Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
At the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition last week in Los Angeles, one thing was striking: the number of women in attendance and delivering presentations was off the charts. In an industry that is just becoming organized, as more U.S. states and countries legalize the use of cannabis, women have discovered an opportunity to claim their place right at the beginning.
They're opening dispensaries, creating consumer products, lobbying for the widespread use of this demonized plant as its beneficial proprieties becomes evident. The legal cannabis market is increasingly attracting women in all aspects — and that's why Newsweek recently wrote this might be the first billion-dollar market to be dominated by women instead of men.
"We want to create a market that is socially conscious and gives back," said Sabrina Fendrick, director of government affairs at Berkeley Patients Group, during one of the panels at the CWCB Expo. "We have the opportunity to shape it, as it is a nascent industry." She spent seven years working at NORML, an organization dedicated to the reform of marijuana laws, and used to get hate mail in the beginning. "There's a lot of adjustment. People make certain comments. The kind of people that have been involved in this industry tend to not follow certain social protocols," she half-joked.
There are dispensaries like the ones operated by Dona Frank, who also serves as CEO at Natural Cannabis, and there are brands like TreatWell Health, led by Alison Ettel, which is now testing cannabis products for medical purposes on cats and dogs. There are advocates working with nurses and doctors, like Sue Taylor, and there are entrepreneurs making it big, like Katarina Maloney and Janell Thompson, co-founders of Hemp Health.
A lot of them are represented by Women Grow, the first industry org led by women for women that is gaining members at the speed of light. It has over 30 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and thousands of subscribers, with less than 2 years of existence. There's also Moms for YES on Measure 91 [an initiative to legalize recreational use in Oregon], the American Cannabis Nurses Association, the National Cannabis Bar Association, the Poseidon Asset Management firm, and the list goes on. Women are either leading or heavily involved in a number of companies and orgs. There's no parallel in any other billion-dollar market.
How has this come to be? For one, women are big consumers of medical cannabis products. They tend to suffer more from depression and anxiety, eating disorders, some types of cancer (like breast cancer) and other ailments that make them suitable candidates for this new, burgeoning market. One of the things Sabrina Fendrick noticed was that their clients want to have a comfortable buying experience, that it's not shameful. They want products to be "marketed in a way that doesn't offend them. They want marketing where women are not objectified."
While the legal status of cannabis is still risky, the boom is here: Green Wave Advisors project a 40% growth in revenues this year, coming close to $4 billion. By 2018, growth will explode to 80% and by 2020 we're talking about a $25 billion industry — conservative number, director Matt Karnes explained, given that we don't know how the legalization process will evolve. Medical cannabis is legal in 23 states + D.C., in european countries like Germany, Austria and Finland, also in Canada and Uruguay. Recreational use is limited to four states in the U.S. + D.C. and the european bastion of pot freedom, Holland.
The situation is fast-evolving, but in the U.S. this is still an illegal industry at the federal level, even though it's legal at the state level. Confusing? For sure. That's why Ethan Nadelmann, president of the Drug Policy Alliance, shouted during his keynote at the congress: "You all have to help. Marijuana is not going to legalize itself."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Women Are Taking The Cannabis Industry By Storm
Author: Ana Rita Guerra
Contact: Email The News Hub
Photo Credit: Women Grow
Website: The News Hub
They're opening dispensaries, creating consumer products, lobbying for the widespread use of this demonized plant as its beneficial proprieties becomes evident. The legal cannabis market is increasingly attracting women in all aspects — and that's why Newsweek recently wrote this might be the first billion-dollar market to be dominated by women instead of men.
"We want to create a market that is socially conscious and gives back," said Sabrina Fendrick, director of government affairs at Berkeley Patients Group, during one of the panels at the CWCB Expo. "We have the opportunity to shape it, as it is a nascent industry." She spent seven years working at NORML, an organization dedicated to the reform of marijuana laws, and used to get hate mail in the beginning. "There's a lot of adjustment. People make certain comments. The kind of people that have been involved in this industry tend to not follow certain social protocols," she half-joked.
There are dispensaries like the ones operated by Dona Frank, who also serves as CEO at Natural Cannabis, and there are brands like TreatWell Health, led by Alison Ettel, which is now testing cannabis products for medical purposes on cats and dogs. There are advocates working with nurses and doctors, like Sue Taylor, and there are entrepreneurs making it big, like Katarina Maloney and Janell Thompson, co-founders of Hemp Health.
A lot of them are represented by Women Grow, the first industry org led by women for women that is gaining members at the speed of light. It has over 30 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and thousands of subscribers, with less than 2 years of existence. There's also Moms for YES on Measure 91 [an initiative to legalize recreational use in Oregon], the American Cannabis Nurses Association, the National Cannabis Bar Association, the Poseidon Asset Management firm, and the list goes on. Women are either leading or heavily involved in a number of companies and orgs. There's no parallel in any other billion-dollar market.
How has this come to be? For one, women are big consumers of medical cannabis products. They tend to suffer more from depression and anxiety, eating disorders, some types of cancer (like breast cancer) and other ailments that make them suitable candidates for this new, burgeoning market. One of the things Sabrina Fendrick noticed was that their clients want to have a comfortable buying experience, that it's not shameful. They want products to be "marketed in a way that doesn't offend them. They want marketing where women are not objectified."
While the legal status of cannabis is still risky, the boom is here: Green Wave Advisors project a 40% growth in revenues this year, coming close to $4 billion. By 2018, growth will explode to 80% and by 2020 we're talking about a $25 billion industry — conservative number, director Matt Karnes explained, given that we don't know how the legalization process will evolve. Medical cannabis is legal in 23 states + D.C., in european countries like Germany, Austria and Finland, also in Canada and Uruguay. Recreational use is limited to four states in the U.S. + D.C. and the european bastion of pot freedom, Holland.
The situation is fast-evolving, but in the U.S. this is still an illegal industry at the federal level, even though it's legal at the state level. Confusing? For sure. That's why Ethan Nadelmann, president of the Drug Policy Alliance, shouted during his keynote at the congress: "You all have to help. Marijuana is not going to legalize itself."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Women Are Taking The Cannabis Industry By Storm
Author: Ana Rita Guerra
Contact: Email The News Hub
Photo Credit: Women Grow
Website: The News Hub
