Our Talk With Tarik Lester of Dagga

Last month we had the opportunity to sit down with Tarik Lester from Dagga. Tarik and Ed Merriman, who run Dagga as partners, have been members at Hunt Street since February 2019.

The duo grew up together in Detroit and after reconnecting post-college went on and started a number of businesses together. Their experience spans anywhere between consulting and website services within the Tech space for the last two decades. For their latest business venture, they chose to shift their focus to the growing cannabis industry within Detroit.

Dagga is a digital marketplace to source products, events, services, and programs related to the cannabis industry. The twist of the platform is that it carries a heavy focus in social equity due to the roadblocks that were noticed by Ed and Tarik over the years as they scale their business.

Social Equity is meant to deal with justice and fairness within social policy. Programs related to this make the attempt to ensure that people of color, and those with marijuana offenses prior to legalization, are allowed the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the industry.

In the last year and a half, they have been in the soft-launch stage as they get the word out on the business and build up opportunities to develop offerings and community to those interested.

Tarik and Ed have learned to take it slow and remain patient in their journey as they navigate the politics and policies that they have and will continue to go through. With the vision that they have of their presence in the space, they know that it’s only a matter of time until they get where they want to be.

Please feel free to say hi to the duo whenever you see them around! They’re always looking for meaningful connections and opportunities within the community.