Women Impacting the Local Cannabis Industry

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mez Herbal Jamaica, Raven Rae, is calling for more equity to be given to women in the cannabis space both locally and globally.

“Include us more in everything, we are here…we need to be visible. I think that creating more opportunities for community membership, networking and female awareness campaigns can highlight where we have contributed to the industry. Don’t hide us away,” Ms. Rae stated.

She was speaking at the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) inaugural Powerful Women in Cannabis Webinar, which was hosted in recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Ms. Rae noted that the cannabis industry is stereotypically seen as a male industry and “we (women) have to make ourselves more visible”.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Operations Manager for the Bob Marley Group of Companies, Lecia-Gaye Taylor, who pointed out that the cannabis industry in Jamaica “is being driven and supported in a large way by women.”

“From the regulatory side to the growers, women are thriving and are holding significant roles. We just need to continue to support that,” Mrs. Taylor stated.

“I know people think of marijuana and they also think of Bob Marley but…what a lot of people don’t know is that it was Rita Marley who actually started out being a Rastafarian (and) introduced him to Rastafarianism and so even the name of our parent company, which is One Draw Holdings, is from Rita Marley’s song ‘One Draw’,” she added.

Mrs. Taylor further stated that, “she (Rita Marley) has also been an advocate and is very critically involved. Sometimes we tend to look at the man and the male because of what the plant is and our history around it, but women have always been a part of the process as well”.

Other members of the esteemed panel included CEO of the CLA, Farrah Blake, and CEO of Jacana Life, Alexandra Chong.

Altogether, the women said that they are considering a ‘Females in Cannabis’ networking group to raise awareness on their presence in the sector.

The webinar was held under the theme: “Shattering the Grass ceiling: Women leading in cannabis innovation.”