Ariane Kirkpatrick was undeterred by the limited presence of Black entrepreneurs in the cannabis sector. In 2017, she made her official foray into the space, according to WKCY-3. “We made the decision that we, despite the barriers, despite the obstacles, despite being Black and female, we were going to make this work and we did,” Kirkpatrick told the outlet. Per Kirkpatrick’s LinkedIn page, she served as the CEO of several large-scale medical, cannabis cultivation, and dispensary companies, such as Harvest Grows, Harvest of Ohio, and Harvest Processing, which had operations in the Ohio cities of Ironton, Beavercreek, Columbus, and Athens. She mentioned that her aim was to transform lives and strengthen economies by providing jobs and economic development opportunities through marijuana. However, Kirkpatrick would hit a major roadblock after falling out with her business partner, multi-state operator Harvest Health and Recreation, when it was acquired by national cannabis and...