Valley female business leaders are changing perceptions about the marijuana industry as part of the new Phoenix chapter of Women Grow, a national network of cannabis entrepreneurs.
The new face of cannabis in Arizona is about business and economic potential, replacing tie-dye stereotypes with business suits and briefcases.
The Phoenix chapter of Women Grow, which kicked off in December, 2014, conducts networking meetings on the first Thursday of each month in Scottsdale. The chapter is one of 20 chapters nationwide where women strive to debunk marijuana myths, provide accurate information to their communities, and evolve political policy on groundbreaking levels.
Along with noted business owners, academics, healthcare professionals, lawyers and others, attendees include women throughout Arizona who are authorities in their fields. Each brings their prominence and expertise to the growing cannabis economy in the state.
According to a January 26, 2015, article published by the Huffington Post, with statistics provided by the ArcView Group, the U.S. market for legal cannabis grew 74 percent in 2014 to $2.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2013, making it the fastest growing industry in the U.S.
Attorney Laura Bianchi, of the Rose Law Group in Scottsdale, is one of the Arizona women who is on the forefront of the movement. “For me it’s having the opportunity to be a part of the development, expansion and legitimization of the cannabis industry. As a professional woman, I love seeing strong, successful, smart, talented women come together in any positive manner. Not only does a group like Women Grow abolish the myths about the type of individuals involved in the cannabis industry, but it helps to extinguish the many myths which still exist about women as a whole. We can be, and are industry leaders, successful, smart, talented and very much capable of banding together to initiate change.”
In February, more than 60 Women Grow members from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C. for a two-day lobbying tour and press conference. Scottsdale resident and Women Grow Phoenix chair, Sara Gullickson, attended the session, and brought an Arizona-based business perspective to the national issues of banking and taxation.
“Women Grow is an opportunity to learn about the legal cannabis industry and connect with the entrepreneurs who are shaping its future,” Gullickson said.
For more information or to attend a Women Grow meeting, visit womengrow.com.
ABOUT WOMEN GROW
Women Grow is a national network educating, empowering and connecting women in the cannabis industry through monthly networking events, national conferences and shining a spotlight on aspiring and established women leaders in the cannabis industry. The organization welcomes women entrepreneurs at all stages of business development from within the many sectors of the industry including cultivation, sales, advocacy, investment and ancillary businesses such as legal advocacy and representation, medicine, marketing, and others. Women Grow currently has chapters in Anchorage, AK; Albuquerque, NM; Asheville, NC; the Bay Area, CA; Boston, MA; Boulder, CO; Chicago, IL; Guam; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Long Beach, CA; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Phoenix, AZ; Seattle, WA; and Western MA/Albany, NY. Visit WomenGrow.com to learn more about the organization, locate or apply to start a chapter, and tap into the organization’s knowledge base and speaker’s bureau. Follow WomenGROW at facebook.com/women grow, or on Twitter at twitter.com/womengrow.
