The marijuana industry has a history of criminalizing Black and Brown folks, but these Latinas in jefa positions are sparking change in the cannabis industry.
Every year, more cannabis and hemp brands emerge onto the scene as cannabis consumption is normalized more and more each day. With more and more mujeres and Latines in the cannabis industry, we’re reclaiming the plant as medicine and removing the stigma that has incarcerated millions of BIPOC.
These mujeres are building canna-businesses and reclaiming the plant as medicine and wellness para la cultura and a means to build equity together. Meet jefas that continue to blaze trails within canna-biz.
Susie Plascencia
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Susie Plascencia is a Latina journalist, entrepreneur, and cannabis advocate. She is the founder and CEO of NightShift Digital, a boutique PR and social media marketing agency, and NightShift Cannabis, a subsidiary serving clients in cannabis and cannabis-adjacent industries.
Her passion for Latina representation in the cannabis industry made her create Latinas in Cannabis. This nationally recognized online community uplifts, celebrates, and connects Latina entrepreneurs, content creators, educators, and advocates. She is also the co-founder and CMO of MOTA Glass and Humo’s Co-Founder and Brand Partner.
Carolina Vazquez Mitchell
Carolina Vazquez Mitchell is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Ciencia Labs. She has more than fifteen years of experience with organic synthesis and extractions. She has extracted DNA, RNA, proteins, terpenes, and other pharmacologically active molecules, leading her to develop more than 60 cannabis products to date. When not in the lab, you can find Carolina at Luchador (one of Ciencia Labs’ brands) lucha libre events, fighting as her alter-ego, La Cientifica.
Ruth Jazmin Aguiar
Ruth Jazmin Aguiar brings close to a decade’s worth of experience to the cannabis industry, with a specific emphasis on regulation, advocacy, licensing, strategy, and social equity. As a bilingual business development expert within national Spanish-speaking markets has used her experience as a Los Angeles native to bridge the gap between business owners and government officials within California and across the border.
In 2021 Jazmin’s career expanded into mainstream media when Locatora Productions hired her as their cannabis business manager in the launch of Marijuanera: a Podcast for Potheads.
Karina Primelles
Karina Primelles founded Xula Herbs from her deep respect for cannabis as a transformative medicine. As a queer person with a womb, Karina sees the importance of living comfortably in our own skin; advocating for the use of hemp and herbs to heal and connect with our bodies.
Roshelly & Shanelly Peña
Roshelly Peña & Shanelly Peña serve as Co-Founders of Higher Dining, a cannabis-infused lifestyle brand providing luxe dining and smoker-centric experiences with an array of Mary Jane delectables to devour.
Higher Dining’s one-of-one menus fill bellies and hearts with its ongoing commitment to giving back. As a company owned and run by women of color, it not only markets for profit but also for the gathering of community. Roshelly explains it, “Higher Dining represents savory food, love, sisterhood, and culture.”
Mala Muñoz
Mala Muñoz is a podcast producer, writer, and comic from Los Angeles, California. Mala and Co-Host Diosa Femme are the Co-Founders of the podcast Locatora Radio and Locatora Productions, LLC, their indie production house. Mala’s podcasting work has been written about in Forbes, the LA Times, O Magazine, and Cosmopolitan. In 2021 Mala launched her original comedy cannabis show, Marijuanera: A Podcast for Potheads.
Karen Torres
Karen Torres is the Chief Product Officer at MedMen and a Board Member of the Cannabis Distribution Association. As a queer C-Suite Latina at one of the largest cannabis retailers in the nation, representation is vital to her. “As a queer woman of color working in cannabis, I strongly believe that representation matters,” she shared, according to Forbes. From our new hires to our C-suite, and from our retail employees to our product mix, MedMen is prioritizing diversity and inclusion to ensure our organization reflects our customer base and the communities we serve.’
Sue Carlton
Sue Carlton is the Founder and CEO of Ranchera Familia. She is an integrated business expert for marijuana and industrial hemp companies with almost a decade’s experience creating award-winning edibles, growing for recreational marijuana farms, and consulting on hemp start-ups.
Jamie Alexandra Galvis
Jamie is the founder of hustle + flo™, a CBD wellness brand focused on allowing you to reclaim your mental health and bring back balance to your physical, spiritual, and mental wellness. In 2019, Jamie was introduced to CBD after a four-year battle with anxiety, and the vision for hustle + flo™️ became crystal clear.
About the Author
Priscilla Castro
Priscilla Castro is #WeAllGrow’s Director of Digital Content & Partnerships. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her at @kodeofkondukt. Read more of Priscilla’s pieces here.
