Women Are Now Networking Over Blunts & Brunch: Next stop - Vegas!
All Event Photos Courtesy of Blunt Brunch/Adelia Carrillo & Parisa Mansouri-Rad
WANTED: A Woman of Cannabis
If you are a lady/femme/woman in cannabis, you have A LOT thrown at you. This is probably because it’s difficult to define a woman in cannabis, you know, since there are just so many. I mean, would you know if a woman smoked cannabis by looking at her? Some yes, some no. This is what’s hard for brands and companies to connect with in cannabis when it comes to marketing toward women. “But I can’t just slap some pink on it?” No. Women need more than just pink.
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Testeur de CBD/Unsplash
Enter the Cannabis Event
What better way to begin building awareness as well as connection to this vast and unfamiliar assortment of women than a woman-focused event? One with “activations” and more, within which women can explore and converse! I’m not saying this is for every woman, but there is something to be gained for every woman when it comes to the community building and product education this avenue provides.
For brands chasing the very real power of the woman’s buy, this is the best way in my opinion currently to compete. Think of it like word-of-mouth on steroids. Women learn about, connect to, and respond to products in a real way, giving reviews and valuable feedback in the process. It’s also a good gig for those femme brand ambassadors and a change of pace from the typical dispensary route.
As of 2022, Cannabis is still a very male-dominated industry, yet look at the number of women behind the scenes who are actively out there running the show or are out there with their own business? Women are not going anywhere in this industry, and we have long since proven that. We deserve more credit, our own space and more capital when our companies participate in rounds for fundraising. Furthermore, women sticking together in cannabis will inspire women to stand together more in general - which we could use a bit of right now! Events are a great way to accomplish this.
Blunt Brunch Does It Better
When it comes to women-focused events in Cannabis, Adelia Carrillo (CMO/Co-Founder of “EventHi”) and “The Marijuana Momma” Parisa Mansouri-Rad’s “Blunt Brunch” has grown to become one of the nation’s best places for women in cannabis to network and empower one another. 2022 has been a great year for them, as Blunt Brunch has successfully put on events in multiple cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and, coming up - Las Vegas!
Their mission is to create a positive and authentic atmosphere where women from all stages of life can connect with each other and find community together alongside women executives and business leaders. Or, as Parisa puts it, “a safe space to conduct blunt and sometimes difficult conversations. These opportunities for vulnerability help foster an intimate connection that can lead to stronger business relationships.”
How It Started
Parisa entered the cannabis industry while searching for a solution for her daughter’s chronic pain. After witnessing the dramatic improvements cannabis provided, she decided to lend her marketing prowess to re-brand the maligned industry. “Women’s issues have always been near and dear to my heart. So, it naturally made sense for me to gravitate to women’s empowerment issues and leverage my passions to niche myself as a women-focused leader in the industry.”
For Adelia, “It all began through my own life experience that sparked the passion.” Busy building a career in the consumer electronics industry, her life changed overnight. “At the time I was pregnant and ran into health issues that led to an emergency surgery. It took me over a year to mentally and physically recover from that, but the real healing impact was because of cannabis. Once I saw the medicinal benefits and impact it had on my life, I knew I wanted to help bring awareness to this plant.”
Soon after that, like Parisa, she started researching the industry and looking at the areas that needed her skill set. Adelia then launched her first business - a digital news network called Direct Cannabis Network, covering the latest tech, startups, and entrepreneurs. After six years of building that business, she made the decision to close the company and instead take the CMO and co-founder position within a cool tech company called EventHi. This online ticketing platform catering to cannabis culture is “a company that aligns with my mission and values and keeps me on path with my passion.”
Parisa and Adelia joined forces when Adelia was moving to Arizona, where she reached out to Parisa, knowing how important it is to network. They then decided to put a little brunch together. “She invited a few ladies and I invited a few and we all had an intimate brunch, having blunt conversations. After this one brunch, Parisa and I saw how important that experience was and we knew we had to do it again.” Which leads us to now, where these two extraordinary women, business professionals, and entrepreneurs have brought together over 1k+ women through Blunt Brunch’s monthly socials and large national events.
How It’s Going
For both, the overall mission hasn’t changed, but it has expanded. “Building a space for women executives is [still] needed,” says Adelia. “But so is empowering other women to get access and feel confident and supportive to apply for these leadership positions, so we are always finding ways to uplift women in cannabis as a whole, that way Blunt Brunch can make an impact and help increase the opportunity for women in leadership positions.”
Their Blunt Brunch events occur in different cities and are hosted by different “co-hosts” in each city. These events include performances, panel discussions with speakers, sponsored product offerings, brunch, and so much more, incorporating a true B2B and B2C component for women to network in. “Our co-hosts are all entrepreneurs or executives in the industry helping further the mission of Blunt Brunch in their own cities,” Adelia commented. “And, at this upcoming Las Vegas event, we will be taking a moment to award each of them for their hard work the past year continuing to build, empower and connect women in cannabis.”
Co-hosts include:
Phoenix, Arizona
Melissa “MJ” Stapley, CEO of MJ Hybrid Solutions
Iman Hawkins, Regional Manager of FourTwenty Collections
Tucson, Arizona
Grace Watson, Cannabis Insurance Executive at Assured Partners
San Diego, California
Dawne M. Morris, CEO of Proteus420
Las Vegas, Nevada
Taiya Thompson, CEO of Crooked Cactus
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jade Berrien-Hill, Southwest Regional Market Manager of Airo Brands
Carmen Toma, COO of Hippie Chicks Edibles
COMING UP IN VEGAS
Parisa says the speakers to expect at Blunt Brunch Las Vegas will be “a collaboration of Blunt Brunch co-hosts, women who are affiliated through our mentorship program, and brand partners.” Some of those women include Tyneeha Rivers (Chief People Officer of Curaleaf) and Marvina Thomas (Blunt Brunch Mentorship Director/CEO & Founder of FourTwenty Collections). Both of these women Adelia describes as “not only leaders in this space but walking the talk by empowering others in [the cannabis] space on the daily.”
Matthias Mullie/Unsplash
As of now, the Brunch portion of this year’s event is SOLD OUT, but there will be a post-brunch mixer you can still grab tickets to here. At this mixer, guests will enjoy a special dance performance from professional choreographer Jenzi Russell and activations by:
There will also be a speed networking activation, live DJ and amazing networking opportunities for the over 300 attendees to join at the social.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE
Make sure to also check out their show streaming every Tuesday at 5:30pm, called Blunt Conversations Live, Where Parisa and Adelia interview professional women leaders in their field regarding “blunt” topics affecting women as they navigate their professional lives. This month's Blunt Conversation? Imposter syndrome. Adelia says that listeners “are going to gain invaluable insight from our speakers, learn more about how they are moving the plant forward, and hear their advice on overcoming imposter syndrome.”
The cannabis community is very lucky to have “blunt” examples like Adelia, Parisa, and their network of co-hosts, who have solidly spread the Blunt Brunch message and expanded their original mission. Their events connect more and more women to learn from and empower one another in the spirit of the law of abundance, upon which the company was founded after that first magical brunch. A spirit not unlike one of the core values of cannabis culture; share, pass it on - there’s enough for everyone. And isn’t to share not also to enterprise?
Stay tuned for Bri Smith’s coverage of this month’s Blunt Brunch event in the ever-activated city of Las Vegas, the location of this year’s MJBizCon.
