Grasslands Agency
February 27, 2024
This week on The Weedsmith, Grasslands’ show on modern cannabis leadership, Amber Senter voices her frustrations with new arrivals and changing values in the industry as it grows. As the executive director of Supernova Women, she gives us her thoughts about the importance of inclusivity and the shape the industry is taking on.
Transcription:
Ricardo Baca:
You are listening to The Weedsmith, a show about modern cannabis leadership. I’m your host Ricardo Baca and I’m here with our guest this week: Amber Senter. We all hope that we can make this a different kind of industry that is more inclusive.
But really the data is telling us that it is not going that direction. That this is going to look like every other industry. It is going to be male, it’s going to be white.
Amber Senter:
I think that you see that a lot in the old guard, the activists, the advocates of the plant. And with the new guard that’s coming in with the business acumen, It’s not the same values. It’s definitely changing.
Ricardo:
It must be interesting because up here in NorCal, you’re watching that clash daily, I’m guessing, between the old guard and the new arrivals.
Amber:
Yes, we are, daily. (Laughs) It’s hard. I feel like we’re rolling with the punches. We’re definitely getting punched and not necessarily falling down, but we’re rolling with them. You know, it’s been tough, it’s been tough seeing a lot of the industry change around us and it is literally daily. It’s awesome to see my friends making lots of money, selling their businesses and getting huge investments. It’s awesome, but a lot of these things are also coming with a price. And they're compromising things and you know, it’s tough to deal with.
Ricardo:
There’s also a lot of goodness that’s arriving with this change, right?
Amber:
I mean regulation, it’s good and bad. All the cannabis is tested to a certain standard, bringing some consistency to the market and making everyone level up. Stakes are higher, it’s risky. It’s just a different kind of risk than what we were taking 15 years ago.
