Episode 7 - Awkward
Welcome to Sessions by the Her(B) Life. We are back for season 2 with a new lineup of people who have made cannabis their business. Between advocates, industry professionals, influencers and creatives, we’ll be showcasing some of the industry's best and brightest in a new episode every Thursday.
This episode you’ll hear from Jamie Shaw, a cannabis industry veteran, Jamie has spent much of her time lobbying for cannabis reform in Canada. She has worked as a consultant in education, communication and advocacy and is a well-known figure in the cannabis community for her dedication to this community.
She is joined by co host, Ashleigh Brown, Founder of SheCann, one of the first online cannabis communities catering to women. SheCann is both an cannabis education platform and resource, as well as a digital space that encourages women to ask questions and share their cannabis experiences. Ashleigh was introduced to medicinal cannabis after a long battle with her own health issues, which saw her having up to 100 seizures a day. She was inspired to create SheCann to ensure women felt supported in their own explorations of cannabis.
This episode titled ‘Awkward’, by Jamie Shaw, is our first ever self-titled episode, and it pays homage to the current state of legal cannabis, just one year after legalisation in Canada.
We often hear discussions around the challenges of the current legal framework, so perhaps we should preface this conversation with an assurance that we all welcome the end of cannabis prohibition - the federal legalisation of cannabis in Canada is a certainly a step in the right direction, and with any luck will play an important role in a global shift.
However, as both Jamie and Ashleigh have laid out in this episode, the process of legalisation and its consequences have in some parts of the country diminished access for patients and consumers, and has done little to address the damage of a century of prohibition.
Instead of legalisation being part of a collective ‘shift in consciousness’ around the plant, the change was implemented as a ‘means to an end’, and has thusly failed to address many of the issues that underpin the industry. To make matters even more challenging, tight regulations implemented by Health Canada have paralysed so many players in this industry, making it difficult for the industry to champion change by doing any of the necessary groundwork.
The overarching theme of this ‘Awkward’ session, is the idea that it’s now up to patients and consumers to be the voice of change. Luckily as Ashleigh points out, it’s a very rapid shift from sceptic to patient to advocate - but there’s still much work to be done.
The Her(b) Life Sessions podcast is committed to broadening the cannabis conversation by highlighting the women working in the industry. Each episode we have a new set of hosts discussing contemporary cannabis issues, giving you a direct line into the evolving cannabis landscape. Don’t miss out on the next Sessions episode and subscribe now.
This session is brought to you with the help of Sundial Cannabis, the natural alternative for modern wellness.
If you want to know more about this Sessions hosts you can find them via the below links.
Jamie Shaw via her twitter @jamiesashaw
Ashleigh Brown via her twitter @Ashleig02112447
Sessions, by Her(B) Life is a production of Blue Dream Media.
Produced by Tiyana Matliovski and Executive Producer, Gill Polard.