Me & Mary Jane

Season 4 Episode 2 (Part 2): Continuing the Conversation with Danielle Schumacher of The THC Staffing Group

We continue with Part two of our conversation with Danielle Schumacher, principal of the THC Staffing Group. Their mission is to build a diverse and inclusive cannabis industry by prioritizing employment and ownership for communities most impacted by the War on Drugs – particularly women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, formerly incarcerated individuals, people with disabilities, across [...]

Season 4 Episode 2 ( Part 1): Danielle Schumacher of The THC Staffing Group

I should admit up front that I am fond of Danielle. That fact has something to do with our conversation running long. But the true reason is Danielle has informed insights into the culture, policy, and our changing industry. So there is a Part one and two worth your time. Danielle leads the THC Staffing [...]

Season 4 Episode 2: Lelehnia DuBois, Chief Community Officer of Canopyright

In her own words, Lelehnia describes her upbringing. “I grew up between two very opposite worlds. One where your body, your clothes, your trinkets, spoke to who you were. The other was in the Emerald Triangle, where those things just didn’t matter. Those “things” didn’t keep your pipes from bursting. Those “things” didn’t deliver your [...]

Season 4 Episode 1: Lelehnia DuBois, Chief Community Officer of Canopyright

In her own words, Lelehnia describes her upbringing. “I grew up between two very opposite worlds. One where your body, your clothes, your trinkets, spoke to who you were. The other was in the Emerald Triangle, where those things just didn’t matter. Those “things” didn’t keep your pipes from bursting. Those “things” didn’t deliver your [...]

Season 3 Episode 7: Experience The Emerald Triangle Like a Local with Season George of Five Sisters Farm

If you drive sixteen miles directly north of Area 101 you arrive at Five Sisters Farm, a small legacy farm on Highway 101 owned by Season George. As an experienced traveler –but one very unfamiliar with Trinity, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties — I cannot tell you what a valuable connection Season is to anyone seeking [...]

Season 3 Episode 6: “Beyond Dispensaries” with Professor Kathy Sedia of Stockton University

Sometimes as things change, it’s difficult to see it actually taking place. I sensed this shift when I attended Cannabis Career Day at Stockton University. Professor Sedia, who invited me, is the Coordinator of the University’s Cannabis Studies minor. Her focus, along with her colleague Rob Mejia, is on preparing students for emerging jobs in [...]

Season 3 Episode 5 : Nikki Lawley Is Definitely #MoreThanMyBrainInjury

This former pediatric nurse became a medical refugee after a workplace accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury when she sought to help vaccinate a child. If you have experienced Nikki Lawley then you will not be surprised to hear her say “I am more than my brain injury.” Our podcast conversation centered on how [...]

Season 3 Episode 4: Dr. Felecia L. Dawson Driven By A Desire To Identify the Cause of Her Patient’s Problems

Dr. Felecia, as she is known among cohorts came into the cannabis industry, like some of us, sometime after Dr. Sanjay Gupta publically changed his mind about cannabis on a 2019 CNN program. Gupta’s realization that cannabis is medicine gave patients and practitioners space to rethink what we’d all been taught. We all began asking [...]

Season 3 Episode 3: Otha Smith, III On How Tetragram App Empowers Consumers And The Cannabis Industry

Otha Smith III, Founder, and CEO of Tetragram took the powerful practice of journaling one’s experience with arguably the most communal plant to a different level with the creation of one of a very few minority-owned technology platforms in the cannabis space. Let’s give props because they are due. In our conversation, this former computer [...]

Season 3: Episode 2 Liz Rogan: In Her Practice Why It’s An Honor To Be Part of Someone’s Journey

Canna-nerd, supremely accomplished, understated, doubly degreed botanist and biologist, Liz Rogan can often be found with fellow correspondents on Clubhouse’s “The State of Cannabis NewsHour” and on its YouTube channel. She joined me on the “Me and Mary Jane” podcast to talk about Trends for 2022. This is one of my favorite information-packed conversations. Like [...]

Season 3: Episode 1 “In The Moment” With Elana Goldberg: How Cannabis Enhances Meditation & Mindfulness

I caught up with Elana Goldberg, Cannigma’s CEO and soon-to-be certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, over a cup of virtual coffee. It was the evening for her and she was enjoying a glass of wine just north of Tel Aviv. For me, it was morning on the west coast of North America. We were to chat [...]

Season 2 Episode 10: Dr. Janice Knox On The Endocannabinoid System And What It Means to Be Well

What is wellness to you? Each time I am in conversation with Dr. Janice Knox a light bulb turns on for me. In this episode, it finally clicked that the endocannabinoid system is part of an even bigger picture. I finally see that when someone understands the physiology of humans, how we are hardwired, they [...]

Season 2 Episode 9: In Conversation with Chirali Patel Esq. On Getting to Social Equity in New Jersey

In New Jersey, one pathway to possible opportunities and benefits for those who want into the cannabis industry is via social equity. These two words, however, get used as though there is a clear consensus on what they mean when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. In the New Jersey framework, the [...]

Season 2 Episode 8 : We Ask Dr. Valerie Young Does Imposter Syndrome Exist In The Cannabis Industry

As cannabis becomes a regular part of our daily wellness practice, we thought we’d ask Dr. Valerie Young whether imposter syndrome exists in the cannabis industry. Valerie is the author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer From the Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive Despite It. She has worked with [...]

Season 2 Episode 7: Rob Tankson On Telemedicine and Bringing Medicine Into Your Living Room

Covid 19 helped grow acceptance of medical cannabis as essential and simultaneously telemedicine tracked this phenomenon. Today, the practice of medicine in your living room is being fueled by companies like PrestoDoctor, a leading telemedicine company that connects patients seeking medical cannabis cards with compassionate, licensed doctors across the U.S. In this episode of Me [...]

Dr. Patricia C. Frye: When Cannabinology Meets Telemedicine

After retiring from medicine, Dr. Frye was offered an opportunity to practice cannabis treatment. Intrigued, she educated herself on this emerging alternative and now actively shares this knowledge with others.

How Helena’s Faith Botanicals Is Building A Hemp Empire

Businesses are in business to make money. But for the Virginia-based Helena’s Faith Botanicals, that is not their primary focus. In this edition of Me and Mary Jane, I talk with Candi Walters, who is the company’s CEO and Founder, and a Registered Nurse licensed to practice in 28 states. She is a true Healer [...]

Nancy Whiteman of Wana Brands: Helping People Understand the Power of the Plant

In this episode of ‘Conversations with People Smarter Than Me,” I chat with Nancy Whiteman, CEO, and Founder of Wana Brands, the number 1 edibles company in North America. Our conversation took place two days after the George Floyd jury decision. In light of the many pledges that brands made just one year ago in [...]

Episode 3: Erik Range On How You Can Fit Into The Hemp And Cannabis Space

How can you fit into the hemp and cannabis space?

Dan Watkins- Hemp Farming Made Easy

Urban farming begins to make sense as a business decision if you understand that “when everybody eats, we all grow,” said Dan Watkins, NJ hemp farmer. In Part 2 of our conversation, Dan makes the compelling argument that the future is actually hemp. We learn about the versatility of the plant. We continue to make [...]

Dan Watkins, NJ Hemp Farmer, Veteran, Banker, Biologist

Season 2 Episode 9 What prompts a banker to move from the stock exchange to farming? The short version is when 911 happened the economy as we know it went digital. Dan was responsible for helping to put that technology in place. His job involved managing risk and predicting the future. But farming was not [...]

Episode 9: Tiffany Watkins, Founder of Vanguard Media Online, Serves Truth

Join me in the first of this season’s podcast interviews themed “Conversations with People Smarter Than Me.” Vanguard Media Online, Founder and Publisher, Tiffany Watkins, shares why empowerment and inclusion are of utmost importance to her start-up’s growth. “This is a movement for all of us,” she shared. “What can I change or do in [...]

Episode 8: There Are Many Communities In The Cannabis Community

Episode 7: The Weedhead Talks What’s Not So Good About New Jersey’s Proposed Adult-use Legislation

I voted "yes" to legalization. But I had no idea how the state proposed to implement my yes.

Episode 6: Scheril Murray Powell – Creating Safe Clusters For Seniors of Color in Cannabis (part 2)

More truth to power conversation with Scheril Murray Powell, Esq. When the marketing focus is on people over products, how might we ensure there are reliable spaces that address different needs. Scheril makes a strong case for creating clusters in areas where seniors are accustomed to getting support and where trust already exists. Is it [...]

Episode 5: What’s Possible When a Business and a Cannabis IQ Merge

In part one of Episode 5, I chat with Scheril Murray Powell, Esq., a transformational thinker, from whom I was anxious to learn more about specific strategies for addressing the complications older adults of color feel toward medical cannabis. But we really got into this conversation. Scheril shared how she’d been guided to create a [...]

EPISODE 4: An Ancillary Cannabis Tale

One of the most common questions asked at cannabis networking events is “How can I get involved?” In my experience, the answer has generally been to repurpose what you already know in this new industry. It’s called ancillary businesses and refers to any business that does not directly touch the plant. Because, as you know, [...]

EPISODE 3: Where to Get Free Personalized Cannabis Education

Patricia A. Patton interviews Katherine Golden, CEO and Co-Founder of Leaf411. In episode 3 we learn there is a free cannabis nurse hotline manned by highly trained nurses from whom you can obtain personalized cannabis guidance. After calling the number, Patricia was able to ask about products in her cabinet and to receive guidance about [...]

EPISODE 2: Cannabis: Shame, Stigmas, and Stereotypes

Me & Mary Jane, a cannabis journey with CannaBoomer Patricia A. Patton, a cannabis educator and advocate for older people, and Danielle Jackson, AKA Miz D, a 15-year Cannatherapy Consultant and plant medicine enthusiast since the ’70s. In episode two, Patricia and Danielle go deep in a discussion about the stigmas, stereotypes, and shame many [...]

EPISODE 1: Cannabis Evolution

Me & Mary Jane, a cannabis journey with CannaBoomer Patricia A. Patton, a cannabis educator and advocate for older people, and Danielle Jackson, AKA Miz D, a 15 year Cannatherapy Consultant and plant medicine enthusiast since the 70’s. In this inaugural episode, Patricia and Danielle discuss the evolution of cannabis as an industry, community, and [...]