¡Cannabis Es Para Todas!

You may have heard the name Susie Plascencia, aka Susie Greens (@susieplascencia). She’s the founder of Altura Brands (@altura_brands), a premier, Latino-owned house of cannabis brands. This is where Susie has not only stepped into a leadership role, but she has become a powerful leading voice when it comes to standing up and supporting women and people of color in the cannabis space. 

I spoke with Susie and have been following her trajectory for the past few years. She has a raw passion for the plant and for her community. I could feel her energy as she spoke about the struggles and successes of navigating the cannabis industry. 

Like many of us cannabis life-ers, Susie’s relationship with cannabis has evolved over the years. From the early days, partaking secretly within the safe confines of her home to avoid being stereotyped and judged working as an executive, to breaking the stigma and trailblazing into new frontiers–the journey has been a full circle. Fat Nugs COO, Daniel Crawford, was able to spend some time with Susie to learn more about her story, her fight against social inequity, and helping to advance economic opportunities in the Latino community. 

Building Cannabis Businesses 

Placencia is a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, where she holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and a BA in Public Relations. Those skills would come in handy for building cannabis brands, but that would be a few years down the road. Susie got her initial experience budtending in California for several years before forming Mota Glass, a term derived from Spanish slang for cannabis. 

Mota Glass

Susie and her business partner started Mota Glass (@mota_glass) to counter the industry’s issue of mass-imported, cheap glass and the exploitation of minority workers. Their mission is to support local American artisans, particularly the Latinx and veteran workforce, and promote an inclusive cannabis community.

The 90’s and early 2000s were definitely the era of glass pipes. I miss the days when heady glass shops were filled with all the local glass blowers’ artwork. If you were lucky, they’d bring in some glass from well-known blowers from around the country. I’d spend hours talking shop to the glass blowers at the local music festival at any of the three or four glass blower vendor booths. 

Chillums, big fat pipes, bongs, zongs, bubblers, double bubblers, all the way up to quads. There was no end to the artistry and craftsmanship. Most of the quality pieces could withstand a drop on cement or into the sink as soon as you meticulously cleaned it out. It’s a layer of the cannabis industry I truly miss. It’s a shame more dispensaries don’t have glass shops and support local blowers. Cheap glass sucks! 

When customers purchase a piece of glass from Mota, they know it was blown by someone with Brown Hands, and they are supporting their community instead of the cheap imported throw-away glass we’ve grown accustomed to over the past decade. 

Alturcul Brands

Susie created Altura Brands in 2024 for a multitude of reasons, foremost, it was to provide a trusted space for her Latino community to connect with authentic brands that they resonate with. It’s often difficult to find out who actually owns most cannabis brands. Having brands that are vetted and actually care about the cannabis community is important. It’s like the Fat Nugs community. Each and every company we work with has passed our litmus tests. We meet with the leadership, we experience their products, and we dig into their past actions. 

Within Altura Brands are Mota Glass, which Susie co-founded in 2020, and Latinas In Cannabis (@latinas_cann), the largest digital and in-person community for Latina cannabis professionals, advocates, and the allies who support them. Mota Glass is a Mexican-owned brand aiming to create space for Latinos in an industry that has historically caused harm to Latinos in the past. 

There are those who talk the talk, and then there are those who actually walk the walk. Susie is one of those authentic people in the cannabis space. Her passion for creating positive change was evident in every breath of our conversation.

It hasn’t been all fun and games for Susie; She’s weathered litigation, exposed unscrupulous brands culturally appropriating Latino culture, and dealt with more than her share of haters and critics. Being a lone voice against corporate interests that are only concerned with lining their pockets can have that effect, but Susie fiercely remains a stalwart advocate for positive changes in the cannabis industry. 

Susie spoke at MJBIZCon this year at the Marketing Forum for two sessions:

• Evolution of Marketing: What’s Working, What’s Changing and How to Measure It
• The Rise of Latinas in Cannabis: The Evolution of the Latina Cannabis Workforce

She offered insight on how marketing is shifting and how Latina leaders are shaping the future of the industry.