EPISODE #136 Social Equity In Cannabis with Yoko Miyashita & Janessa Bailey, CEO and Culture Editor at Leafly

The Cannabis Conversation | Medical Cannabis | CBD | Hemp

On this week's episode, we welcome Yoko Miyashita (CEO) & Janessa Bailey (Culture Editor) from Leafly - the world’s largest cannabis information resource and technology company.

We dig into the Seeds of Change report that Janessa wrote for Leafly, and discuss some of its findings around social equity in cannabis, including the impact of an unequal cannabis industry, how we are still battling the negative consequences of prohibition today, and how the cannabis industry can deliver transformative justice to those who need it most.

Learn more about Janessa's Seeds of Change report here - https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/leafly-seeds-of-change-2021-report-rates-states-on-marijuana-equity

→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e136

About Yoko Miyashita

Yoko Miyashita was appointed CEO of Leafly in August 2020 after serving as the company’s General Counsel since 2019. Yoko has spent her career serving mission-driven companies navigating complex global regulatory environments in order to bring meaningful and compelling products to market.

An expert in policy and advocacy, as General Counsel, she led Leafly’s position on key regulatory, compliance and government affairs issues. She has focused on progressing Leafly’s reputation as a trusted and authoritative cannabis resource and leveraged an understanding of current cannabis regulations, and opportunities for change, to help scale Leafly’s product and sales strategy.

Previously, Yoko spent 14 years at Getty Images, where she led the global legal team as SVP and general counsel. Prior to joining Getty Images, she practiced law with Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle. She holds a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

About Janessa Bailey

Janessa was born and raised in the Midwest, and serves as Leafly's current culture editor. She has a background in content, activism, and African-American Studies. Janessa Bailey is Leafly’s culture editor, the creator of Lumen, Leafly’s digital space highlighting Black entrepreneurs, creators, and growers in the cannabis industry. Among other topics, Janessa has written about equity, cannabis businesses, and the War on Drugs.

Quotables

‘Journalism, medical science, political activism, economic opportunity. That's the magic of cannabis. That's what this plant holds’ - Yoko 8:45

‘Leafly is part of the connective tissue of this industry, in particular in the US’ - Anuj 17:07

‘For me, social equity is a means of accountability and a means of doing something new, acknowledging the gap, first of all, and then closing it, particularly in the cannabis industry, where things simply aren't balanced’ - Janessa 18:57

Resources

Leafly’s Website: https://www.leafly.com/

Join Yoko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoko-miyashita-4829161

Join Janessa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janessabailey/

Read Seeds of Change: Strategies to create an equitable cannabis industry By Janessa Bailey:

https://leafly-cms-production.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/25091621/Leafly-2021-white-paper-Seeds-Of-Change-by-Janessa-Bailey-1.pdf