12 Questions with Cannabis Advocate and Social Media Influencer The Mommy Jane

The Mommy Jane is a cannabis advocate and influencer helping smash the stigma of moms and marijuana. Check out this exclusive Q&A!

1. How did The Mommy Jane start? 

I was a mother completely wrapped up in wine culture. I was drinking every night (and some days), abusing prescription drugs that were (and weren’t) mine. I was overweight from my second pregnancy (a very unhealthy amount) and wasn’t mentally or physically healthy in any aspect. I had depression. I had so much postpartum anxiety and I honestly felt so lost as a mother and a human. 

My friend suggested I look into getting a cannabis card, and I am so glad she did because getting one CHANGED MY LIFE. Since there was/is a lack of education from doctors when you receive the card, I did my best using what Google had at the time and educated myself on all things cannabinoids and terpenes. I wanted to see which strains and products I should be looking after and which ones to avoid. Once I saw the success from trying these products, I figured I should start sharing the information with others, so if another person came along and they were tired of hating themselves, their life, their habits, they too could find the power in the plant and create their own magic. 

This was also at a time when Ryan’s Toy Reviews were EXTREMELY popular with my two young girls and so I began going to dispensaries on PADs and events that had goodie bags and began my own “dispensary hauls” on @themommyjane for adults to educate others on products that have helped me along the way. That ended up really taking off. Because at the time, NO ONE was doing that. Heck, there were hardly ANY cannamoms on the Instagram scene 4-5 years ago! Lucky me, the internet was thirsty for knowledge and I was ready to give it

2. What was the scariest time in The Mommy Jane business so far?

The scariest point was starting to be honest. As a mother who is divorced, I was constantly worried my ex would take my kids away from me. Lucky for me, they have actually been quite supportive considering the circumstances. I was also worried about my father’s side of the family, who is extremely toxic and vengeful. I was always anticipating that they would pull something dramatic to get attention in some unfortunate way (and they did). I was worried I was going to lose my marriage. My husband was very much against plant medicine or any medicine for my anxiety and depression for that matter. He had this insane idea that everyone can self heal without any sort of aid and just the power of the mind (because that’s what he did). We spent years battling with how much attention I was giving @themommyjane and what I was going to do with it. He hated the fact that I was being taken advantage of a lot in the beginning. It took years to get him on the green side and support me unconditionally. But man, those first few years running the community was ROUGH. 

3. When did you realize you could turn your passion for destigmatizing cannabis consumption for health, weight loss and motherhood into a career with The Mommy Jane? 

The community showed me that I could turn my passion into something big. I grew organically to 10K followers in less than two years. I wasn’t even doing giveaways at the time. People genuinely were showing up to learn about plant medicine, motherhood and mindfulness techniques. Once I began seeing other cannamoms names pop up with names like “MommyMaryJane” or “HighSocietyMoms” and “MommyNeedsCannabis” I knew I was influencing MANY others to do the same. That’s when I knew I was really starting something good and I could turn this passion into something bigger.

4. What was your first job in cannabis?

My first “job” in cannabis was writing for Direct Cannabis Network. I had a column called “The Conscious Entrepreneur” where I shared my journey of successes and failures. After being taken advantage of many times in the beginning of my career, I knew I had to use my voice to break the stigma of how we behaved in the industry. I felt that it was my job to not only share my journey and truths about the cannabis space but show people how to be more mindful of how they behaved toward one another. In my mind, we were never going to break the stigma of acting like every other industry out there. I am still so grateful they were willing to take a chance on me because once I was in as a “journalist”, that was when the opportunities really began coming in.

5. You hosted a viewing of “Mary Jane’s: The Women of Weed” by Windy Borman with Cannabis for Breakfast in 2018. What was your favorite memory from that Mommy Jane event?

That event is still one of the most pivotal moments for me in my career. It was my first hosting event and I was already such a fan of the movie after being a panelist for the showing in San Diego, but this time, I was doing something solo. For someone with social anxiety, this was such a stretch for me, but I am so glad I had the opportunity to do it. There was a moment, after the screening, where we were all around the fire and sharing stories of cannabis and how it had influenced and impacted our lives. Hearing these brave women share their experiences in front of others really put reality into perspective for me. These weren’t just screen names on a virtual platform, these women were coming alive and coming together right before my very eyes: connecting, commiserating, communicating in ways we don’t always get to. How primal, how beautiful. It was unforgettable. It reminded me of why I was here: to help women.

6. As an influencer in this emerging industry, do you feel a responsibility for also providing a platform for social, racial and ethical conversations happening in cannabis right now?

After being online for three years, I have tried my best to cover everything to make sure I hit all the marks, but I know I fall short at times. I do my best to lend a variety of information and humans, sharing what is relevant and still maintaining what I am trying to maintain, which is a health and wellness community. I could have gone down a more political path with my social media, my punk rock side would have LOVED that, but it just didn’t organically grow that way, and that’s fine too. I know my heart is good. I know I do my best. I know our industry has decades of work cut out for us to reverse the damage done to the minority communities, and we have years to bring more normalization to mental health and other invisible illnesses.

And at the end of the day, if people are going to judge me based on how much political stuff I post vs not, then my page and my life is not for them. There are plenty of social justice and mental and physical health pages dedicated to discussing these topics daily, and I will re-share from time to time, but my page was not meant to make that type of impact. 

It’s a page for people (mainly parents) to see the cannabis plant in ways maybe they haven’t seen before. As a way to get their health back, to get their life back, for motivation when they’re feeling that you cannot go any further with their job, their marriage or their life. Yes, we need to do better. But at the end of the day, I believe I am doing the best I can, and really that’s all that matters. Being a content creator is hard enough. Having 20 thousand eyes on you while you do it makes it is even harder. I can’t please everyone and I am not going to try. 

7. Who’s one of your heroes in the cannabis space and why? 

Shonitria Anthony of @bluntblowinmama is one of my cannabis heroes. I don’t tell her often enough, but she is the ultimate Cannamom crush! This woman is the epitome of breaking the stigma. Working for HuffPo, raising babies, breastfeeding, running a podcast, clothing line AND a Patreon. She is a BIZZNESS woman. And she looks so good doing it. How does this woman sleep? I also look up to her strength. Here I am, a white woman scared my kids could be taken from me any second because of what we do and she is a strong black woman running a social media community like a freakin BOSS. She feels the fear, and she does it anyway. If anyone wants to succeed in this industry, that is how it’s done. She is the ultimate advocate.

8. If there’s one thing you could say to your younger self? The one who first began your cannabis-focused Mommy Jane Instagram all those years ago—what would that be?

If I could say one thing to my younger self it would be to VALUE YOURSELF. Oh my god, I had no idea what power I possessed until it was damn near taken from me. Believe in yourself ladies and gentlemen, you have so much magic and energy and love to give. Don’t just give it out willy nilly. Be discerning.

 9. Biggest lesson learned since working in cannabis?

Don’t do anything without contracts or have at least have it written on paper. If you feel icky about someone; RUN. I had so many red flags that I ignored and I am lucky to be standing here today to share the truth with you. There are a lot of amazing humans in this industry, and just like anything else, there are also monsters. Some show their true colors faster than others, but I truly believe we know deep down if someone or something is toxic, long before we start to smell it.

10. What experience, project or advocacy efforts are you most proud of contributing to in the cannabis space this year? 

I recently partnered with emotional educator Joanne Dougan M. Ed. (@plancnow) doing virtual Zoom events educating others on how to use high emotional intelligence tactics to do some deep trauma healing. We have sold out every event so far and the feedback has been absolutely remarkable. We are changing lives in such a powerful way. I get texts and emails daily from these participants praising this program and thanking Joanne and me daily for putting something so impactful together. Since we began the launch back in September, I have actually consumed less cannabis because I feel so naturally high on life from helping these people out. Changing other’s lives for the better has actually positively impacted my life as well. I wake up each day so very grateful to be alive and do this.

11. How can readers view or contact you?

Please know that email is always best and you can all reach me at [email protected]

My website is themommyjane.com and all my socials are @themommyjane so please feel free to reach out. Just not in the DMs. 🙂

12. How can they support upcoming Mommy Jane projects or collaborations? 

If you are interested in collaborating, please email me so we can discuss further and see if it’s a good fit. Joanne Dougan, @plancnow and I will be launching another series before the year is up, so if you’re curious, follow my Instagram @themommyjane now if you don’t already so you can stay up to date with everything. These engagements are extremely intimate for a reason, so space is limited, which is why we sell out. Cannabis is awesome, but it’s not a cure-all. We are here to take you higher than you have ever been! So let’s get HIGH. 

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