8 of the Most Influential Women in the Cannabis Industry

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 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 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

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

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 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 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

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

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!