Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Keeping cannabis regulations local is how we can best serve the community”, With Jennifer Babaian of 7 Leaf Clover
The most concerning things about the industry is the potential for it to be dominated by just a few well funded players, shutting out more community minded small businesses. The second would be making cannabis more socially acceptable without properly educating young people about its dangers. Lastly, I’m interested to see how product quality is impacted as the industry gets larger.
As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Babaian.
Jennifer Babaian has built a name for herself in the time CBD has risen in popularity in New York and across the nation. Babaian, Founder and CEO of Long Island, NY startup 7 Leaf Clover (with locations in Westbury, Williamsburg, and the Hamptons) has helped many people with an array of health issues improve their lives through the use of CBD products. No stranger to her entrepreneurial calling, Babaian and her family have owned and operated a group of health food stores in New York that have sold the best quality organic food and supplements since the 1970s — when it was both groundbreaking and controversial to sell organic foods and vitamins.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?
Plant medicine has always been a passion and an interest of mine. My family owns health food stores so I grew up around vitamins and organics and as I got older I became very interested in health optimization. I also grew curious about why it seemed like so many people were in pain mentally and physically, and what could be done about it through diet, alternative treatments, and supplementation.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It is more an aggregate of all the different types of people who have found relief and a measurably better quality of life through incorporating cannabis, especially those who initially were very hesitant or skeptical. I’ve learned that there is no one dose or method that suits everyone. Responsible cannabis use really does have to be tailored to the individual. Having trained, educated guides as we do in our 7 Leaf Clover stores can really mean the difference between finding what works or dismissing the cannabis plant as a medicine.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was wondering about an uppermost limit of Delta 8 consumption for our pizza and edibles line, so I baked 350mg into a pizza and gave it to my friend. He was face down on my carpet after an hour and stayed at my house for the duration of the weekend sleeping. So the lesson is… 350mg is too much.
Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?
None of my family or friends are cannabis users so all the stigma that exists was really strong within that sphere. Everyone’s response was, “you’re a drug dealer!” For me, it wasn’t incongruous at all with my passion for healing. Cannabis was part of the plant medicine world with the potential to address issues like PTSD and epileptic disorders that other modalities haven’t been able to.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I’ve been really lucky in that I have a great team in stores. My operations manager is a genius, the staff teach me things everyday. I’m blown away by their commitment to helping people find the right thing for their specific issue, the dedication to learning more and being more, the work ethic, just everything.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We just launched a Delta 8 THC pizza line called “Magic 8 Pizza.” It was created to address the sense of boredom and ennui that people have due to the Covid19 pandemic. We were thinking about something that would bring the excitement of trying something new that we are all craving after such a “bleh” year and we wanted something that would be fun to do alone or with a close friend or partner.
Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?
On a government level, there can be special consideration given to women applying for licenses to grow and to open dispensaries. The rest of the onus is on the individual to step up within their organizations or as entrepreneurs to go after whatever it is that they want. I find one common trait of women in this industry who have been successful is that they were not very concerned with outside opinion, but really focused on what their vision was and forging a path for themselves.
You are a “Cannabis Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each.
There is one non intuitive thing that trumps all others which is that despite the hype, Marijuana/CBD/hemp historically has underperformed as an industry. It is a tough business with tough competition and there are all the normal difficulties as with any business plus the compliance and legal issues. The performance of public companies, the myriad closure of businesses and the valuations of cannabis companies are all demonstrative of the lack of basic business sense that has inundated the industry in the last ten years.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?
The most exciting things are how it has opened up the conversation around psychedelics used therapeutically, the social impact of expunging records of minor offenders and the impact it will have on minority communities and the increase in awareness and education around plant medicine especially in terms of being able to grow your own.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
The most concerning things about the industry is the potential for it to be dominated by just a few well funded players, shutting out more community minded small businesses. The second would be making cannabis more socially acceptable without properly educating young people about its dangers. Lastly, I’m interested to see how product quality is impacted as the industry gets larger.
What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?
There are pros and cons, one pro is that banking will be more seamless. However, I believe that by keeping cannabis regulations local is how we can best serve the community. Federal legalization would concentrate the spoils to huge companies who could have the funds to operate across states and leverage economies of scale, but would be less likely to be invested in, listen to, and learn from the communities they serve.
Today, cigarettes are legal, but they are heavily regulated, highly taxed, and they are somewhat socially marginalized. Would you like cannabis to have a similar status to cigarettes or different? Can you explain?
The missing piece is public education. From a wellness perspective, cigarettes and cannabis are not comparable. Cigarettes are toxic to the body. There is a direct correlation between cigarettes and illnesses that can be deadly. There is no such link with cannabis. However, from a tax revenue perspective they will be treated similarly.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It is trite, but it’s “Just Do It.” Don’t overanalyze, don’t complain, shut up and work.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
The Dalai Lama said “My religion is kindness.” If everyone could slow down, breath and focus on kindness I think it would solve a lot of unnecessary problems we’ve created in society.
Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!
