A South Loop cannabis lounge is calling foul after Chicago police and city inspectors allegedly rushed their business—just days after the owners publicly challenged the city’s glaring lack of Black ownership in the cannabis and hemp industries.
According to Prohibition THCafé (2113 S. State St), officers and inspectors entered the space without clear cause shortly after the owners participated in a press conference advocating for fair representation and pushing back against the corporate-cannabis-led hemp ban currently sweeping Illinois.
For the owners, the timing isn’t a coincidence—it’s retaliation.
Cannabis legalization was marketed as a pathway to repair decades of harm in Black communities, where marijuana laws were strategically weaponized to criminalize, destabilize, and incarcerate. But instead of inclusion, many Black entrepreneurs say they’ve been boxed out by failed policies, political games, and corporate monopolies that now dominate the marketplace.
The team behind Prohibition THCafé says the industry was never supposed to look like this—and they’re refusing to be silent while Black businesses are targeted, intimidated, and pushed out.
As they continue their fight for equity, visibility, and protection, they’re calling on Chicagoans to stand with them.
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Instagram: @prohibitioncafelounge
Location: Prohibition THCafé — 2113 S. State St, Chicago, IL 60616
WTW will continue covering this developing story as Chicago’s Black cannabis operators push back against corporate agendas and demand the ownership they were promised.
