Empowerment was definitely the operative word when it came to the 2nd Annual Women’s Canna Awards. The energy in the air when you gather a group of strong women together is undeniable. And acting as the Red Carpet Coordinator, I was lucky enough to be in the thick of it.

The Lineup

This year’s event was held on March 30th, at the beautiful EK Art Gallery in Los Angeles, California. The Cannabis industry dressed to the nines for the special evening. Sparkling gowns, cannabis smoke, and powerful femininity all combined to make this an Awards show like no other. Plus, the MC was the hilariously badass Mary Jane Gibson, of “My Sandwich, My Choice,” so you knew the evening was going to be full of good energy, a bit of sass, and lots of laughter.

Manndie Tingler, Grace Lalouh, Kandaice Hawkins, and an incredible team of Women in the Cannabis Industry (myself and PayRio Founder Aubrey Amatelli included) came together to lift up brands run and owned by women in the California Cannabis Space. Now I know, there are a lot of awards shows in the industry. More and more of them every year really…

What Set this Year Apart

So what sets the Women’s Canna Awards apart? Two big things:

First, the prize winners aren’t just getting bragging rights, they also get a guaranteed meeting with dispensary buyers from 50+ dispensaries across the state of California. The WCA team got agreements from these amazing dispensaries to meet with the 1st place-winning brands, a few of them evening guaranteeing shelf space for these women-led cannabis brands. The list included shops such as CBCB in Berkley, founded by the incredible Aundre’ Special, who was also nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award that evening. (Check out the Women’s Canna Awards website for a full list of winners, and keep an eye out for their products in a CA dispensary near you!)

Second, the WCA’s wanted to make sure they were raising money for a cause. This year, the Women’s Canna Awards raised money for Saving Sophie. Saving Sophie is a charity that focuses on using Cannabis and Natural Killer Cells to fight cancer. Particularly in children, but they have helped people of all ages fight this terrifying monster we all know as cancer.

Fighting Childhood Cancer

This is a cause close to my heart because childhood cancer has been something my family knows all too well. I lost my eldest sister, Jennifer Marie Ferron, to complications with her leukemia battle in 1988 when she was only 10 years old. Almost 30 years later, in 2015, my own 3 year old son, Wyatt, would be diagnosed with the same strain of leukemia that my sister fought. People would say to me “Well, at least medicine has come so far since 1988…” But the truth is, it hasn’t when it comes to childhood cancer.

Only 4 new medications have been created for these children in the past 75 years, and only 4% of the National Cancer Institutes funding goes to Childhood Cancer Research – FOUR PERCENT – for thousands of subtypes of cancers that only affect children. Organizations like Saving Sophie are doing the work that is truly saving these babies lives. Its Founders, Tracy Ryan and Joshua Ryan, began this fight when their own daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumor that thankfully had a 90% survival rate, but unfortunately also had a 85% recurrence rate. And thus began her cancer, and cannabis journey.

Hearing these stories could make anyone cry. But having this all hit so close to home for me, I was bawling my eyes out watching Tracy and Sophie take the stage to tell a bit of Sophie's story.

Saving Sophie’s Work

“For those of you who don’t know Sophies story, Sophie has been on Cannabis since she was 9 months old. She was featured in a documentary on Netflix called ‘Weed the People’ produced by Ricki Lake, that followed our family for 6 years… And Sophie has been a medical miracle more times than some Doctors had seen in their 50+ year careers.

Cannabis has helped bring her vision back over and over again, which her Optimologist has never seen. She wouldn’t have the same bruising and swelling from 8 hour brain surgeries. She looked like she was ready for a photo shoot, because she didn’t have the side effects or injuries that these surgeries normally cause. Her immune system was not debilitated by the chemotherapy that she got 7 different protocols of.

And through our fight to try to find a cure for this little girl, it has also led us to Natural Killer Cells, and guess what else? Cannabis turns those back on! Natural Killer Cells are your #1 defense against cancer. It is when these cells fail, that is your first step in getting cancer. And my now business partner has been studying this for 35 years. She is also now studying Cannabis at UCLA.

We have published at a top cancer journal in the US proving that not only does cannabis turn the Natural Killer Cell System back on, but it also has the ability to target and kill cancer stem cells; The seeds of cancer that chemo and radiation cannot even see. It’s some of the biggest findings in 100 years in cannabis. We are now in human trials… Sophie was the first child in the world to receive Natural Killer Cells made from her Daddy’s cells. And we also treated one adult who, on day 58 of treatment, found his cancer 75% gone, with no side effects, and he felt incredible!”

Saving Sophie not only conducts this vital, life saving research, but a lot of the money they raise also goes directly to families who are fighting childhood cancers. Making sure they have money for food, hospital visits, gas, bills… anything they need while their child fights this horrible disease. Basically, Saving Sophie helps fight cancer in more ways than one. Being a part of the Women’s Cannabis Awards, and getting to connect with Tracy in person, cancer mom to cancer mom, was tremendously rewarding.

Ms. Erykah Badu

Another part of the evening that made it truly unforgettable was being able to meet the legendary Ms. Erykah Badu. Erykah is known to many as the “Godmother of Soul”, and as a singer myself, I have been enjoying her art since I was about 10 years old. She is a passionate artist, singer, songwriter, doula, and cannabis advocate. She recently added a cannabis line, “That Badu” to her long list of accomplishments. And while I usually tend to avoid celebrity brands, “That Badu” is an exception. As I said in one of my recent For:20 Minutes blogs, “Smoking That Badu feels a lot like listening to her music: Relaxing and uplifting, smooth and smoky… A uniquely enchanting experience.”

Ms. Badu was warm and welcoming from the moment she stepped out of her SUV. We were all very excited to meet her, and I had to stifle my glee as I guided her down the red carpet to the enchanting Ife’ Moore. Ife’ is the Founder of E.T.C. (Everything Cannabis) and was conducting the red carpet interviews on behalf of the WCAs that evening. Ife’ and I had talked before the event about how thrilled we were to get the chance to meet this legendary woman. As Ife’ spoke with her, Ms. Badu proceeded to give her body and energy a blessing. Shaking her hands around Ife’s head and body, while wearing a unique pair of key-covered gloves, Erykah gave my beautiful and soulful friend a memory she will cherish forever. I got goosebumps witnessing it.

Erykah joined in the celebrations that evening to honor all women in Cannabis, and to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to its winner, “Mama” Sue Taylor. Sue Taylor was the first Black woman to own a dispensary in Berkeley, she developed her own line of Cannabis products with Senior Citizens in mind, and is just a truly beautiful human being. As Mama Sue made her way up to the stage after Erykah’s introduction, you could see a look of pure elation in her face.

Mama Sue

“What an honor… What can I say?”

Mama Sue said with tears in her eyes.

“I didn’t choose Cannabis, it chose me.”

To which many women yelled “Yes Mama!” She went on to say…

“If you had told me 17 years ago that I would be working in the Cannabis Industry today I woulda said ‘Aw baby, you’re smokin’ TOO much… Better leave that sh*t alone…’ But my Creator chose it for me. And this is how I know… You guys take notes, this is some of Mama Sue’s wisdom… When you’re doing the work, it’s how you feel inside while you’re doing it. If you don’t feel it inside, if you’re just in it for the money, cut it loose. Because what we’re doing is HARD. All of us done been through some sh*t. ALL OF US. But you know why we’re still in it? Because it came from here.”

She said proudly, hand tapping her heart.

“Every last one of you in this room, including little Sophie… When we all were still in the ethers, before we made the decision to come onto this Earth, we said ‘I wanna go now! Now is the time for ME. Because I can make a difference in the world at this time. That’s why each and every one of you are here tonight. You said YES! Now many will get the call, but we are the responders.”

Watch the Event

To see the rest of Mama Sue’s moving acceptance speech, and to watch the entire Women’s Cannabis Awards, head over to the High at 9 News YouTube page.

There were so many incredible women to celebrate at this event… And though, yes, it was a literal competition… All of these women from the Cannabis industry came together that evening, not to compete, but to lift each other up. To support each other. To raise money for a worthy cause. And to celebrate being a Woman in Cannabis. This community of women is so strong when we lift each other up. It’s one of the things Women in Cannabis do best, lift other women up. I felt honored to be a part of it.

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Death and taxes