Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
With Colorado's cannabis industry becoming well established, entreprenuers from all walks of life are finding their way in to push it forward.
Women in the industry face some of the same challenges that have been faced by women in business for decades.
That's where Woman of Weed comes in.
The group is a sub-council of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Woman of Weed (referred to in meetings as WoW) held its second monthly meeting last week. Its mission is to empower women who are getting into the industry and to become its future leaders.
The cannabis business is tough, WoW leader Jennifer Beck told The Colorado Statesman. You start with the industry itself, which is heavily restrictive. Then there's the stigma of marijuana. Add to that the fact that just being a woman in business is hard. So women in the cannabis industry don't have a lot of role models. WoW members will be the pioneers and future women leaders, she said.
The May 14 meeting appeared to be a mix of rah-rah feminism, support group and business resource for those entering the industry and who are running up against the "old boys' network." Except in cannabis, the network is more young men, and the women are young, too. Those who attended the May 14 meeting were mostly under the age of 40. WoW provides them with a platform to discuss the issues and unique obstacles of being a woman in the cannabis industry, Beck said.
It's not just growers and sellers. WoW members are starting or running businesses in technology, lab testing, consulting, packaging and containers, and other ancillary businesses, all focused on cannabis.
Beck runs Cannabase, a technology marketplace that connects wholesalers with retailers. The company, which started 18 months ago, has a private social network for cannabis consumers as well as a dispensary map.
The May 14 meeting featured a presentation from a pioneer in Colorado's cannabis research: Dr. Daniele Vergara of the University of Colorado. Vergara is the co-founder of the Agricultural Genomics Foundation, a 501(c)3 that accepts funding for her research in cannabis genetics and reproduction.
Vergara decided to focus on cannabis genetics a few years ago while pursuing her doctorate at Indiana University, where she was studying sunflower genetics. She was at first scared to get into the field, but said her advisors and professors were very supportive. "If the science is good, it doesn't matter" what she was working on, she recounted. Vergara moved to Colorado in 2013 to work with Dr. Nolan Kane at the Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative, based at CU-Boulder. The initiative seeks to develop a full genetic map that would provide growers with information about desired cannabis traits.
Cannabis research is still risky and it's hard to find funding, Vergara said. Scientists are prohibited from applying to some of the standard sources for research funding, like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. So that puts her and others like her in the position of going out into the industry for funding. In California, for example, scientists at some of the state's public universities decided to open up their own dispensaries as a way to fund their research.
She found a willing audience in the WoW group last week. "We're a resource," Beck told her. "We're ready to help," said another in the audience. Other members asked how much it would take to keep Vergara's research going, and promised to get involved.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Supporting weed?s women | The Colorado Statesman
Author: Ernest Luning
Contact: Marianne@coloradostatesman.com
Photo Credit: Rex Features/Jockmans
Website: The Colorado Statesman | Colorado's Nonpartisan Political Newspaper
Women in the industry face some of the same challenges that have been faced by women in business for decades.
That's where Woman of Weed comes in.
The group is a sub-council of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Woman of Weed (referred to in meetings as WoW) held its second monthly meeting last week. Its mission is to empower women who are getting into the industry and to become its future leaders.
The cannabis business is tough, WoW leader Jennifer Beck told The Colorado Statesman. You start with the industry itself, which is heavily restrictive. Then there's the stigma of marijuana. Add to that the fact that just being a woman in business is hard. So women in the cannabis industry don't have a lot of role models. WoW members will be the pioneers and future women leaders, she said.
The May 14 meeting appeared to be a mix of rah-rah feminism, support group and business resource for those entering the industry and who are running up against the "old boys' network." Except in cannabis, the network is more young men, and the women are young, too. Those who attended the May 14 meeting were mostly under the age of 40. WoW provides them with a platform to discuss the issues and unique obstacles of being a woman in the cannabis industry, Beck said.
It's not just growers and sellers. WoW members are starting or running businesses in technology, lab testing, consulting, packaging and containers, and other ancillary businesses, all focused on cannabis.
Beck runs Cannabase, a technology marketplace that connects wholesalers with retailers. The company, which started 18 months ago, has a private social network for cannabis consumers as well as a dispensary map.
The May 14 meeting featured a presentation from a pioneer in Colorado's cannabis research: Dr. Daniele Vergara of the University of Colorado. Vergara is the co-founder of the Agricultural Genomics Foundation, a 501(c)3 that accepts funding for her research in cannabis genetics and reproduction.
Vergara decided to focus on cannabis genetics a few years ago while pursuing her doctorate at Indiana University, where she was studying sunflower genetics. She was at first scared to get into the field, but said her advisors and professors were very supportive. "If the science is good, it doesn't matter" what she was working on, she recounted. Vergara moved to Colorado in 2013 to work with Dr. Nolan Kane at the Cannabis Genomic Research Initiative, based at CU-Boulder. The initiative seeks to develop a full genetic map that would provide growers with information about desired cannabis traits.
Cannabis research is still risky and it's hard to find funding, Vergara said. Scientists are prohibited from applying to some of the standard sources for research funding, like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. So that puts her and others like her in the position of going out into the industry for funding. In California, for example, scientists at some of the state's public universities decided to open up their own dispensaries as a way to fund their research.
She found a willing audience in the WoW group last week. "We're a resource," Beck told her. "We're ready to help," said another in the audience. Other members asked how much it would take to keep Vergara's research going, and promised to get involved.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Supporting weed?s women | The Colorado Statesman
Author: Ernest Luning
Contact: Marianne@coloradostatesman.com
Photo Credit: Rex Features/Jockmans
Website: The Colorado Statesman | Colorado's Nonpartisan Political Newspaper
