SA
Hi Sarah! Thanks for being here, hope your day hasn’t been too hectic. How are you?
S
Thank you Prinita! I’m doing well, blessed to be here. How are you feeling with your allergies?
SA
I’m ok. We’re having a change of season here in Sydney and my body is still getting accustomed to it. I took your advice and made some tea and am sitting in the sun.
If you could describe your spirit today in three words, what would they be?
S
That is an interesting question, and I’m happy you’re having tea! I’d say, “thankful,” this is tough, “happy,” and uplifted. I guess I’d say that.
SA
Three powerful emotions. I’m glad to be in that energy with you today.
Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to Canna Culture Connect?
S
I created Canna Culture Connect during one of my lowest moments in life. During that time, I’d recently left my role at VH1 after about 3 ½ years. While at Viacom, my alcoholism was enabled, with the constant press events featuring unlimited amounts of alcohol. That mixed with microaggressions in the workplace was a recipe for depression and before I slipped in any deeper, I left that role that I loved so much. On April 15, 2019 I went to a prayer meeting my church was having. I gave up drinking that day. This Friday will make 2 years since I put down the bottle, picked up a bible and redirected my passion. I’ve always been a cannabis consumer but now that I gave up drinking, when I’d smoke I’d wonder why I didn’t feel the need to drink, recalling days when I was working I felt I couldn’t function without it. Through research I learned of our endocannabinoid system and was amazed and kind of disappointed in how much knowledge around cannabis and healing has been kept from us. I learned cannabis is meant to maintain homeostasis in your body and the anxiety I used to feel wasn’t there anymore. Being a writer, I transmuted my passion for writing into the cannabis space, resolving to not give up on my talent. (At this time, I could NOT find a job, no one would hire me.) I wanted to create a space to educate people about the holistic benefits of cannabis, while advocating to end the war on drugs, where anyone can feel they can have that platform to share their business, story, or advice.
SA
Ok, wow. What an incredible journey you’ve been on. To be completely honest, I only learned about the endocannabinoid system yesterday…even though I’ve been a cannabis consumer for nearly all of my adult life. Learning about that really alleviated so much of my shame.
There’s so much you’ve just shared that I want to dive deeper into. But firstly, why do you think there’s been no education around how humans have this way to process and use cannabis via the endocannabinoid system? Is that just another symptom of living in a heteropatriarchal/capitalist system where our divine power is consistently degraded?
S
I absolutely believe that. I think if more people knew that the cannabinoids in weed directly interact with our CB1, CB2 receptors for example, then why need Big Pharma? Why do doctors who don’t listen to patients, prescribe medication the patients themselves say doesn’t work, or agree with their body, to bleed more money from that patients insurance? Because to them, that’s what it’s all about. America has this thing, where they villainize anything that goes against capitalist interest. Cannabis is one of those things. A naturally growing plant, that’s proved it’s medicinal capabilities. What they saw in the 60s for example were talented Black creatives, being too creative, minding their business so they villainized it as an excuse to lock them up. A new Jim Crow where inmates are paid $1.33/hr to make products we use in society today. By degrading marijuana, it gives my government cause to degrade the Black and brown people who consume it.
SA
Right. And there’s so much to say about this sort of spiritual warfare almost, that the war on drugs – and the capitalist/modern society we live in – is and was. That creativity they find threatening is really a harnessing of our own power + connection to spirit.. It’s all so malicious and insidious.
How do you consciously consume cannabis as a church goer? Do you find yourself brushing up with contradictions in that spiritual space + how do you work through them?
S
I think like cannabis, the church has been misrepresented by this country, and by church I mean the idea of God, and the body who serves Him, not religion. I was fortunate to be raised at a nondenominational church, so even when going to Catholic school, I wouldn’t do things that didn’t make sense to me. I’m not saying Hail Mary’s just to say it, if I’m going to pray for forgiveness, I’m going to keep it real with Jesus and have that conversation. So while people may judge me for consuming, God doesn’t because any Christian who knows Him, knows that’s not his style. As long as I’m not over-indulging or using it as a means of procrastination or spending on that rather than bills, Him and I have a pretty tight relationship.
SA
I love that. I grew up in a Christian culture and while I don’t heavily identify with it now, I love hearing how folks have really created space for subversion and reclamation within their own spirituality. I also like to think that when Moses was speaking to the burning bush…that bush was a marijuana plant lol.
Back to what you said earlier about leaving your job at Viacom at this low point, what a reckoning. To go from such a huge media agency to then starting your own must have been so jarring. How do you feel about the corporatization of cannabis culture that is taking place?
S
I wanted to first clarify, I grew up in the church but for a LONG TIME, I was in these streets. It wasn’t until I fell, lost everyone, had nothing, became homeless, that God proved Himself to me, and that’s why I believe in Him. At that time, I created the site and was going to Church twice a week, volunteering for a christmas show we had, as a stage manager because it was still in my media wheelhouse. And like I said, I couldn’t find a job. One day I shared my experience at Viacom on Faebook and my old manager reached out to me and had let me know I was blackballed for speaking up about, everything, despite the president at that time reassuring me that he was passing along my resume. This was ongoing for a year. I applied for this job at Group Nine Media, and prayed on it. Applied in December, so a week after I wrote a public letter (in June of the next year) about my disappointment in how Viacom treated employees of color, the job I prayed for at Group Nine Media, is the one I have now. And they all know of Canna Culture Connect and it’s empowered me even more, humbly because God put me in this space where I have the freedom to continue to build my platform while working on the corporate side of cannabis where I feel my experience and voice can help amplify the marginalized who many not have equity or ability to get fancy licenses because of past marijuana arrests. It’s a unique position to be in, but I’m thankful and excited to help uplift those voices.
SA
So grateful for your ability to share and articulate your experience with such humility and also, as a way to empower others. Before we end, what are some of your hopes for the future of the cannabis industry?
S
This is tough because this country is so damn greedy, but I hope more Black and brown folks have business that they own the majority of. That more records are expunged, not just the ones of those with solely marijuana charges, but those who had extra charges piled on from that initial one as well. I hope more people who genuinely care about the plant and not the trends, are at the forefront. For New York particularly, I’m part of a group called WoCC, Women of Color in Cannabis, a group I joined during that low point. And these Black women lifted me up, they provide resources for anyone looking to get into the business. They have cannasessions with panelists from various parts of the industry to teach us about everything from growing from home to which taxes you need to beware of. So as NY gets into MRTA, I hope women like the leaders of WoCC do get a space on the committees responsible for who gets licenses, that way it’d ensure those people who genuinely care I mentioned have a fair shot.
(No Gellar) is a branded content editor from Brooklyn, NY who’s worked in media for over a decade. As founder of Canna Culture Connect, a digital platform dedicated to removing stigmas surrounding ‘God’s favorite flower’ while advocating to end the War on Drugs, she believes cannabis has the power to heal, despite its societal label as recreational. Her motto: Take pulls & pray.