If you want to step into the cannabis industry, you don’t have to recreate the wheel. That being said, exploration is key in this business. Try out different events and products and business ideas to find what lights you up.
In this episode, I do a live coaching call with Jackie Simion, a passionate cannabis advocate and community organizer, and answer her questions about where to start and how to prioritize all of her business ideas. We talk about which paths are worth it and how exploration and experimentation is key.
Plus, I share my thoughts on how to stay engaged and avoid activism burnout. It’s been a long, bumpy road with legislation and permits and licensing, but I’m reminding Jackie, you, and myself to never give up.
If you’re a DIY cannabis hustler who is just getting into the industry, make sure to subscribe to my podcast, High Class, where I help you move past the frustration, hurdles, and red tape of the cannabis industry.
In this episode, you’ll learn…
- [01:49] Jackie’s introduction to the cannabis industry was for health reasons
- [08:01] Jackie shares her business goals, including launching a dispensary project in her local community, and I give my advice and feedback on her next steps
- [31:33] How to create and try out a cannabis product with a white labeler
- [35:46] My biggest advice is to explore the cannabis industry and try out what interests you
- [40:08] How to stay engaged, even when facing activism burnout
If you want to know if you’re ready to become a cannabis entrepreneur, and want my advice on how to make it happen, be sure to tune into this episode:
Links mentioned in this episode…
About Jackie
Jackie Simion is a cannabis patient, advocate, community organizer and social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Jackie of All Trades and creates transformational consumer products with startup technologies and trusted industry partners within cannabis, artificial intelligence, and the health and wellness spaces.
She is a board member of the Napa Valley Cannabis Association (NVCA) and serves on the Education Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). Jackie Of All Trades, LLC is an active member of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), Cannabis Travel Association International (CTAI), and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) California.
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Transcript for “Q&A Hour with Your Cannabis Auntie: Try Before You Buy into the Cannabis Business with Jackie Simion”:
[00:00:36] Salwa Are you thinking about getting into the cannabis industry but aren’t really sure how? I’m Salwwa Ibrahim, your cannabis auntie and I’m here to help you find accelerated success in your cannabis business. And I’m sharing all the details on how to get there. So get comfy as we dive in. So welcome to another episode of the High Class podcast. On today’s episode, I am so lucky and grateful to have Miss Jackie Simeon with us. Jackie reached out through my website, which is highsalwa.com, and she reached out a couple times and was like, Hey, you know, I wanted to get some guidance on the industry. And so I obviously jumped on the opportunity to have her on the show so we could talk about her, her business goals and any guidance that we may have and we could record it. And so hopefully it’s helpful for the listeners out there. So, Jackie, welcome to the show.
[00:01:34] Jackie Thank you. So I’m so honored to be here and thank you for having us jump into the deep end.
[00:01:40] Salwa Absolutely. This is all about you, your goals and your business. So let’s get started and talk about whatever it is that you want to talk about.
[00:01:49] Jackie Okay. So I am very passionate about the cannabis industry because of the direct health impact it’s had on my life. I was introduced to cannabis through consulting in Silicon Valley and through the discovery process and becoming a subject matter expert for investment and marketing process. I realized that cannabis is helpful for folks with autoimmune diseases, and so I did more research and cannabis has been helpful for me in stabilizing my health conditions as well as giving a beautiful entry way to community for this new emerging technology. So I’m not only interested in it for the potential community impact, but also for the health impact that it’s had on my life. Personally, I see its positive impact in community.
[00:02:47] Salwa Beautiful. Can you give me a little bit more about your background? Sure.
[00:02:51] Jackie I focused on engineering throughout school and eventually went to law school for patent litigation and prosecution. I was extremely interested in emerging technologies and working with large technology partners down in Silicon Valley. However, I did not feel as though law school was a good fit. And after my first year of school, I accepted a full time position at my internship, which I built out global contracts for a legal team. But shortly thereafter, I joined an advisory service in Silicon Valley, working for a advisory small family office throughout this awesome job opportunity. I had equity in investment in marketing and innovation work, and I got to grow in a very fast paced and collaborative environment where I took over as chief of staff for a global business and was able to work with Fortune 500 companies and startups on new technologies such as electric cars and hearing AIDS that integrate AI technologies. So it was really cool, and I’m very fortunate for this firsthand experience where I was brought into a lot of conversations that a very junior level associate typically wouldn’t have been welcomed into. However, because of my mentors’ trust in me and my general interest in technology, during a client meeting, it was at a San Jose based dispensary, an indoor grow that produced over 17,000 lbs of cannabis every year. And that was my first time in a dispensary as a legal entity and not something that I needed to be ashamed of and somewhat private. So I was able to step into that role of saying, okay, this has been helpful for me. And tapping into relaxation and yoga during law school was very stressful. So I got really into yoga and cannabis was I had those things. At the end of the day, I was able to hit my packs of pro with some lavender OG kush and really be able to settle in and get into flow state and relax at the end of that super stressful, rigorous academic work. And in doing this consulting work, I realized, wow, cannabis is a really cool industry and it’s helping so many folks just in my immediate circle. In that process, I realized that the 60 and 70 year olds that were vetting these companies and making investments were having really positive health benefits by trying these products. It was having a lot of direct, positive impact on my community around me and the investors that I was working with. And when I moved out of San Francisco to. Napa Valley. During COVID, I was placed into a different cannabis economy. It was only medical and I wasn’t able to go around the street to Walgreens and utilize the consumption lounge like a Starbucks, where I was able to do my work on my laptop and become really educated on the products and product availability that they had at the dispensary. So throughout this process, I’ve been tapping into more of the associations that care for the cannabis companies here in California. I sit on the board of directors for the Napa Valley Cannabis Association. After volunteering with them, I was welcomed to the board of directors as well as I have a role with the California Cannabis Industry Association as well as I sit on the Education Committee with the National Cannabis Industry Association. So just in these past couple of years, I’ve really tried to study all that I can in regards to the cannabis plant for my own medical benefits and being able to understand what is happening to the body, and then also figuring out where the most potent and beautiful medicine is coming from. And that’s honestly from the small farmers up in Mendocino. So I’m really lucky to be placed in Napa Valley, sitting in between San Francisco and Mendocino and acting as a bridge for folks that are interested in cannabis, whether that be through private consulting and just walking through available products at the Napa Valley dispensaries or planning a private event or showing up and volunteering at Bottle Rock and interfacing with folks that are just surprised to even know that cannabis is at a music festival.
[00:07:44] Salwa Love it so much. Gosh, I feel so inspired by your story. I think that there’s so much beauty in your journey and how you got to this point. I think it’s so inspiring and I just like I’m like, Oh, my listeners are brilliant and love this beautiful. So tell me, where are you today? Like, what are the types of things that you’re facing? What decisions are you trying to make? Like, where are you trying to take all of this?
[00:08:11] Jackie So I am a medical patient and advocate first. I really believe in increasing access, and that education component is critical to pushing forward. Right. Facing policy and regulations that not only work for just general community development, but also for industry that needs to be regulated in a mindful way. That being said, I continue to have advisory roles with folks that are within the California market and advise on policy out of state. I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. in a few weeks with the National Cannabis Industry Association for lobby days. Really excited for that opportunity and bringing it back to my community. There’s still a lot that needs to change. In wine country, there’s a lot of hesitation to allowing cannabis operations and operators and entrepreneurs here, and commercial cultivation is still not allowed. Consumption lounges are not allowed, despite there being 8 adult use dispensaries in Napa City. I hope to be able to build a business plan to be able to launch a dispensary project in my community in Napa County, as well as develop some products that I would love to use that I’ve used and made myself, that I believe that consumers in the California community could benefit from.
[00:09:42] Salwa Beautiful. So when you’re looking at those goals, like, how are you prioritizing it? What’s your workflow like?
[00:09:49] Jackie So it’s different every day, but I try to stay grounded and consistently grounded. The determination in that is necessary is key. I believe the determination is what keeps me going and knowing that this is going to have traction, that this is going to be something that folks will have more research on, feel more accountable and have ownership on. So I continue to consult and stay busy in my community. I send emails to folks and go to conferences and events and try to stay connected virtually and in person as much as I can. I typically go. So in my community I go to hotel partners and lead education seminars on where the industry currently is in Napa County, as well as different opportunities that our hospitality partners are able to include in their own itinerary building and helping navigate folks that are interested in tapping into cannabis. I do dedicate some time to just discovery process, and so listening to your podcast and other thought leaders is extremely important. And going to conferences such as Hall of Flowers, which is later this week. So I’m able to stay up to date on the most current product and movers and shakers in California to then include them on my consulting projects, or when I’m needing a sponsorship for infused dining series in a certain location, I have a portfolio of folks that I could call upon that it would be a win win opportunity for both that location, that community and for that small farmer that could be looking to expand their dispensary outreach in that community or launch a new product or connect with a new consumer base.
[00:11:39] Salwa And have you been able to monetize that?
[00:11:41] Jackie Yes, through consulting. So on my website, my business is Jackie of All Trades and my website is JackieSimion.com. And there I have ways that you’re able to contact me and reach out for direct clients like consulting services. So I’m available for same day or week of Napa County based cannabis concierge services. So whether you’re interested in going and finding a particular product or are totally wined out and want a recommendation for another opportunity or excursion, I’m happy to meet with you. And being able to take on clients such as the CCIA and folks that are able to have a sales role. And so as their portfolio builds and their dispensary list builds, I would get a percentage of their sales.
[00:12:33] Salwa Awesome. Well, how can I help you today?
[00:12:35] Jackie Well, I’m really stoked that one. You have different overlaps and have launched extremely revolutionary community impact events, first being Grasslands at Outside Lands. Second being your dispensaries. So I would love to be able to tease out a few of the most viable opportunities that you would tackle first. I have a top five and through networking with folks and through trying to determine what would be the most useful, I still think that community impact projects in Napa County would be the angle to go, And so I would love your opinion.
[00:13:18] Salwa Okay, cool. Let’s list your top five.
[00:13:21] Jackie So through Jackie of All Trades as a brand ambassador and education resources. A cannabis brick and mortar dispensary that includes a delivery component, consumption lounge and event space. I’m extremely inspired by the Papa and Berkeley social dispensary in Humboldt. Have you been to that location?
[00:13:49] Salwa I have not, but I just interviewed Guy for the podcast, so I did get a chance to kind of like look at what he was doing up there and it seemed really cool.
[00:13:59] Jackie So Guy is an inspiration to me and his team is creating some really cool hospitality experiences and Papa & Barkley Social is set up as a CBD shop, a dispensary, consumption lounge with a spa. And when I first traveled there about two years ago, it was my very first time where I was able to have a professional Swedish massage utilizing Papa and Barkley’s High THC body oil, which I love personally to use at home. And I thought it was a really cool experience. So being able to have a space in wine country that marries and helps create parallels with our agriculture industry, food and beverage, music and entertainment, art and culture, I believe, would be a really cool project in Napa County.
[00:15:01] Salwa Are those all kind of one thing or is that all five?
[00:15:05] Jackie Well, they are one. And as it so this is the biggest part and it’s the lobbying and activism efforts that as an entrepreneur you have to couple with your business aspirations. And that’s something that you spoke about in your podcast that as you’re building your businesses, you’re also building your network of government leaders and of leaders in your community that you’re able to call upon and collaborate with so that you have the strongest business plan that that is going to get picked up and be a positive community impact. So how to do this in wine country?
[00:15:45] Salwa Yeah, Yeah, absolutely. So do you want me to give feedback on these particular things first, or do you want to give me more of what you’re thinking or is that overarching goal?
[00:15:58] Jackie So that’s the overarching goal. You did also ask me about like if I was a product of a dispensary, what it would be. And of course I thought about a product development and with the brick and mortar space, I also think about, well, this is something that I will have to make work for me. But what about in a few years next year when hemp commercial bills are accepted and I’m able to start building with hemp? Okay, well, how could that change the look of the dispensary? Could I have a fully sustainable weed certified commercial dispensary space made of hemp? So so using these ideas and trying to find, I guess, the one to focus on right now that gains traction and that would help me still try and remain, I guess, grounded throughout this process. As a cannabis entrepreneur, there’s so many different angles that I would love to be able to have impact on. But staying ground to the present moment and focusing on what can be done now is important.
[00:17:02] Salwa Sure. And can you kind of run me through what the laws are in wine country where you are? I know you guys have the eight dispensaries, but are there licenses? Are they talking about opening up more like where are they with the permitting process?
[00:17:15] Jackie So in the county of Napa, there’s only one city, the city of Napa, that has authorized dispensaries. There’s currently eight of them. Eight just opened last month. So the permitting process is still ongoing and the roll out process is still ongoing. There is also one production facility in American Canyon. However, cultivation and events and consumption are still not allowed in Napa County. This is an ongoing process and activism efforts on behalf of the Napa Valley Cannabis Association Board of Directors with the direction of Stephanie Hoenig, Eric Sklar, Micah Mellon. We’ve really been pushing for downtown consumption for all cities to allow some form of cannabis, whether it be delivery or medical or adult use. Just something so that accesses create is is extremely important. We continue to have these meetings with the Board of Supervisors and the mayors of each city respectively.
[00:18:25] Salwa Okay. Does it seem like they’re budging? Is that seem like it’s just a slow process, but it’s moving? Is it not moving at all?
[00:18:33] Jackie It’s a slow process, but it is moving. They want to see the data. They want to see the data and keeping people safe, not only their team members safe, but the greater community. Just like when you have an ABC licensed place, your team members go through training and there’s an over serving component to when you’re serving alcohol that folks are trained on and have education and knowledge of not only as an employee and operator but as a consumer. So they want that outlined before they would be willing to discuss and to allow this to happen. So it’s just continuing to build those partnerships.
[00:19:13] Salwa And so does Napa City, like the proper city, do they allow for delivery or is it just the brick and mortar?
[00:19:21] Jackie They do allow for delivery.
[00:19:23] Salwa Okay. So if it were me and it sounds like you are doing all of the political work that’s necessary, which you got to do it, there’s no way around it. And the more forefront you are like the better position you are to actually obtain the licenses when they do come down or obtain the permissions when they do come down. So from that standpoint, you’re totally winning. You’re totally on track. The only other piece of advice for lobbying that I would give you based on what you just said, is to reach out to the city of San Francisco, reach out to Outside Lands the music festival. Ask them for the data and the statistics on how well it did and feedback that they got anything like that that would help support your argument. And when you’re talking to these guys, they just don’t want to get in trouble, right? Like they want to be armed with the data to be like, Oh, well, okay, this person gave us this report that said that actually crime does go down or drunk driving goes down or this goes down. So it’s like the more homework and stuff like that you can give them, especially when it’s coming from another municipality or another like festival of some sort. The better off you are. And even I know Northern Nights music festivals like up in Humboldt County, maybe reaching out to Humboldt County to get that data and those statistics like that will start creating that narrative. City of Santa Rosa, you could start collecting like all the tax dollars. You can start asking them all these questions. And now you’ve got like this, like foundational proof that you can start compiling and like giving these people to help aid in that effort. Right? The second thing I would do if I were in your position is I would create or at least entertain or try, I’d hit up all eight of the brick and mortar dispensaries and see if you could do some sort of a deal with them where let’s say you have an online store or delivery service that back ends into their store and you could get a cut of it because, for instance, if Napa County tomorrow is like you got a delivery license and Jackie, congratulations. You get the first one of four, turning that machine on is a ramp up. It’s not like you flip it on and you do the thing and whatever and all of a sudden you’ve got customers. Delivery permits and businesses takes a lot of time to build. And because you’re out there and you’re going to these industry associations and stuff like that, that’s great. But your peers are not your consumers, right? Your peers aren’t like the people who you’re trying to necessarily serve. So you right now, while you’re doing all this outreach work, try to build your brand, try to build your delivery service. And if you get great fulfillment partners through the current existing aid while you’re doing other things in the county and you’re just getting a cut off of it and you’re reaching people that they don’t necessarily have reached to create a win win with these guys. And that way you’re building your face, you’re building your business, you’re building the back end. Delivery services are measured, from my understanding, in how many emails you have, how many subscribers you have. So build that today, like as much as you possibly can. So that’s what I would do. The other thing I would do is as far as hospitality and events are concerned, I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble for that. So I would try to figure out how to do it. Like maybe it’s not in your particular area. Maybe it’s like a little bit outside, maybe it’s in San Francisco, maybe it’s somewhere else. Maybe it’s of a county that’s like smaller or wherever. But I would just try to figure out a way to do private events. And that’s start going through all the loopholes that we all know are there, all the little technicalities, all the things, and like literally just start doing that. Start small. Those elevated dinners are so beautiful, especially in Napa County, like getting the movers and shakers, doing intimate events, having it be really experiential, maybe some education and like just start doing it and building that. I think when it comes to stuff like that, the slap on the wrist is worth it. Like you’ll get away with it for some time and whatever. Like if somebody finds out or whatever, it’s not going to be the end of the world for you, but the benefit will be there. The benefit is like building out your reputation, figuring out your business plan, trying different models, seeing what works, seeing what resonates with the community. And all of these things will help you later on for your applications, for your reps and for your licensing and permitting processes, because you could be like, Oh, you can hone in your business plan, you can have something that actually makes sense. And when they are shaping these laws, you now have an educated. Thought process on how these businesses and events should be structured that actually pencil right? So for instance, when I did Grasslands with the city of San Francisco, I had so many like tracks going from a legislative perspective. I was on the state side pushing that through. And then we were on the city side trying to push that through. But the city was trying to accommodate for the retailers and in them trying to accommodate for the retailers. I don’t think they understood a festival business model. So they created something that doesn’t necessarily fit something like an Outside Lands, even though we kind of like jammed it through and made it fit. So on the reverse, you have an opportunity to dibble dabble. You already have the ears of these people, and until you try, you’re not going to know what type of business makes sense. Because what if for you it’s like less than ten people and it’s 250 bucks a plate and that type of experience pencils for you and it works. You’re not going to want to pay a event permit fee. That’s three grand. That doesn’t make sense for you. So maybe you then start lobbying for a smaller tiered permit that’s 500 bucks or whatever. You know what I mean? So until you try and until you understand the type of business you want to do, particularly in advance, it will equip you to then create a structure or at least help your local government create a structure that actually works for the thing you’re trying to do. Brick and mortar is a tough one. It’s the taxes and the fees and all of the things just simply don’t pencil. So it’s like as of today, I’m not sitting here and trying to be like, Oh, just never do it. But it really doesn’t. By the time you pay all of your employees and the rent and the this, it’s like a compounding of different fees and structures and your banking fees and insurance fees and this and that, the margins are just terribly, terribly slim. At this point in California, unless something changes, if unless you want to give yourself a job where you’re showing up and you’re there every day and stuff like that, go for it. But if it’s something where it’s like, okay, I want to have this dispensary and I want to run and I want to go do this other thing and I want to do other thing. Unless you have a plan to leverage it or pull money from it or try to make it be part of a larger thing, you got to use it as like that type of a play. It has to be an instrument for a larger play, or it’s an instrument to essentially give you a high paying job.
[00:26:58] Jackie In Napa County, as it stands, the locations that I’m looking at, the shop would be built out initially as a CBD establishment, and it would be lobbying for those changes to be made in the hopes that I would be one of the businesses that would be able to operate as a dispensary eventually.
[00:27:20] Salwa I don’t understand. So it’s like I have a CBD store down the street, like CBD is sold at Rite Aid. Why would you need special permission to just open up a CBD store? Yeah. So if that’s something you’re passionate about, why wouldn’t you just do it now?
[00:27:36] Jackie Yes. But I believe that the true medicine is full spectrum, higher THC product. Yeah.
[00:27:43] Salwa And absolutely.
[00:27:45] Jackie The community still needs access to that medicine. And if you’re driving more than a half an hour from one side of the county to the other or an hour from one side of the county to the other to go get medicine, that’s an access issue. But yes, I am trying to make sense in my head as to how retail operators are doing it. There are just so many.
[00:28:08] Salwa They’re not. They’re robbing from Peter to pay Paul. It’s like just going from one end to another. It’s really not working.
[00:28:15] Jackie And I’m alarmed also with the recent recordings and my colleagues in leadership speaking out against the robberies and a string of robberies that are happening in San Francisco Bay Area and Oakland. I was at a press release hearing at Disney a few weeks ago where folks were speaking up and it was just it’s it’s a moment of pause and of a moment of collaboration that’s necessary. But.
[00:28:41] Salwa Jackie, I mean, as much as we want to sit here and be like, oh, yes, like this should change, it’s just hasn’t. And I’ve been in the dispensary industry like I’ve owned a dispensary since 2011, and this has always been an issue. And even back then, like the city of Oakland had many and like, they actually were interested in us. They wanted to see us do well and whatever else. And like, even back then, the participation of what they can and can’t do was very limited. And now it’s even worse. I know that they bounce back immediately, but they just had a car drive through the front. This was two days ago. I know my stores had some stuff. My grows have been ransacked and then the process of going through insurance and like actually claiming your insurance and stuff is months. And then by the time you actually get that, you’ve taken out loans to get back up and running, then that money doesn’t even cover what you just had to spend to bounce back. So I would just say for what you’re trying to do, really explore different models up and down the state, explore the airfields, the like cookies. Melrose Like the ones that are seemingly doing well and truly try to find their financials because. Some of the stuff is public record and you can like actually request it and try to kind of do backwards math on what their financials are and see if like what you think is the secret sauce to like maybe having that handful possibly pencil and see if that could apply to you. But I just I guess like I’m just in a season for me where I don’t want to put my own time, energy and effort into something that’s like clearly failing from a financial perspective. I have kids. I can’t mess around with, like my savings with this economy and like what’s happening. So I want to just be really grounded. My advice there for you. But when you’re talking about access issues, when you’re talking about stuff like that, it’s delivery service. Trying to like piggyback on what somebody else’s already built is like a minimal spend and hopefully, like you could figure out a way for that to pencil for you to where you got like a nice little cushion and you could be building your brands, you could be building your following, you could be building your audience, you could be building your reputation from a government standpoint and a lobbying standpoint. Like those are all things that will move the needle for you.
[00:31:20] Jackie For sure. And in the development of the events and the product or the parallel business opportunities with the mindset of creating that access in any way.
[00:31:33] Salwa Yeah, the other thing to jerky is if you’re passionate about a particular product, like you have a secret sauce or where you have a thing that isn’t in the market and you’re like down to try it, go to a white labeler or there so many great white labelers in the Bay Area. I’ve got a good friend that I would trust with my life. Like he is an excellent white label or out of Oakland. And like maybe you do a short small batch run to see like how it moves. And especially if you make a deal with these guys, like where you have like a delivery service aspect. If you’re actually bringing them business, asking them to put a couple of products on the shelf, seems like a fair trade, right? So then you could start testing the market. Test the products, you could test how it goes. And then as far as the spa stuff is concerned, when I go get massages, I bring my cat cream that’s just like what I do. Like who gets it Normal massage. If you’re in the industry, like you bring your topical, right? That’s normal. I think that that’s something that you can also do. It’s like if you do decide to develop a CBD product like try to get it into spa, Napa is a great place to start an idea like that.
[00:32:45] Jackie Yes, I’m very fortunate to be a member of Green Bee Botanicals. That makes a CBD rich line and a THC rich line. So I have the opportunity to go to hospitality partners and introduce their products both angles. They utilize Sonoma Hills Farm, full spectrum Flower. So it’s a really beautiful collaboration and I’m very proud to have the opportunity to work with these two brands.
[00:33:15] Salwa Yes, they’re friends. I used to be a topicals judge when she won her first Emerald cup and I was pushing hard for that one. I really enjoyed her and honestly, like I was pregnant and I got it gifted to me and I like how I don’t have any stretch marks. So there’s that one. So that’s great. You know, I think those are all the things. I think that for me in my career, I just always hated waiting. And unfortunately, like cannabis is just this giant waiting game. But I think the beautiful part of where you are right now is there’s so many different tools that you can kind of hop on and leverage, hop on and leverage to get the learning to see if you like it, because you might start this delivery service thing and whatever. And you’re like, I don’t like this. Retail is not for everybody. There’s this huge customer service component that comes to it and you think you might be into it, but you may not be. But what’s the best way to try doing it now where you don’t have a huge amount of debt that you’re leveraging to start these businesses and build these businesses, to then decide, give yourself the freedom to pivot. And the best way is to again leverage other people’s businesses. Try a white labeling thing. Try to see like how the Green Bean Botanicals actually moves in these spots, get the feedback from the sponsors, like, Oh, they don’t like an oil, they want a lotion. They wanted this not of that. Great. That’s all really good learning that will help guide you into the decisions that you want to make.
[00:34:48] Jackie 100%. I’ve been really fortunate to have met honestly, really awesome women entrepreneurs that have created really high quality medicine that I love to use and that I’ve loved introducing others to. So just being able to continue to work with women is my goal. But I’m nervous about putting force behind my own ideas. I’m so much more of a believer in others, and I would rather I would rather build other people’s brands than really go gung ho into launching this own. So I can’t thank you enough for just being willing to talk it out with me. Mentorship is needed, and that was one of the biggest things in Silicon Valley that I was just approached with as an entrepreneur in helping investments is you need mentors and you need women in your arena that believe in you. So I’m really fortunate to have been able to pick your mind.
[00:35:46] Salwa Oh my gosh, any time I’m so happy that I hope this was helpful. I’m happy if it was. I say like if you have a tiny voice in the back of your head, that’s like, Jackie, I want to have a Trekkie brand. Oh, you owe it to that tiny voice to explore it. Try it. What would that look like? Created Pinterest for Moodboard Created like a thing to start feeding that little voice, little things here and there. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to take it much money. It maybe it’s just like these small little things. You have really good relationships. Try to like figure out how you can leapfrog those relationships, leverage those relationships to dip your toe, get the learning, decide what you don’t like, decide what you do like. And I feel like just making those moves, it’ll start carving a path that makes sense for you.
[00:36:39] Jackie I’m really inspired by you. Thank you.
[00:36:42] Salwa Any time. Anything. Thank you so much for your time today. I can’t wait. If you end up having one of those dinners. Call me. I’ll buy a ticket. I can’t wait to see what you do and how far you go. And I’m super excited for you.
[00:36:57] Jackie Thank you. I will be at Hall of Flowers this week. Will you be attending?
[00:37:02] Salwa I’ll be there and come convinced tomorrow.
[00:37:05] Jackie Right? Yeah. Yes, it is.
[00:37:08] Salwa Still.
[00:37:09] Jackie Tomorrow. I hope to see you there in person. And I’m very happy to, I guess, dive deeper into any of the ideas that I have. And it is that voice in the back of my head that says there’s still not this product available on the market. And it’s the one that, you know, it’s a product that I used myself to recover. And in your podcast, you mentioned that you were having to get Rick Simpson oil for your loved one. And just that process of needing a lot of this medicine, a lot of it in a short amount of time, and the education just wasn’t there for me. So I’d love to be able to enter into the space as an entrepreneur that helps bring to market a really high quality product and with that education component.
[00:37:57] Salwa Absolutely. And like, there’s nothing wrong with making a batch at home, going to the pop ups, going to those little farmers markets, going to the little secret sessions and talking to those folks and seeing what’s out there on the black market side. The black market has so much more innovation and so much more stuff going on than the regulated market does. Take a peek in there. There’s no shame in it. There’s no shame in like going in and seeing what like the industry the real industry’s up to. Right. And yeah, go check it out to some market research and honestly make a small batch and then get the feedback for sure.
[00:38:35] Jackie It’s creating that access for myself, too. I would only ever consider the only time I’ve ever considered doing anything illegal was because of my medical needs and the pursuit of cannabis for that. So it’s crazy to me that anyone would have to debate that. And I just don’t want anyone like I if I had a daughter, I would not want her to have to debate that.
[00:38:56] Salwa Absolutely. 100%. And honestly, at the end of the day, it’s like. You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re not doing anything wrong. We all need different types of products, we all need different ratios. Some people will need really potent stuff that are outside the legal limit and they truly, genuinely need that. And what are we going to do? We know that’s not what this industry was founded on, but good thing in your position. There is a benefit to knowing people who participate with the secret sessions and the pop ups and all of that stuff. Like that’s a whole other network that is just as relevant and can be just as valuable. Right. So I try to work both angles.
[00:39:41] Jackie I appreciate that advice.
[00:39:44] Salwa Thank you. And they’ll be fine, as you know.
[00:39:47] Jackie It will be. I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day. And I really thank you for the opportunity today. As I mentioned, I will be at all flowers. I will also be at lobby days on the 8th of May in Sacramento. It will be there.
[00:40:02] Salwa No, I. Those days are over for me. I’m defeated. I’m tapping out, serving the new generation to do that.
[00:40:08] Jackie Right. Oh, I guess that’s a question I have for you. What keeps you engaged? Knowing that you do face that burnout and that kind of activism burnout.
[00:40:19] Salwa So good question. The thing that keeps me engaged is honestly having conversations like this. The fact that you got some benefit of like me sharing, like what I think about things like is inspiring for me. I was like, Oh, cool. I helped somebody today, right? I still have a huge plant based medicine believer. Like, I love my relationship with this plant. But I do think there’s sort of a time limit to this industry. If you look at it like our forefathers, like the individuals of the world and jack careers and everybody else, there was a sunsetting point, you know what I mean? And so I just I’m at a point right now where it’s like, I just want to change my relationship with the plant. But in doing that, this whole project’s forced me to, like, look back on my history. And in doing that, I’m sitting there and I get super frustrated with the CCIA. I get super frustrated with the NCIA. I’m like, What the fuck are we giving them all this money for? Like, what have they done? Like, okay, that’s great. We do lobby days, but like, that doesn’t point to anything. The fact that Mendocino County has had this permanent clog for as long as it did and the CIA wasn’t first in line to rally everyone in the industry to bombard these council members with like email after e-mail like, Hey, get off your ass and like, do something and like rally all of us for a concentrated effort to help out our peers and our loved ones up in Mendocino County to me is just like blows my mind. Like, what are you doing? So for me, it’s like this full circle thing. It’s like you get in the industry, you’re super excited about activism. They start focusing on your own career, and then you start understanding the laws and regulations, how it pertains to you, and then maybe you cycle out and then you kind of get back into it because you’re like, Dude, what are we doing? But it’s unfortunate right now because I feel like we’re very easily divided. I feel like Big Pharma is posing as industry and they’re creating unfortunate laws, but our leadership sucks. I’m sorry, I’m going to say it like, feel free to tell any one of them. Like, our leadership sucks. Like they’re not doing a good job. They’re just not. I can’t point to one thing that I’m like, Wow, I’m so thankful for their leadership on this tiny of a thing. And I, Salwa Ibrahim as an individual, could have more of an impact to change Prop 64 than the industry association, that’s a problem.
[00:42:52] Jackie 100%. The Industry Association is the membership communicator and advocate for them. It’s mind boggling to me. I thought that by joining and by joining the teams of these associations, it would give me a better understanding as to how we’re able to push forward write policy, what the lobby should look like for cannabis, who the players are. And it does seem just like folks are just so burnt out, so divided, and the folks that are the leaders that should be representing the membership and the voices of the industry are not. And I’m not sure if it’s burnout on that end or.
[00:43:35] Salwa How inspiring would it be to go after like a campaign. I feel like Mendocino County is like a great campaign. I don’t think there’s one person in this industry, and I don’t care who you are that thinks it’s right that these guys have gotten held up as long as they have with the permitting process, given their history. I don’t think there’s one person in California who’s like all, oh, ha ha. You know what I mean? Like, I think we all can agree it’s like, completely unjust and that’s not fair. Why can’t we concentrate our industry effort or collective voice creating a QR code, scan the QR code, emails out all these councilmembers, has a template ready for you, like, Hey, get off your ass and actually issue these permits. Like, we want these businesses, like patients want this medicine, like we want access to these products and there’s nothing. These guys have no support from us.
[00:44:30] Jackie Will it come from or do you see a consumer activism group like Reform when it comes to judicial reform having more impact than a trade association? Does it need to be a startup focused on guerilla marketing and community empowerment?
[00:44:51] Salwa I would rather not recreate the wheel. I would rather just have what we currently have and like have them actually do something like. I think last time I checked the Instagram, they have like tens of thousands of followers, but like no posts, right? Like, I don’t trust…
[00:45:09] Jackie The NCIA or?
[00:45:10] Salwa Both. I think all of them. Yeah. They all kind of like, are not as active as they should be, Right. But they have a large enough audience. So I guess my point is, is that we’re so easily divided, there’s no point in us because that’s asking the industry to chip in more money to do a thing. And it’s like, no one’s going to do it, no one’s going to do it. So if we have a structure that’s somewhat already in place, if they could concede that like, Hey, you failed and you suck at this. So it’s like focus on one low hanging thing to like reignite and re inspire and actually like do something for our community and have one win on the board. Hey, we’ve got to win.
[00:45:53] Jackie Recognizing that the CCIA is going through a ten year anniversary this year, so ten years of of activism and the need to rally and communicate on behalf of the membership base now is so needed.
[00:46:06] Salwa It’s so needed.
[00:46:08] Jackie Yeah.
[00:46:09] Salwa And it’s it’s also so frustrating too, because it’s like, okay, how did we get the acre cap removed? Where were you on that? It just, it blows my mind. How do you not have enough weight to have been able to, like, be like, Hey, this is what the industry saying, like we need a cap like.
[00:46:26] Jackie And also advocating on behalf of the small farmers versus commercial cultivators as to why that’s so necessary to have is beyond me. I was not sure if you read my my note internally to you, but I was hired by the CCIA in June, July of last year, and I was placed on furlough along with 50% of the staff in November. So there is funding issues. I mean, I was brought on for membership, communications and marketing. I wasn’t able to make any headway. We weren’t able to redesign the ten year anniversary rollout. The communication is stagnant and I’m not sure what else to do. It’s continuing to volunteer and reaching out and saying, Hey, if you need help with that event that I was on team to plan, I’ll be there and actually showing up to L.A. and hosting with the artistry and being at that event to help check people in and just being an extra body. But I’m not sure. I guess the best place for me to be seeing that the association is kind of stagnant right now. I’m waiting to hear back. It’ll remain on for a while. We’re not noticing that cannabis in my community is still lacking. There still needs access and education. But I’m not a millionaire. I don’t have money that I’m just able to pump into a project and knowing that it’ll lose money after a certain amount of years and hopes that I’ll be able to build the brand and it’ll be an asset of something greater. Right? So this advice in this session has been extremely valuable to me and helping me get deeper and more honed and focused on the path and the next step to take.
[00:48:04] Salwa Absolutely. And like just honestly too because it’s it’s hard because I think a lot of us are drawn to this industry because we have compassion, like we have big hearts, right? So for us to take a minute and be like, all okay, like this is what I need for my future and this is what I want for my business, and this is the path I want to take as a leader or as an entrepreneur or as a business person. It’s okay. You know, it’s okay, because that’s what you should do. You should be focusing on building the life for yourself, building the life for your family, building a business where you can have a savings or have income that you want to have. Like, that is an okay thing. And it’s okay for you to maybe step aside from certain roles because you want to focus on your own business. It’s okay for you to try to leverage your brand in your ideas. You don’t have to, like, come from a place of constantly giving and sacrificing yourself in your time for the betterment of our community. And then that little voice doesn’t get any love. You got to give that voice love.
[00:49:16] Jackie I’m super stoked to have another year on this earth just to be able to go out in the community and do what I love to do every day. And so if I have them, I will smoke them. Is the saying right?
[00:49:28] Salwa I mean, do you talk about like what keeps me going? If I had to point one thing professionally in my life that sparks joy. It’s the community. Like when we go to events, whether it be healthy summer camp or whatever, like any type of event in any state, I light up. It is so fun. Like, I love being in a room of like minded people who love the plant. Like we all have that in common and it is the best part of our industry is our community 100%.
[00:50:01] Jackie And I’ve been just blown away at the generous compassion that everyone has in this community. And it’s just acquaintances that I was a fan of their flower to colleagues, to friends and to folks that I go to conferences and events and it’s, Hey, do you have medicine? Like, are you good? Like, I care about you and your well-being. And that’s so rare and unique. I’ve never experienced that any other setting, and it gives me chills, honestly. So.
[00:50:30] Salwa And how beautiful is it? It’s a two sided, right? It’s like, Hey, do you have medicine or are you good? But then there’s also the Hey, look what I grew. And with that pride that comes with it. So it’s like, Hey, I read this thing and it’s going to be great for you. Here you go. You know.
[00:50:44] Jackie And it’s like, I literally have chills right now because that’s what keeps me going. And it’s just. That’s the most beautiful part of the community. I agree with you. So I’m so stoked to now meet you virtually. I can’t wait to meet you in person. Yeah. Looking forward to smoking with you when we do.
[00:51:01] Salwa Should we text when you’re at Hall of Flowers and hopefully we can link up?
[00:51:05] Jackie Thank you. I appreciate you.
[00:51:07] Salwa Thank you so much, classmates, for joining us for another episode of the High Class podcast. Until that time, keep on pursuing the high life. Thank you for listening to High Cass. Please be sure to share the podcast and leave a review. If you’re ready to build a cannabis business that you can be proud of, start here today and head over to highsalwa.com to sign up for my newsletter. See you there.
