Visiting The CannaBoss Lady, a CBD Shop in New Jersey
As originally featured in Emerald Magazine
Published on April 21, 2021 by Kaylin Smida
Opening a CBD store during a global pandemic? That’s something only a real cannba-boss lady could do.
This April I got the honor of visiting TheCannaBossLady herself, Jill Cohen, and her CBD shop in New Jersey. Not only does she currently work for our very own Emerald Magazine as a managing director for Emerald Live webinars and ad sales, but she also managed to open her own cannabis shop in the midst of a global pandemic.
Cohen said that she was inspired to open TheCannaBossLady after her own experience treating anxiety with cannabis. As a working mom, she wanted to help educate others, particularly women, about CBD.
TheCannaBossLady Store
Her shop is located in Maplewood, New Jersey. It’s an adorable blue building at the edge of a similarly cute small town. The whole street is lined with different shops, cafes, and boutiques but hers stands out the most. Inside, visitors are met with chic green and pink decor and a gorgeous green couch with fluffy pink pillows. Over the couch hangs a neon pink sign that reads “TheCannaBossLady.”
Cohen said she wants her CBD shop to feel cozy. The big green couch, she explained, is a staple here. It invites guests to sit down, relax, and ask questions about CBD. She did not want it to feel too impersonal like some dispensaries can feel.
The store is stocked with products Cohen has personally selected, testing them out on herself and her family and friends. She only sells products from women-owned companies and makes sure they all have the proper lab results.
Cohen’s Impact
While I was there, a customer and her husband came into the shop. The first-time visitors were there for almost 20 minutes. Cohen helped her find a pain cream, and before the woman had even left, she told her she was already feeling relief. I felt like I got to experience firsthand the exact reason Cohen opened her store — to educate and help women.
Cohen explained that she feels as if the town of Maplewood has really accepted TheCannaBossLady. I got to witness that with my own eyes too.
While we were saying goodbye outside her shop, a woman walked by while walking her dog. She told Cohen how much she loved the products she got from the shop, and that they really helped her. Not even two minutes later, another woman stopped by with a similar sentiment.
Cohen’s shop has only been there a few months, she said, and she already has repeat customers.
Women in Cannabis
Cohen said that she used cannabis throughout her life to treat anxiety. But it wasn’t until she started working with Emerald that she found out just how helpful CBD could be for anxiety and pain relief — all without the intoxicating effects of THC.
As a working mom, she was really drawn to that. She also felt as though there were not enough women in cannabis. So she built a company that really focuses on women and their needs.
She has found a community with women in the cannabis industry, especially with other moms, she said. Before, she felt bullied by other women, or that everything was a competition. But in the cannabis industry, she found that women want to lift each other up and support each other.
Cohen wants to continue building up women in cannabis. To achieve this, she donates a portion of all TheCannaBossLady’s proceeds to three different women-focused causes. One is the Center for Asian Pacific American Women, which supports and creates networking opportunities for Asian American Pacific Islander women in leadership positions. Another is Supernova Women, which is a non-profit organization that helps empower women of color in the cannabis industry. The third is Dressember, which is an anti-trafficking organization.
Cannabis has become fully legal in New Jersey, and Cohen has applied for a recreational license, which she hopes to have by 2022. That will allow her to sell THC products in addition to the CBD product she already carries.
She wanted to create a space by women, for women — and she has done it, successfully. In the midst of a global pandemic, at that.
EmeraldLIVE: Cali Sober
The term “Cali Sober” refers to people who don’t drink but smoke weed. It's the latest trend in catching a buzz without the calories and hangover from alcohol.
Is it a lifestyle? A movement? or just a trend?
Hear from our esteemed speakers about this latest craze:
Andrew DeAngelo, Cannabis Industry Consultant, and Strategic Advisor, Co-founder of Harborside & Last Prisoner Project He is a visionary leader with a proven track record of enacting systemic social change and developing best practices in cannabis. DeAngelo has been an activist for over two decades, pioneering legal cannabis.
Libby Cooper, President, and Co-founder of Space Coyote She is an artist and established contributor/advocate in the cannabis industry. She's the creative genius behind Space Coyote, crafting a brand that stands out from the noise and pulls people in. Libby truly believes in smokable, potent products, affirming that women can be stoners and that being a stoner is celebratory.
Hadas Alterman, Founding Partner at Plant Medicine Law Group. Hadas is an Israeli-American attorney, born in Jerusalem and raised in San Fran. She has a J.D. from Berkeley Law and a B.A. in Community Studies/Agriculture & Social Justice from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Hadas advises companies on matters of regulatory compliance, policy advocacy, risk management, strategic planning, revenue models, corporate governance, and dispute resolution. Before founding PMLG, she worked with Wykowski Law & Associates. Hadas has led clients through successful cannabis license applications in California, Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania; served as counsel to equity applicants in Northern California, and worked with legacy growers in the Emerald Triangle. Hadas is a former restorative justice practitioner and community organizer dedicated to using the law to expand equitable access to plant medicine. She is the Policy Director of the New York drug decriminalization campaign Decriminalize Healing and a Board Member of the Psychedelic Bar Association.
EmeraldLIVE: The Hemp Revolution
The fact is, hemp is finally legal to farm again in the United States after being prohibited and stigmatized for over 80 years through false information and propaganda. This has created a wave of excitement across all facets of the evolving supply chain in regard to business development, innovation, sales, and marketing. Now that hemp is legal, the regulatory structure of the industry still needs to be clearly defined— this has brought both chaos and confusion, plus understanding and opportunity — all creating something genuine that benefits farmers, local communities, the environment, and humanity on a whole. Our political system is significantly fractured, to say the least.
With both Republicans and Democrats agreeing to support the reintroduction of hemp back into American agriculture, hemp has been a bright shiny anomaly in the midst of political division and partisanship. Watching this plant bring both sides together feels a bit surreal, but at the same time rather revolutionary. Whether in terms of immediate crisis, such as a pandemic, or long-term drum beating, one thing continues to be apparent and that is nothing seems to shut down the momentum of the Hemp Revolution. Maybe slow down, maybe realign path and direction, but there is no shutting it down outside of human extinction. Welcome to the hemp revolution!
@procannabismedia @theemeraldmagazine @thecannabosslady
@LastPrisonerProject @NORML @supernova @cait_curley
@nocohempexpo @scherilmurraypowel @zoewilder
Panelists:
Cait Curley is, Entrepreneur, Artist, Activist, Educator, Entrepreneur, social media influencer, marketing specialist, and content creator with a passion for all things hemp and cannabis.
Morris Beegle, Co-Founder & President of WAFBA (We Are For Better Alternatives)
Leading cannabis/hemp advocate and entrepreneur
Scheril Murray Powell
Cannabis, Agricultural, and Dietary Supplement Attorney
We’re excited to welcome you to our new Elevated dispensary experience, later this year.