Influential Women in the Cannabis Industry

March 8th (8M) is Women’s International Day.  A commemoration to the ongoing battle thousands of women are constantly fighting to obtain and defend their rights throughout history. This day also vindicates all the work that still needs to be done. Women have been, and still are in some fields, a minority that is mostly represented by men, when they too have plenty to offer. The same thing happens in the cannabis industry and the battle to achieve its regularization.

Today we want to celebrate this day by honoring women in the cannabis world. We are going to talk about outstanding women in recent history. All of them have and still are helping towards marijuana’s legalization, for recreational and therapeutic purposes. 

Mary Jane Rathbun

Nicknamed Brownie Mary, this San Francisco woman was an activist advocate of medicinal cannabis. Its vindictive spirit was born in the 40’s, when she started fighting for students’ rights and for women’s reproduction rights. This revolutionary advocate was an 8M reference from a very young age; when it didn’t even exist as an official day.

She started cooking cannabis brownies for a community created to legalize medicinal cannabis in California, led by Denis Person and John Entwistle. Mary was arrested on at least three occasions in the 80’s. On one of those occasions she ended up doing community services for an NGO. There she found another one of her passions: to help HIV patients.

Mary Jane continued her voluntary service helping AIDS sufferers once her conviction was up. She used to bake them marijuana brownies to ease the pains caused by their condition. This practice and her multiple arrests called the attention of the national press and turned her into a cannabis advocate icon.

Her activism led to one of the first clinical trials; where the effects of marijuana on HIV adult patients went under study. Medical Cannabis was approved in California in 1996, three years before her death.

Wanda James

Wanda James was named Marijuana Advocate of the Year by Westword Magazine (2010). She is also among one of the best 50 cannabis executives, according to the Cannabis Business Executive- CBE (2015), and one of 100 most influential people in the cannabis industry, as stated by The Daily Magazine (2018),

Before acquiring this impeccable reputation, Wanda James was a commissioner in the US Army, a marine lieutenant, director of political campaigns and part of Barack Obama’s National Finance Committee in 2008, among others.

She took an interest in cannabis after her brother was sentenced to 10 years in jail for cannabis possession. She worked to reduce marijuana convictions and was the first black woman to run a dispensary. Currently, she is a managing partner of the Cannabis Global Initiative.

Jessica Billingsley

Jessica Billingsley has revolutionized the cannabis world with technology; two sectors that have been on the rise for the past few years.

Billingsley is Akema’s executive director, a company that has developed the first cannabis business planner software, from the seed to its selling. An innovative technology created by a brilliant mind in a man’s world. The least we can do is pay tribute to her on this 8M by letting the world know about her. 

This tool provides a full analysis of the plants; including their genetic composition and seed follow up until they reach the market. An amazing effort widely acknowledged. In 2021, she became president of the US Cannabis Council.

Dr. Cristina Sanchez

Cristina Sanchez is another woman worth mentioning on this 8M and in anything related to marijuana. This Spanish woman is famous worldwide thanks to her investigations regarding the effect of cannabinoids in cancer tumors; especially the ones that produce breast cancer.

Her unequivocal studies have helped plenty of countries reconsider the use of medicinal cannabis. Dr. Cristina Sanchez and her team researched THC in the 90’s and discovered its amazing capacity to destroy cancer cells. She was the first person to find out about cannabis anti-tumor effect.

Nowadays, she is still working with cannabinoids to discover other beneficial health effects. This pioneering woman is part of the team that leads the Observatorio Español de Cannabis Medicinal (medicinal cannabis observatory OEDCM). Cristina also offers conferences all over the world to spread her knowledge on marijuana and its benefits. 

She says that due to the legal situation in Spain, her studies haven’t been able to advance at the same level as other countries, for example Chile.

Susana Van Brunschot

Susana Van Brunschot is a woman that won’t stop fighting for marijuana’s legalization due to its benefits. After working for 7 years for CANNA, a Spanish cannabis fertilizer company, she decided to fund the CANNA Foundation in 2011; which is still active nowadays. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to study marijuana and its derivatives; as well as to inform and educate society about cannabis.

CANNA’s foundation lab is a reference to other companies in this industry. Plenty of them seek assistance to find out about the quality of their CBD extracts to make sure they meet current regulations. By law, CBD products can’t exceed THC levels by more than 0.2%.

CANNA’s lab has analyzed more than 6,000 strains so far and the foundation is still fighting for marijuana’s visualization in Spain.

Susana admits that the cannabis industry is ruled by men and that it is sometimes difficult to have a voice when you are a woman. She is confident that in the near future, women will have as much presence in the cannabis world as they do in the US. 

Women’s associations in the cannabis sector

Women Against Prohibition Association

The Asociación Mujeres Antiprohibicionistas (Women Against Prohibition Association) was founded in 2016, just a few days after celebrating 8M, with the intention to become a gathering point for women related to the cannabis world. This feedback process vindicates their position as women in the marijuana sector in particular, and other drugs, while battling for a real change of the cannabis situation in Spain. 

This association includes communicators, doctors, entrepreneurs, economists, investigators and plenty more, all women. The Asociación Red Estatal de Mujeres Anti-prohibicionistas (Rema association) has various purposes. First of all, to form a network created by women who are part of the cannabis and other drugs reform in Spain. Also, to increase the international cohesion among women involved in this world and increase their public presence when it comes to decision taking, companies, federations, etc. 

One of REMA’s most trascendental actions is a study that involves maternity and cannabis; in which they try to dissipate doubts in the matter. They’ve also organized debates with the participation of women talking about their experience.

These amazing people are only an example of the relevant position women have in the cannabis revolution, what they can do and how important it is that they increase their presence in any sector where they are still a minority. Happy 8M!