Founder & CEO, Highlife Health | Woman-Owned Equity License Leader | Community Builder
The Hotbox with Dustin Hoxworth isn’t your polished PR interview. It’s me getting stoned and asking people the questions they probably aren’t ready for. These aren’t cold reads or copy-paste Q&As; I sit with my guests, usually multiple times, and I’ve likely met them in person, which gives me a window to learn who they really are before I ever send the questions. By the time the words hit the page, it’s smoke-thick honesty, not surface-level bullshit. These are cannabis conversations that showcase the voices, stories, and truths that won’t show up in the boardroom.
From the moment we first sat down with Jennifer Gierum in early 2025, we knew she was cut from a different cloth. There is a groundedness to her, a kind of purpose-driven clarity that you do not often see in this industry. She is the Founder and CEO of Highlife Health in New Rochelle, a woman-owned, equity-licensed dispensary that is quietly rewriting what compliant cannabis retail can look like in the state of New York.
Before cannabis, Jennifer built a career in accounting, financial analysis, and team management, often in environments where the pressure was high and the expectations were even higher. She brought that discipline and grit into cannabis, but she also brought something else that sets her apart. Her background in acting and modeling gave her the ability to understand narrative, to see how stigma shapes perception, and to understand how story, culture, and compassion can shift an entire industry.
Highlife Health is not just another storefront. It is a cultural hub in the making, built on transparency, education, and a refusal to cut corners. Jennifer has taken on the illicit market, fought for compliant operations, and supported her community every chance she gets. She is a leader who believes the plant should be protected and that patients, consumers, and neighborhoods deserve better than the shortcuts this industry so often rewards. Her backstory is touching, her mission is real, and her work is something the entire cannabis space should be paying attention to.
This is Jennifer Gierum, stepping into The Hotbox.
The Hotbox Q&A: 5 Questions with Jennifer Gierum
You are a woman-owned, equity-licensed dispensary operator in one of the most competitive and challenging cannabis markets in the country. That’s impressive, but I really want to know, how were you first introduced to cannabis?
My introduction to cannabis came from necessity, not curiosity. When my son faced a
serious injury at a very young age, it forced me to look at every possible alternative treatment under the sun. As a mother, you don’t have the luxury of ignoring options—you research, you listen, and you stay open to anything that could help your child heal or improve their quality of life.
During that search, cannabis kept coming up—not as a miracle cure, but as a plant with real therapeutic potential. That experience changed the way I viewed it entirely. I began to see cannabis not through the lens of stigma, but through outcomes, science, and compassion. That moment stayed with me and later shaped how I approached cannabis as an adult, a business owner, and ultimately as an advocate for safe, regulated access and patient education.
Highlife Health is becoming a cultural anchor in New Rochelle. When you look at the community you serve, what does building a dispensary that doubles as an educational and artistic space mean to you and the neighborhood?
Highlife Health was born from a refusal to accept shortcuts as the norm. Coming from a background in accounting, financial analysis, and team management, I understood how critical structure, transparency, and compliance are—especially in a highly regulated industry. But my personal experiences also gave me a deeper perspective. I had seen how difficult it can be for families to navigate treatment options safely and responsibly when stigma and misinformation dominate the conversation.
I wanted to build a dispensary that respected the plant, the law, and the community equally.
Highlife Health exists to prove that cannabis retail can be done the right way—by the book, with integrity—while still being welcoming, educational, and deeply rooted in the neighborhood it serves.
Building a woman-owned, family-run cannabis business comes with unique challenges, especially in one of the most highly regulated markets in the country. You’ve chosen to document that journey in a reality series format. What inspired this series, and what do you want viewers to understand about leadership and responsibility in this space?
The reality series we’re developing is about truth, not theatrics. It documents the real
journey of building a woman-owned, family-run cannabis business in one of the most challenging markets in the country. Viewers see the compliance hurdles, the pressure of doing things right, the family dynamics, and the emotional weight that comes with leadership.
My background in acting and storytelling helps me understand how powerful honest narratives can be. This project is about pulling back the curtain on cannabis—showing the responsibility, resilience, and heart it takes to build something meaningful in this space while challenging outdated stereotypes head-on.
You have spoken often about your personal journey and how it shaped your connection to the plant and to patient advocacy. Can you share with me how cannabis has positively impacted your life?
Cannabis has positively impacted our lives by opening the door to balance, education, and
empowerment. It helped shift my understanding from fear-based narratives to informed decision-making rooted in science and lived experience. For my family, it reinforced the importance of having access to regulated, tested products and knowledgeable professionals who can guide consumers responsibly.
At Highlife Health, that philosophy extends to the community. Education, transparency, and compassion are central to everything we do, because when people are informed, they make better choices for themselves and their families.
When you imagine the future of cannabis in New York and beyond, what do you hope to see for us all?
I would change the industry’s tolerance for cutting corners. Families, patients, and consumers deserve better. The legal market must be built on accountability and trust, not shortcuts that undermine safety and credibility. Regulators and responsible operators need to work together to eliminate the illicit market while making compliance and education visible priorities.
When people trust the system, they engage with it. The future of cannabis, especially in New York depends on leadership that values integrity, transparency, and long-term impact over quick wins.
Jennifer Gierum represents the kind of leadership this industry needs more of. She runs Highlife Health with purpose, transparency, and a level of compassion that is baked into every decision she makes. She is building something that reflects her values and her community, and in a landscape full of noise, she is one of the rare operators doing the quiet, meaningful work that actually moves the culture forward.
This is why Fat Nugs Magazine is proud to call Highlife Health a Retail Partner and why we are proud to share her story in The Hotbox.
