Veteran-Owned Cannabis in NY: Service, Sacrifice & Business

Veteran-owned cannabis businesses in New York represent something larger than commerce — they are acts of reclamation, community investment, and hard-won entrepreneurship. We are Silly Nice, a Black-owned, Veteran-owned, family-run cannabis brand founded in Brooklyn, NYC in March 2024. In less than two years, we've placed our small-batch, independently lab-tested products in 150+ licensed New York adult-use dispensaries statewide. This is our story — and it belongs to every New Yorker who has ever been told the odds were against them.

Shane Breen served in the U.S. Army. LeVar Thomas built alongside him through 25 years of friendship, trust, and shared vision rooted in Brooklyn. When New York's adult-use cannabis market opened its doors, we didn't just see a business opportunity — we saw a responsibility. A responsibility to our veterans. To our community. To the people across every borough who deserve premium cannabis that is made with the same discipline and integrity that military service demands. We built Silly Nice with that standard baked into every batch.

Why Brooklyn Is More Than Our Zip Code

Brooklyn isn't just our address — it's our instruction manual. From Bed-Stuy to Crown Heights, from Flatbush to Fort Greene, this borough has always been a place where people build things from nothing and make them mean something. That culture of resilience is threaded through everything we do at Silly Nice. When we say family-run, we mean it in every sense — the way Brooklyn families mean it. Loyalty over shortcuts. Community over clout. Quality you'd be proud to bring home.

The U.S. Army instills values that don't leave you when you take off the uniform: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Shane carried every one of those into the founding of Silly Nice. These aren't words we put on marketing slides — they're operational principles. When we say every product is small-batch and independently lab-tested, that's integrity. When we say we're in 150+ dispensaries statewide and still growing, that's personal courage meeting preparation.

Veterans often struggle transitioning back into civilian economic life. The systems aren't designed for smooth reentry, and entrepreneurship — while empowering — is brutal without a support structure. We know that reality firsthand. Building Silly Nice wasn't a pivot made from comfort. It was a deliberate, disciplined march from zero. And we want other veteran entrepreneurs watching us to know: if we can anchor a cannabis brand in one of the most competitive markets in the country, with 150+ dispensary partners and a growing footprint, it is possible.

25 Years of Partnership as a Business Foundation

There's a reason most businesses fail within five years — trust is expensive, and most people don't have 25 years of it banked before they open their doors. Shane and LeVar do. That depth of relationship means decisions get made faster, conflict gets resolved honestly, and the brand never loses its north star. In a volatile early-market environment like New York adult-use cannabis, that stability is a competitive advantage that money cannot buy.

Being Black-owned and Veteran-owned is not a marketing category for us — it is the lived reality of who we are and why we do this work. Black Americans have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition for decades. Communities in Harlem, Brownsville, East New York, and South Jamaica, Queens saw their people criminalized for the very thing that Wall Street and venture capital are now calling a growth sector. We didn't forget that. We built Silly Nice as a direct answer to that history.

At the same time, veterans — across all backgrounds — have long faced unique barriers to economic participation after service. The combination of these two identities means we carry a dual responsibility: to represent Black excellence in cannabis and to demonstrate what veteran-led business looks like when it is done with craft, care, and community at the center. We think New York deserves both, and we are proud to deliver it.

What the New York Cannabis Market Owes to Communities of Color

New York's Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act was designed — in part — to prioritize equity. CAURD licenses were meant to give people from communities most impacted by prohibition a head start. The vision was right. The execution has been complicated. We're not here to litigate policy, but we are here to hold the space open. Every time a dispensary stocks Silly Nice, a Black-owned, Veteran-owned New York brand earns its seat at the table on merit — and that matters for every founder who comes behind us.

We don't just talk about quality — we publish our numbers. Every Silly Nice product is independently lab-tested, small-batch crafted, and available for adults 21+ across 150+ licensed dispensaries in New York. Our Diamond Powder comes in at 86.24% THC and 98.54% total cannabinoids for $50 per gram — ultra-refined THCa crystalline that represents the pinnacle of concentrate craft. Our Frosted Hash Ball delivers 67.34% THC, 78.34% total cannabinoids, and 5.7% terpene content for $50 per gram — handmade, artisanal, and built for those who appreciate the detail.

Our Bubble Hash at $44 per gram carries 53.32% THC, 62.86% total cannabinoids, and a remarkable 6.2% terpene content — the highest terpene expression in our concentrate lineup. Why does that matter? Because terpenes are what give cannabis its distinct character, its aroma, its full-spectrum experience. We use ice-water solventless extraction because we refuse to compromise the plant's integrity for the sake of production shortcuts. That's not military thinking — that's just right.

Flower, Vapes, and the Full Silly Nice Experience

Our Infused Flower — Papaya Wine — comes in at 3.5g for $60, with 51.22% THC and 58.63% total cannabinoids, infused with live resin and THCa diamonds for a layered experience that flower-first consumers love. For adults who prefer a portable option, our 510 Vape in Pink Stardust delivers 81.96% THC and 88.36% total cannabinoids at $40 per gram, using 100% cannabis-derived terpenes — no additives, no cutting agents, no compromise. And our 2G All-In-One in Alaskan Thunder Fuck provides 82.46% THC and 84.06% total cannabinoids for $80 — rechargeable via USB-C and designed to go the distance. All COAs are publicly posted at sillynice.com/menu.

We want to be honest with you, the way people from Brooklyn are honest with each other. Building a cannabis business in New York is not easy. The regulatory environment is still evolving. The licensing process has been turbulent. The competition is fierce and increasingly well-capitalized. None of that stopped us, and it is important for us to say that clearly — not to boast, but to be useful to the next veteran or Black entrepreneur who is standing at that same edge, looking out and wondering if it's worth the jump.

What carried us through was exactly what service teaches: mission clarity, team cohesion, and the ability to adapt without losing your objective. We knew from day one that Silly Nice was not going to be built on hype — it was going to be built on trust. Trust from dispensary partners who stock our product. Trust from customers across New York who choose us on a shelf full of options. Trust from a community that sees themselves in our brand. We earned that trust the same way veterans earn everything — through consistent performance under pressure.

What Other Veterans Should Know About Entering Cannabis

If you are a veteran thinking about cannabis entrepreneurship in New York, here is what we would tell you in a direct conversation: know your numbers, know your community, and find a partner with 25 years of trust behind them if you can. The cannabis space rewards specificity and penalizes shortcuts. Do your compliance work. Get your products tested. Be transparent with your retailers. And lead with your identity — not because it's a marketing hook, but because authenticity is the only thing that survives a crowded market long-term.

When we say 150+ licensed dispensaries statewide, we mean from the Bronx to Buffalo, from Astoria to Albany, from Williamsburg to White Plains. We are on shelves across this state because New Yorkers responded to what we put in front of them. Adults 21 and up across every neighborhood, every borough, every demographic reached for Silly Nice and came back for it. That is the most honest validation a brand can receive, and we do not take it lightly.

We are still a small-batch, family-run operation — and we intend to stay true to that even as we scale. The moment a brand gets too big to care about the individual batch, the individual customer, or the individual community they serve, they've lost the thing that made them worth caring about. We are watching that line carefully. Our sustainable packaging isn't just an environmental choice — it's a signal of the values system that runs every decision we make at Silly Nice.

How to Support Veteran- and Black-Owned Cannabis Brands in NY

The most direct thing you can do is choose deliberately. When you walk into a licensed New York dispensary, ask for Silly Nice by name. Tell your budtender you want to support a Black-owned, Veteran-owned brand from Brooklyn. Follow us, share us, and tell someone who doesn't know us yet. Consumer choices in this market are votes — votes for what kind of industry New York's cannabis space will become. We believe it should be an industry where service, sacrifice, and entrepreneurship are rewarded. We are showing that it can be.

We founded Silly Nice in March 2024 with a clear mission: bring the highest quality, most transparently made cannabis products to New York adults 21 and up, with a brand identity rooted in real community, real service, and real craft. Seventeen months in, we have 150+ dispensary partners, a full product lineup with publicly available lab results, and a community of customers across New York who trust us. That is not a small thing. That is everything we set out to build.

But we're clear-eyed about what we are building toward. More products. More dispensary partners. More representation for Black-owned and Veteran-owned brands in a market that still has room to grow into the equitable future it was promised to be. Shane's service to this country was one chapter. This is another — and it is one we are writing with the same commitment, the same discipline, and the same love for the people of New York that has guided us through 25 years of partnership and one very bold Brooklyn dream.

We are Silly Nice. We are from Brooklyn. We are for New York. And we are just getting started. For adults 21+ only. Never use cannabis before driving or operating machinery. Full lab results and product details at sillynice.com/menu.