Why More Women Should Grow Marijuana

Lately there has been a lot of editorial coverage about women not being at home in the world of weed. While I am glad to see this issue finally being discussed, getting rid of girls in bikinis is not the answer. More women growing marijuana is.

Chastising women for their personal fashion decisions or the uniforms they wear to get paid, regardless of what we perceive the implications of scantily clad women representing our industry to be, does nothing to further our cause.

Like all burgeoning industries, what the marijuana industry is missing is women. Women in professional roles, not just as models. Yes, there are plenty of women who are respected activists, but where are all the female growers? The female dispensary owners? The female experts? The pro-pot female politicians?

While there are a few women who occupy authoritative positions in the marijuana industry, they are a striking minority beginning to chip cracks into the glass ceiling. But like every other industry, women have a long way to go to break through and the success of the industry requires the smashing of that ceiling.

If more women grew marijuana, it would become normalized. Women being “out” as growers is what will change the tide of every other aspect of the industry.

As long as marijuana cultivation conjures images of outlaws, drug gangs and cartels rather than a woman tending a garden, it will remain difficult to garner the support of the public to push for reform of prohibition laws. Imagine an industry so mature you wouldn’t be surprised to see your own mother watering the cannabis plant next to her tomatoes and rosemary.

If more women exerted their knowledge of cannabis cultivation, more people would feel comfortable growing their own. As long as we stay in the closet about what we know, they will continue to believe we know nothing.

And what about the politicians? We have never heard Hillary Clinton state whether or not she inhaled or if she even thought that was the point. We have no strong female politician willing to filibuster in her green tennis shoes to end any aspect of the War on Drugs, let alone be willing to acknowledge and promote the end of prohibition laws.

And we could really use a strong, articulate female advocating for us in Washington, the approximately half of Americans who believe it is time to end federal marijuana prohibition and all the blows it deals to families here and abroad.

So why aren’t women at home in the world of weed? The question really is, why aren’t women at home in the weed industry?

This is the house we live in, this is our fight too. We just need to step up and claim it. As long as the marijuana industry and its lobby remain a man’s game we will all continue to lose.

When more women come out of the closet as growers, both women as well as men will feel comfortable in the marijuana industry. The war will be over. Accepting women in the industry is not just a smart PR move or a nod to affirmative action; it’s the beginning of the end.