Medical Marijuana CEO & COVID Nurse for the Navajo Nation | Rachael Speegle

When the coronavirus took hold in the U.S., medical marijuana organizations got mixed messages. In many states, they were deemed essential businesses and needed to stay open, but, without federal legalization, these businesses were ineligible for federal aid. This left leaders in the cannabis industry with the dual challenge of supporting the needs of customers and employees while fighting for the very survival of their businesses. At the same time, the strengthening of the racial justice movement amplified questions around the industry’s history and racial divides between profit and punishment. 

In this episode, go behind the mask with Rachael Speegle, volunteer COVID nurse and CEO of the Verdes Foundation, an Albuquerque-based company that cultivates, processes, and distributes medical cannabis. 

We talk about the medical marijuana industry, her call to serve others affected by COVID-19, and how the unrest following the murder of George Floyd sparked her to reevaluate how she leads her organization.