How Women Are Changing the Face of Cannabis for the Better
A Women Grow Summit Recap
It’s not often that you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of like-minded individuals when your perspective involves legalizing access to cannabis. Thanks to a colleague, I was fortunate to find myself in such a situation last month at the first-ever East Coast installation of the Women Grow conference in the Nation’s Capital. For two consecutive days on June 7th and 8th, 600 women convened in one place for what can only be described as a supportive, cannabis-loving sisterhood united to elevate not only company but consciousness.
Women Grow was founded in 2014 in Denver, serving as a catalyst for women to succeed in cannabis as the end of Marijuana Prohibition occurs on a national scale. The organization’s presence spans 45 states, each with multiple chapters that connect, educate, and empower women in all segments of the cannabis industry.
Day one began with a 7:00 AM stroll down to the DC Capitol building for a historic photo op with women who are actively changing the face of cannabis, of which I was one! Along the way, I found myself in a myriad of conversations with women who worked in all verticals of the industry. I learned about things like the holistic healing of CBD in massage, how medicinal marijuana is helping transgender youth cope with uncertainty, and how nurse practitioners are navigating the inability to prescribe marijuana to patients given the current political climate. It was surreal. We were all there with one common goal that affected so many different facets of daily life in our society, and we would all benefit from the same outcome; legalization.
I was learning so much, and the conference hadn’t even begun.
The rest of the morning included a series of lightning talks from notable women like Tanganika Daniel, a marine veteran who sought relief from PTSD and found it in medicinal cannabis. Clinica Verde’s Gabriela Rodriquez spoke about bringing legal cannabis to Puerto Rico to revive hurricane-torn communities, and then Chelsea Cebara touched on what it means to define sexual consent for cannabis in the #metoo era. Lisa Gray, the founder of Ilhera Healthcare, spoke on how she tackled the “hard” conversations with her mom and children when she decided to get into medical cannabis cultivation — how do you explain to people that what you’re doing is truly for the greater good? These are conversations that deeply touched and affected us all! Mary Jane Oatman of the Indigenous Cannabis Coalition concluded the lightning talks by asking all in attendance to hold hands and lift them in solidarity for the battle that we all face adding that we all stand together in our oneness.
Next up were the expert panels where the frequency of subjects subsided but not the intensity. A panel of female CEOs included Wanda James — the first African American woman to own a marijuana dispensary in Colorado — championed messages like “hire, support and believe in women,” before mentioning that all present should be prepared for their bank accounts to be shut down sooner or later. It was hard to believe that someone with so much success, notoriety, and the favor of Barrack Obama even had issues with cannabis banking.
Fellow CEO Chris Visco of TerraVida Holistic Centers discussed pitfalls to avoid when starting a cannabis business like choosing your investors and partners wisely, which goes without saying no matter what industry you’re in. But it was something else that Chris said that ignited the conversation that followed; an employee that had been hired at one of her locations didn’t pass a background check because of a previous possession charge. The individual in question was caught with drug paraphernalia (a bowl) that hadn’t even been used. This small act was responsible for denying him a job that he hadn’t started yet and would be the reason he will be barred from working in the cannabis industry until his record is expunged.
The panel that followed, entitled, “What Does Diversity Really Mean?” was probably one of the less palatable but more important conversations regarding social justice. On the panel was Kassandra Frederique — NY State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance, Roz McCarthy — Founder of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Liz McCauley — Deputy Director for Virginia NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and moderator Gia Moron — President of Women Grow. The panel tackled the hard question of ‘Diversity’ vs. ‘Equity’ and the real effect of the ‘War on Drugs’ for impoverished communities throughout the United States. These women painted endless stories of how those most deeply affected by the war are struggling to find their place in this industry, stating that the conversation around legalization MUST be matched with conversation around decriminalization and reparation.
Simply being equal does not equate to being equitable when situations exist like the scenario above, where an employee was barred from the industry that imprisoned him, to begin with. This is something that stayed with me because at Solvent our solution to the banking crisis is transparency, and when that transparency means lost opportunities for entire communities, then we have an existential crisis on our hands. I can tell you this cause will be central to our mission at Solvent.
The broadest most significant takeaway from this entire experience for me was the power of women united together around a common cause.
When Women Grow convened around cannabis, ‘Cannamagic’ happened. The subject matter was turned inside out and upside down to bring light to the dark areas and shed light for others to consider different viewpoints that fundamentally shifted our thinking from that moment on. Women Grow was that for me; a fundamental shift. Women approach everything first from a perspective of purpose, and second from the standpoint of success — perhaps that’s our blessing and our curse. I met many beautiful and talented women that inspired me by what they were doing for their families and communities, and I intend to carry that cause forward in the work I do every day.
Until next time, Women Grow!
