A Philly guy by way of Florida is stepping up to lead a local large player in cannabis, as the industry works to make its ownership and executive leadership more diverse., a vertically integrated, multi-state operator headquartered in Philadelphia, the company announced this week. Founded in 2019, Ethos operates 13 dispensaries across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts, including two in Philadelphia.
Ownership of cannabis companies is even lower, with less than 2% of the 30,000 marijuana businesses nationwide having Black owners, according toAs a result of those trends, Washington called his role as CEO of Ethos a heavy responsibility. But it also presents possibilities. In many ways, that quick upward trajectory, Washington said, was a result of his longtime understanding of cannabis from the legacy side of the market. As a teenager, his parents had a more permissive attitude about marijuana than alcohol, and his late father, a former vice president of organization at Blue Cross Blue Shield, used cannabis to manage symptoms during a bout with cancer in the early 2000s.
“It is something that I will never forget — that I hold a position that my brother was killed for,” Washington said. “That is something that is very powerful to think about, day in, day out. I am doing something that 15 years ago cost him his life.”