love working for my mother.

We've worked together many year I always say she's a woman of vi And she has a vision, which is t the community that she's here.

She's always no matter what she she's trying to serve our commun And so it makes me really proud to carry on that legacy and to h and to help with her vision.

And I love it.

As you know you're greeted nicely at the doo So you've your staff is the same Everybody's warm from, you know, coming in to, the person that's out fron that is security to coming in.

Everybody's warm and friendly.

So that's a really good sig of coming to an establishment.

We always say we're a family her not a factory.

You know, we want everybod to feel.

What they feel comforta Oh that's lovely.

Now what do we have here?

Okay, so this is, our display c for our edibles and, tinctures.

You know you don't have to smoke the prod In order to get the medicinal benefits of it Okay.

So.

So the edible means that they're like a candy or.

Yes, like, theyre actually lik but we don't call them gummies i because children might like them And lozenges hard candies and, syringes and t Okay.

Wonderful.

So tell me, what do we have here So this case is the case for our pre-roll menus?

A lot of people, pre-rolls are j that are already rolled up that people can purchas instead of purchasing the loose As opposed to that case over the So a lot of people want to there for expediency.

Just get it already rolled up.

A lot of people, a lot of our p are also arthritic in their hand So it's difficult for them to ro So it's easier for them to use i Just so do you think about thes in meetings like you and your mo you know, being able to serve di you know, sectors?

Absolutely.

We try to be as full service of a dispensary as possible because like we said, we are he to help people with their wellne So you that means that you have many different peopl trying to serve as many differen Not everybody's ailments are on the outside.

Right.

You know.

So and then it depends like we h with cardiovascular needs.

That' why sometimes the edibles are ea because you're not putting any on your cardiovascular system at That makes sense.

So I see we have this wall here that says electronic.

Oh yeah.

O there's a lot over on this side.

We have our, our case, where we have cartridges, vape that people can purchase as well So there's a lot of things that like people kind of like you know, the pens or they're ju Yes.

Yeah.

And, you know those you're not taking in the so much smoke into your lungs you know, they can be a little b And then we have lots o educational resources around for So that's what's going on here.

We have, things that describ what is a Turpin and what the di terpenes are.

And we have binders for lots of information about medical cannab the people we often use as resources for our cases.

People come over and say, hey you know, this is I need to find And what does this mean?

People lov having these resources out here.

So, they are always available fo And people do look for specifically for that.

And so I can I can take a mug ho I'm thinking.

That's right.

Yeah.

That's right.

We have lots of merch.

Okay.

And the mugs are one.

The mugs.

We're here in honor of our, fifth anniversary.

We got the mugs.

Okay.

Yeah.

To help celebrate.

So.

Yeah, well, this is fantastic.

Like, I.

Ingenious.

I just can't, like I always say, when I go to a pl if I would want to move in and l That means that there's somethin that's homey and welcoming.

And to be here in Anacostia, east of the river.

You're doing very well.

And I thank you so muc for taking the time to give us t Thank you for coming.

It's my.

Pleasure.

Yeah.

Thank y Well, this i a great, special part of this se Me getting to talk to you.

I've known you.

We've known each other forever.

Forever and ever and ever.

And, so you being here, how do you like being here?

And what was your thoughts about here, in Anacostia?

And, you know, having putting a this vision, all of this togethe I was determined.

Well, I have lived in every war in the city for five and seven, and I've had homes, there but I ended up buying a house ov in 2000 and January 2nd, 2000, I went to the settlement and, fell in love with the community.

Just truly fell in love with the community.

And, got really active in it and everything.

And as you know, I was in public relations.

But a few years later I suppose, with several years la I had lived here long enough to the neighborhood did not have am and all of that.

And then what were the things th just being a resident that you would want here that you didn't see here?

A grocery store, a gas station, you know, basically a hardware s At that time, we really didn't restaurants, here in historic An Now we have, you know a couple of good restaurants her you know, basic necessitie because I had lived abroad for and Georgetown of different plac where I didn't have to worr about walking to get anything I You know I didn't have to drive across th Get in my car.

I do anything, yeah, but, but the cannabis thing was really interesting because I didn't even know, eve I had worked in the city governm you know, as Mary, as chief of s and everything.

Mary Berry.

Yes.

And I did not know that DC had a licensed cannabis industry And, when I found out about that that's when I got really curious and looked at it and started thinking about going into indust And this is all such a vision an And when I see vision, like when here, you just you would want to stay and spend some time, not just run in and run out.

Now putting all of that together and knowing all of that, are there some challenge about trying to maintain that?

What have you found that, you know, would be jus some of the challenges that you First of all, it's very hard, to get a location.

Right?

And, I had, been try to I was committed to having a disp in Ward seven and 8 or 8 because there was no access to l license cannabis for the residen Over here, they were being assig Tacom at Blair Road or different locat rather than being able to walk t in their own community.

But, you know, just trying to fi be, leasing a space is was really difficul because we're still federally il And that was it.

A lot of work.

Like, was it like, because I kno being in business for yourself, a lot of things you have to do y with small businesses.

How was that for you?

Like did you have a team like re Did you have to do your own, you know, being here and already living here did you know some of the landsca Well, this is a whole different So the landscape that I knew in normal business is totally different from the landscape in cannabis.

And, my co-founders are Sherry Blunt and Yolanda Caraway.

And, we just threw ourselves in.

It started traveling across the and learned from the businesses that had been license and opened, who became our mento Were they open to give you that information?

Yes.

Oh, yes I did.

First of all, there was really nobody that had any color to their ski and in the industry because we w and we started looking into this like in 2013, 2014.

So, you know, it's it's really, you know, a male dominated white industry and still is.

Even the women are getting into more and more.

And people of color are getting and more, but yeah, but they, they were very willing to share and help us.

So let's talk about the challeng because everybody always thinks you know, that everything looks And, you know, we want to tal about the challenges mentally, physically that you go through to keep the doors open, to make sure that you have enoug all of those things.

What are some of the challenges that you find?

You know, being the first one, you're the first.

You know, you there's no landsca or somebody to tell you, how does it feel?

How do you deal with it?

What do I'm grateful to have had some me from other states, who were experience in the indu to, you know, sort of walk me th But with DC not being a state, the challenges are much differen because each state can regulate the cannabis indus as they would desire, as they wi So the challenges have been real but I'm the type of person that I'm not going to let it get me d So first of all, it took me over two years to find a location, because, landlords don't want to lease to yo because we're federally illegal but, try to the insurances.

We have to have multiple insura and DC requires for a licensed dispensary, a cultivator or wha to have armed security on premis And we have 24 hour live monitor security in addition to that.

But just th that the product is very expensi The, the seed to sale tracking the metric syste and everything that we have to d that normal businesses don't hav And certainly the illegal business is down.

Wow.

Well, it didn't deter you, I didn't know all that when I go I was I.

Was too, but but that's what ha when you're doing your passion, you just kind of.

Yeah, but you're doing it right.

We're doing it.

We're doing it.

And you know, the the joy is see having access to legal license inspected cannabis in different forms in a communi and particularly in my community to get them off the street, drug that are laced with, you know all kinds of fentanyl and everyt But, and you don't know where it's coming from.

You don't know what's in a you even know if you really have can So, you know, that was why I dec I wanted to get into business t I was going to open in my own co And I am so glad you did.

But, you know I want to know more about your j and I know our viewers do, but we can't stand here because your, your your background is absolutely fa Let's sit down and talk about it.

Let's do.

It.

All right.

This is nice, isn't it?

Finally, we get to sit down, I k Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, well, I want I personally kno how fabulous you are in your lif and the things that you've done the city.

Let's talk a little bit about yo You know, being chief of staf for Marion Barry and all of thos being the first woman to d a whole lot of stuff, including So talk about, you know, getting to DC and, you know, how did how did tha journey start for you once you a It's a long and storied history.

So I arrived in DC, from Newport News, Virginia, which is where I'm from, back in the early 70s.

And I was working in banking in, Okay.

And, transferred to a bank here, A Nationa Savings and a trust is no longer And it happened to be, righ next door to independence federa alone, which was the first black loan in the city.

Okay.

And that was founded by Bill Fit and, met him one day in the park And then I just started going to independence every day after 2:00 until about And just volunteering.

Okay.

And, it was a savings and loan, and my previous was in banking, so it was a little different the And then one day he just offered me a job, and, I knew everybody there, so I, you know, I went on, I accepted it, and through Bill, I met everybody in the city.

But, I had to before he offered I had met Marion.

I had met Sterling Salkeld, Walter Washington, you know, that that whole societ Because Bill was very influentia Okay.

And, he introduced me to a lot o including my former husband.

Do.

Great.

Yeah.

So how did that segue into getti politics in the political game?

You may not, believ this, but growing up in Newport I've always been interested in and I was the first black teen m Well, before.

Yeah, yeah.

And so I've always had that driv in politics.

I'd love the.

I was just totally fascinated by But at the same time I was very interested in busines Okay.

And, so I, I volunteered on campaign I volunteered on a lot of things you know, and that's how I got you know, totally intertwined th But moving to DC at the power s at the world, that's a whole dif And that was different then because, you know, you had Mario You had just right out of the c of the 60s civil rights movement So everybody was like say it loud, you know what I mea Like, so was that a push for you Was that a feeling of empowermen Did it make any difference that, you were black, but you were a black woman?

How what was that like in being in and making decisions for yoursel It was it was very powerful because there weren't that many successful black men i during that time.

It's right after the riots and all of that, those that were had a very tight knit, They were very tight knit.

And the Congressional Black Caucus says you know, was founde during that time.

And, people didn't have safe places t minor Dukes House and Bil to see, Bill Fitzgerald and his their houses became like safe pl people of power and people influ in the black community nationwide to include athletes and entertai Mary Wilson of the Supreme was my very best friend in the w And, so it was just a harbor, you know, Charlie Jarvis.

And it was an era where people were very close.

And network.

And networked with.

Each other.

So how was that?

When did it?

We So being teen mayor you kind of knew for yourself, how were you after you were divo and knew that you had to set the for yoursel and figure out things for yourse How was that in this town for a so that you were making decision for you and your business?

How was that what it was?

It was While I was married I was one of the few black women and the youngest one on that wer all the women's committee for all the arts, like the Wolf performance, Wolf Trap Society, Performing Arts Society, Charlotte Jazz Society, you kno all of those type of artsy thing And I was mentored by a lot of v black women and Jewish wome who consisted of those committee And I ended up chair and a co-c in almost every major ball in th So, you know, my neck, my, my ne expanded tremendously.

And, from that, I was, taught, how to put on fundraisers with, political fundraisers, nonprofit fundraisers.

I started serving on a lot o nonprofit boards and that type o Gretchen Poston who was the social secretary for President Carter, and I became very good friends.

And she before she had that job she had a company called Washing Around, which, was, the the mos event planning company in inner So do you think it's still impor for women, me who we're talking about use that We're talking about women to sti and to still make contact.

And was an important for you to then and important now?

It's very important.

And I stress that.

And I you know, even talk to my staff because the people that you mee on this journey and when you vol and when you are given your time it's it's a wholesomeness and it's it makes you feel grate and you are helping someone.

And someday you may be that per that needs help, you know, so bu the the network and is just of all levels and I wouldn't say just network is something that you comfort well, comfortable and network an Thing that that.

Are uncomfortable for Most of your career you've been an entrepreneu or had the entrepreneurial think What advice would you give our v Women, men of women, being a bl that would want to start a busin and work for themselves what is the best advice that you that you could impart with some that's listening to me, to every What?

You have to be patient and, you have to know that things are not going to go as you expe them to is particularly in the b But if you have something that passionate about, that's the bus you should go to becaus you're going to give it all you I had a fur business.

I loved fur coats and I had a fur business, all gr And then I had a management comp it that grew into, the political side of lobbying a representatio not only here for members of Con in the United States but also, I branded out into Afr to represent at all the African ambassadors.

I, worked for and represente President Mandela the whole time He was, president of South Afric I represented him here in the U States on some of his projects a And of course, the entertainer side, the athletic side.

So it goes all to it goes round So did you just kind of follow i and see where it took you?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, you know, when you are in certain settings and people n a publicist or they need an eve or they need this in any other a you know, you network within your circles.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But it wa it was those were all great expe And I actually I was doing that when I, you know, looked into the cannabis industr And we're so glad you did.

And how does it feel to be first I'm the first east of the river.

I was one of the first, you know, black female owners of and licenses of cannabis in the United States.

I do what it to m and I are one of only three blac mother and daughter teens in the United States.

It's licenses, but, you know, when I'm doing things I'm not thinking about being fir I just get intrigued and and just move on with it.

Just move on.

Just go forward, you know?

Well, we're glad you're here.

We're glad that you opened the d to Anacostia.

Organics today.

And Lynda Green keep doing what you're doing.

I'm so proud of you.

We're so happy for you.

And we we wish you all the best.

And we know everything is just w Coming up roses.

Oh, it's good to see you.

It's good to see you.

And I'm so honore to be on the show with you I lov We've been friends for many, man and I just.

This is an.

Honor.

This is good.

Yeah.

Next time we're gonna have to have some ch Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

You cooking?

Am.

Okay, okay.

That's a date.

A Chicken and champagne.

Yeah, a fun one, an inspiring da at Anacostia Organics Lind and her team are not only provid valuable health options, but are also a role model for what it means to serve and u a community.

Join us next time on Neighborhoo Favorites as we continue to highlight businesse and people who are making a diff We'll see you next time.