By Luke Sumpter

Key Points

  • Despite holding only 22% of leadership positions in cannabis, women entrepreneurs are making a big impact on the industry’s growth and innovation.
  • However, this demographic continues to face key challenges, including funding disparities.
  • Regardless of these difficulties, women continue to make waves in the fields of tech, activism, and policy.
  • Meet the powerful women shaping cannabis business, research, and social justice, from legal trailblazers to cutting-edge tech innovators.


Women are emerging as business leaders across various sectors. Currently, women hold around 35% of executive leadership roles and serve as CEOs in 19 FTSE 350 companies.

The same trend is also emerging in the cannabis industry. While women occupy a less-than-average 22% of cannabis leadership positions in the sector, female entrepreneurs in cannabis are making a big impact. Continue reading to discover how pioneering women are leading the charge in areas of policy, business, and innovation.

The Current State of Cannabis Leadership Positions Among Women

Only a decade ago, women held 36% of executive roles in the burgeoning cannabis industry—higher than the average across the entire business sector. But as the industry matured, this percentage dropped, making cannabis leadership less diverse than many other fields. So, what exactly has caused the decline in gender diversity in the cannabis industry? Here are some possible reasons:

  • Funding barriers: Investors may sometimes favour male-led companies, reinforcing a cycle where female entrepreneurs struggle to gain financial backing. This lack of funding stifles innovation and prevents many promising businesses from scaling.
  • Gender bias: Persistent stereotypes and biases hinder women's advancement in leadership roles. The cannabis space, though progressive in many ways, is not immune to traditional corporate biases.
  • Limited ownership opportunities: Corporate consolidation has become a growing concern in the cannabis industry. Large multi-state operators (MSOs) dominate the market, pushing out smaller, female-led enterprises.
  • Natural decline: These numbers may also reflect shifting industry trends or hiring patterns favouring specific skill sets.

Meet the Influential Women in Cannabis

The demographics within certain areas of the cannabis industry have certainly shifted over time, with fewer women now occupying executive positions. However, the impact women continue to have on the industry as a whole has hardly declined. Check out some of the most influential women in the domains of business, policy, and research below!

Ann Lee — The Conservative Advocate for Legalization

Ann Lee

Ann Lee is an American cannabis activist with an unexpected profile. A lifelong Republican, she used to hold the position that marijuana was a dangerous gateway drug.

Cut to today, and Lee is a cannabis legalization advocate and founder of Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP), all while maintaining her political conservatism. So, what happened?

When Lee was sixty years old, her son Richard was in an accident. He was left partially paralysed, with severe nerve pain. Richard found research suggesting cannabis might help ease his pain, leading Lee on a path of discovery.

Lee became an activist, fighting for cannabis legalization. In 2012, while speaking to the issue on a panel, she realised other panel members were also Republicans. Together, they formed RAMP.

Heading into her nineties, Lee is still fighting the good fight. Her message? Cannabis prohibition is antithetical to Republican values of freedom and individual liberty. Ann states, “Prohibition is not conservative”.

While RAMP's impact is hard to quantify, it has likely helped to shift the Republican position on cannabis, with 57% of Republicans (18–29) now in favour of legal cannabis.

Amy Margolis — Empowering Women in Cannabis Business

Amy Margolis

Amy Margolis is a lawyer and cannabis advocate. She founded the Oregon Cannabis Association, the state's largest advocacy group.

More recently, she created The Initiative: an accelerator that helps female-founded cannabis businesses achieve success. It provides mentoring, education, help finding funding, and a huge network of women helping women.

During its inaugural programme, The Initiative selected nine early-stage companies led by women to work with. These included the CBD skincare brand Make and Mary, the global community of women in cannabis Tokeativity, and Hana Medicinals—a company focused on high-quality medicinal products.

Each of these businesses received intensive training in business strategies and operational skills over a three-month period, followed by the chance to pitch to inventors for funds as high as $1 million.

Prior to her business ventures, Margolis worked for years as a lawyer, fighting for the rights of cannabis users. Once cannabis became legal in Oregon, Margolis recognised there was more work to be done.

Past criminalisation is still a major issue affecting people's lives. Margolis has held workshops across the state on how residents can get marijuana charges expunged from their records. A policy powerhouse, she testifies frequently to government bodies on issues around cannabis, sentencing reform, and gender equity.

Wanda James — Fighting for Racial Equity in Cannabis

Wanda James

Black communities in the US have been heavily criminalised by the War on Drugs, often bearing the brunt of legal crackdowns on cannabis. Now that cannabis is legal in certain states, racial inequities haven't disappeared.

Disparities exist between racial groups and cannabis business ownership. Wanda James is fighting to change that. A veteran and former Fortune 100 executive, James was the first Black woman to own a legal dispensary in the US.

James' activism extends to policy reform and social justice. She served on Colorado's Amendment 64 Task Force under former Governor John Hickenlooper, contributing to the legislation that legalized cannabis in the state in 2012.

Together, James and her husband own Simply Pure Dispensary in Denver, Colorado. They were also the first African Americans to start a legal cannabis cultivation facility and edibles company.

Making no apologies, James continues to fight for racial justice at the cutting edge of the cannabis industry. Her trailblazing efforts as an entrepreneur and advocate have been instrumental in highlighting and addressing racial disparities in cannabis business ownership.

Allison Margolin — The Lawyer Defending Cannabis Users

Allison Margolin

Cannabis is in Allison Margolin's blood (and not in the way you think). So is the law. She was born in the late 1970s to two criminal defence attorneys. At the time, her father was the director of NORML—the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—one of the landmark cannabis decriminalisation groups in the US. Margolin has been speaking out against drug criminalisation since before she was old enough to drive.

Today, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School and one of the first attorneys to specialise in cannabis law. Her firm, Margolin & Lawrence, practises a combination of medical marijuana regulatory and business law, as well as criminal defence at the federal and state levels.

Margolin’s firm has played an instrumental role in challenging and reshaping cannabis laws. By highlighting inconsistencies within the legal system while defending clients, the group has helped prompt legislative reforms.

An example of Margolin’s success includes a series of cases in the early 2000s. Here, Margolin represented individuals who were prosecuted regardless of physician recommendations for medical cannabis. Following legal procedures, she secured dismissals and the return of confiscated plants.

Margolin's book, Just Dope, is a personal memoir and political history of the War on Drugs that was released in 2022.

Dr Sue Sisley — Pioneering Medical Cannabis Research

Dr Sue Sisley

Dr Suzanne Sisley is a psychiatrist and leader in the field of cannabis science. She is known for her trailblazing research into the medical applications of cannabis, investigating its potential as a treatment for PTSD.

With her own vision impaired by an eye disorder since birth, Dr Sisley knows the importance of accessibility. Since 2009, she has operated a full-time telemedicine practice, harnessing cutting-edge technology like digital stethoscopes to treat patients in rural and underserved areas. She also educates other doctors on the benefits of cannabis, working to counter misinformation and break down stigma.

For over a decade, Dr Sisley has fought to push cannabis flowers through the FDA drug development process. Right now, many patients struggle to afford medical cannabis treatment. If Dr Sisley is successful, insurance companies in the US will have to cover cannabis like any other pharmaceutical.

As part of this push, Dr Sisley served as the Principal Investigator for the first FDA-approved randomised controlled trial[1] examining the safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis flower in combat veterans with severe PTSD. This landmark study aimed to provide empirical data on cannabis' potential benefits for PTSD patients.

Despite the promising nature of these studies, obtaining FDA recognition for cannabis-based treatments remains a significant challenge and continues to stifle research efforts. Some major hurdles include the current Schedule I classification of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act.

Jessica Billingsley — Innovating Cannabis Technology

Jessica Billingsley

Jessica Billingsley serves as Akerna’s Chief Executive Officer. Akerna is a cutting-edge enterprise software company dedicated to the cannabis industry. That makes Billingsley a business leader in both the tech and cannabis spaces.

Her software was one of the first to provide comprehensive plant analysis and tracking from **seed to sale. This involved closing information gaps in supply chain tracking, including data about a plant's genetic makeup.

Akerna’s seed-to-sale system provides essential functions, especially when it comes to regulatory compliance amongst businesses. This software allows companies to monitor every stage of the product life cycle, helping them to adhere to legal requirements throughout.

Likewise, this system also contributes to product safety and quality control, operational efficiency, and the prevention of fraud by deterring the illegal diversion of cannabis products.

In 2015, Billingsley was named one of Fortune’s Most Promising Female Entrepreneurs. In June 2019, Akerna became the first cannabis software company to be listed on the Nasdaq, with Billingsley at the helm.

Akerna's technology solutions have been adopted across multiple states and countries, serving a diverse clientele that includes cultivators, manufacturers, dispensaries, and regulatory bodies.

Cindy Capobianco Building a Luxury CBD Brand

Cindy Capobianco

In 2019, Kim Kardashian threw herself a CBD-themed baby shower. Whether you care about the Kardashians or not, it was a particular moment in the cultural zeitgeist. The event highlighted the unbridled success of CBD's entry into the mainstream.

Cindy Capobianco was one of the first to capitalise on the craze and recognise the high-end potential of CBD. Along with co-founder Robert Rosenheck, she runs Lord Jones, a luxury brand known for lavish, CBD-infused skincare products and gourmet edibles. Fittingly, Lord Jones is based out of Los Angeles. The brand perfectly taps into a particular California lifestyle, combining chill vibes and West Coast wellness with modern opulence. Cindy Capobiance has helped shape the high-end CBD market as we know it today, and we can't wait to see what she does next.

Fernanda de la Figuera — Spain’s Weed Granny

Fernanda de la Figuera

To close out this list, we've got a legendary elder. Known as Spain's "weed granny", Fernanda de la Figuera was a veteran of the legalization movement.

In Spain, weed is illegal for commercial purposes but decriminalised for personal cultivation and use. Personal cultivators will often form cannabis clubs; they make collective agreements for shared consumption and don't distribute beyond their circle.

These establishments operate within a complex legal framework that demands the formation of formal club associations with defined governance structures. Required operational guidelines also limit consumption to members and ensure clubs operate on a non-profit basis.

De la Figuera’s cannabis club, "Marias x Maria", was formed to help women who use medical cannabis access a safe supply. For her noble efforts, Spain's weed granny was charged with trafficking and sentenced to nine months in prison.

The absurdity of the charges and targeting of an elderly woman highlight how far Spain still has to go with its cannabis laws. But they couldn’t keep her down! Fernanda planned on going all the way to the European Court of Human Rights to appeal her case before passing away at the age of 79 in April 2022.

What's Next for Women in Cannabis Leadership?

Despite helping to push the cannabis industry in the right direction, defending clients against fierce legal attacks, and even going to prison during old age for attempting to help medical users, women continue to face significant challenges in the cannabis industry.

These hurdles include funding barriers, gender bias, and limited ownership opportunities. However, the future holds promise for women in the weed space.

While still relatively young, there’s more potential for increased female representation in leadership roles as the industry continues to expand and develop. More women in the business space are likely to become attracted to positions in the evolving industry, and government policies that focus on social equity will help them secure those positions.

If you’re a woman looking to enter the cannabis sector, check out these bite-sized tips to help you get started:

  • Network actively: Build connections within the industry.
  • Seek mentorship: Learn from established female leaders.
  • Stay informed: Keep abreast of regulatory changes and market trends.

Embrace these strategies, and you could find yourself next to the figures above in the history books!

External Resources:
  1. The short-term impact of 3 smoked cannabis preparations versus placebo on PTSD symptoms: A randomized cross-over clinical trial - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: