Meet Sarah Kiah Morton | LOCKGREEN CEO / Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Kiah Morton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?

As Black entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry, LOCKGREEN was created because we are painfully aware of these facts:

 Over 350K arrests are made for marijuana-related violations annually (FBI Uniform Crime Report, 2020)
 Nationwide, Black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana, despite similar usage rates (ACLU, 2020)
 Many of these arrests happen at traffic stops, which in itself is an anxiety-provoking experience for many in the Black community, considering that we have seen time and time again how Black men and women are harmed and even KILLED at traffic stops
 Having a cannabis law violation on your record creates complications that often stick with people for the rest of their lives, affecting their ability to get jobs, housing, student loans, child custody, and more.

We live in Virginia, and in 2021 it became the first state in the South to legalize adult-use cannabis. While that was great news, the state’s open container law that defines how to legally travel in your car with cannabis was very unclear. My husband Ron and I knew that with so many cannabis arrests happening at traffic stops, that is not the time for people to be unclear about what their rights are!

Our thought at that point was, how can we help PREVENT people from getting cannabis law violations, especially at a traffic stop? Our answer was LOCKGREEN. We made it our mission to help PREVENT cannabis law violations by providing:
1) community education on cannabis laws and hot topics, and
2) our smell-proof stash boxes that come with a built-in combination lock.

At LOCKGREEN, we not only provide top-quality stash boxes, but we educate our customers and the community about how to use them to keep kids, pets, and other unwanted guests out of their stash, as well as how to transport cannabis safely and lawfully in cars.  Of course, we always encourage consumers to be knowledgeable of their specific state’s laws.

We are very proud of the social impact that we provide to help keep cannabis consumers educated and protected in a country where states are legalizing cannabis more and more.  Since our stash boxes are smell-proof, water-resistant, and have a built-in combination lock, they meet and exceed most states’ requirements for cannabis storage and travel, making them the perfect companion for any cannabis consumer!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Before creating LOCKGREEN, I spent 15 years in Corporate America, with my last role being Vice President at one of the largest employee benefits consulting firms in the country. I was a Consultant with a focus on new business development, so I would prospect the C-suite (CEO, CFO, executives) of large employer groups and, in short, convince them to hire me and my team to manage their multi-millions of dollars in employee benefits spend. Many people don’t think of the business of employee benefits, but there is a lot of time, planning, and strategy that goes into the plans offered, especially since employee benefits are often the second-highest business expense, next to payroll, for employers.

As you can imagine with a role like this, nurturing my prospects to build trusting relationships was imperative, and because of that, I attended several luncheons, banquets, and other networking events as a business and community leader. During these events, I would often be asked “What does your husband do?” I would answer honestly, and sometimes smugly to get a reaction, “Oh, he sells weed.”

My husband has worked in the cannabis industry since about 2011.  He was initially based in Denver, CO for many years and traveled back and forth to Virginia where our family is based. Back then, not many people on the east coast were talking about cannabis, despite it being big business out West. At first, I remember thinking it was risky to share what industry he was in because as a young, Black professional, I am already different in these Corporate spaces – would they try to stereotype me and my family for being involved in weed? But that idea was fleeting because in my career, I have learned to use everything about me that is different to my advantage, and I did the same when it came to talking about cannabis and later being a part of cannabis advocacy and community education.

Everyone who I talked to in those corporate spaces about cannabis was curious to learn more and intrigued. Many of those people never had an intellectual, intelligent conversation about cannabis because we all learned growing up that it was a terrible drug for lazy people vs. learning of its actual medicinal properties that have been known for centuries around the globe. There were even some people who felt comfortable enough with me to share stories of their past (or current) use, laughing about how crazy the experiences were for them. I always loved those moments.

In 2018, I became active in cannabis advocacy in Virginia, joining the Board of Virginia NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and moderating conversations with local/state/national politicians, attorneys, and community leaders to educate the public on Virginia’s evolving cannabis laws. I was in front of large groups and even on the news several times, all while still working my job. I am thankful that my employer never had an issue with what I was doing, but I also did not ask for permission either – I was doing what I knew was needed in my community! I found myself again using what made me different to the advantage of the mission this time, bridging the business community and the small but growing (at that time) cannabis community together.

I left my Corporate America job in late 2020 during the Covid-19 quarantine. I had just returned back to my very demanding job after my maternity leave with a newborn in my lap because I couldn’t find any daycares to take her, and my two older children were in school at home and increasingly needed my help as they dealt with our new and very uncomfortable normal. We lived in Maryland at the time and my husband was an essential worker because he worked in a medical cannabis dispensary, so he was gone during the day. Yes, all of this was a lot to handle, but added to that was the feeling in my soul that it was time to leave my career, although it did not make sense financially and I had no idea what was next. I ultimately decided to trust my gut. Once I did, it made space for me to be able to provide the support my children needed, flourish creatively, and dream about my next career moves, all of which led to the creation of LOCKGREEN in 2021.

In addition to being the CEO of LOCKGREEN, I have another business that I started in 2018 called SKM Communications & Consulting where I design sales and marketing collateral for companies.  I designed everything myself for LOCKGREEN: social media posts, sales sheets, tags/labels on all of our products, our email layouts, and much more.  I am also a Momager for both of my sons – my oldest son is a professional pianist who gigs often and my youngest son has a photography business.

In summary, I am blessed that my work is rooted in pursuing my passions!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I live in Suffolk, VA which is part of a greater metropolitan area called Hampton Roads, comprised of seven cities: Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News. While many may not be familiar with Suffolk, people are often more familiar with some of the other cities listed.

If I wanted to show my best friend the best time ever, I would rent a house on the beach so that we could be close to the ocean, wake up to the sunrise and be able to walk on the beach whenever we wanted to. Being by the water is so relaxing and it is one of this region’s greatest assets – miles and miles of Atlantic coast shoreline. It would be the perfect hang-out spot!

Then over the course of the week, I would visit:

 The Virginia Beach oceanfront and boardwalk – this is the touristy part of the city and there is lots to do. We would walk and/or ride bikes down the boardwalk, do some water sports or take a dolphin-watching cruise, and of course eat at one of the many seafood restaurants so that we could get fresh seafood. We also could go to the aquarium where there is a zip-lining park for some active recreation
 Virginia Beach Town Center – this area has lots of restaurants and bars, a couple of theatres so we could see a live performance, and The Funny Bone Comedy Club so we could close a day there laughing all night.
 Downtown Norfolk – This area is also on the water (a river, not the ocean) and is full of delicious restaurants (do you see a theme here?), a nautical museum, a mall, and even an artsy area called The Neon District where we could go to see murals and be a part of the area’s art scene.
 The River’s Casino in Portsmouth – Portsmouth is a lesser-known city in the area but many know it for being the place where Missy Elliott grew up. A new casino just opened there, and although I do not gamble, there are nice restaurants and live Vegas-style shows.
 Places where self-care is paramount – we would get massages, sound therapy, go hear live music, and anything else that brings us peace and joy.

A week full of rest, good food, and all sorts of entertainment would be the best week ever for me and my best friend.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Website: www.lock-green.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockgreenproducts/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahkiahmorton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LockGreenProducts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lockgreenproducts

Image Credits
Shod Harris, The Rebel Society