Women in New Jersey’s cannabis industry opening the doors for others to succeed

As the state’s recreational cannabis industry continues to boom nearly two years after its launch, women are becoming an increasingly large part of its success.

The legal cannabis market has largely been a white, male-dominated field. But New Jersey’s legalization law includes a social equity component intended to prioritize applicants who are women, people of color, and those hurt by the War on Drugs, among others.

Women involved in different facets of the state’s cannabis industry told the New Jersey Monitor that being a woman in the business is not without its hurdles. They still face blatant sexism. They have trouble securing capital compared to their white, male counterparts. And even with New Jersey’s goals to provide social equity when approving cannabis licenses, the industry remains male-dominated.

So while they agree there are more steps to take toward equity and equality, they attribute their success to a supportive system of women cannabis entrepreneurs who lift each other up.

“I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of female mentorship in the cannabis space, which is how I gained the knowledge and competence to be where I am today. There were women who opened the door for me,” said Fran DeRogatis, owner of Bloomfield dispensary Nightjar.

Of the 1,600 cannabis licenses approved by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission — which oversees the state’s industry — more than 400 are for majority women-owned ventures. The 100-plus dispensaries in New Jersey are operated by 81 companies, and 39 of those are majority-owned by women, according to state data.

Commission chair Dianna Houenou said the women-led board sets an example for other entrepreneurs.

“Women are developing and implementing sweeping regulatory policies, owning, and managing thriving cannabis businesses, educating the public about emerging industry issues, and devising creative solutions to succeed despite the obstacles,” Houenou said in a statement. “Their expertise, creativity, and dedication drive growth and promote diversity and inclusivity within the industry.”

How women have broken into cannabis

Precious Osagie-Erese founded a cannabis delivery company called Roll Up Life with a childhood friend in 2018, hoping to open a store in her hometown of East Orange. But after facing rejection for a municipal license, she started her second company, Precious Canna Co.

As CEO of the preroll company, she designs packaging, chooses the strain of weed, and talks to stores about stocking her prerolls. The idea came to her, she said, after she realized none of the branding or packaging on existing products spoke to her. She named it after herself not just to have ownership over her product, but to show other women they can build their own brands and see them succeed, she said.

Osagie-Erese calls her company the “birth child of all the hardships,” in part due to the fight she had to get her last one off the ground.

“I’ll be able to use that background, and a lot of barriers and obstacles I went through, to form something that I think will help create an even more lasting impact, that shows women — especially African American woman — that there is a lane, even if the door shuts in front of them,” she said.

Matha Figaro’s journey from the illegal street market — otherwise known as the legacy market — to today’s legal market has also been one of struggle. She left behind a fine dining career and shifted to selling butter cakes at Jersey City farmers markets, and began infusing them with cannabis after a customer said his mother was using cannabis medically while undergoing chemotherapy.

Her company, ButACake, became an exclusively infused baked goods brand, which served the unregulated market from 2016 until last April. Now, she holds a partnership with ColumbiaCare, a cannabis company with stores in New Jersey and Delaware that distributes her products.

But the state’s requirement to have a business address to apply for a license meant she had to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent space before she could legally sell her products, she said. And when it comes to getting products like cookies and brownies in stores, it can take as long as six months to be approved by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission and undergo testing.

Figaro, who is Haitian-American, criticized the rollout of legal cannabis in New Jersey. Grant money wasn’t equally distributed, people had trouble qualifying as social equity applicants, and officials dragged their feet on regulations and approvals that led to a delay in sales and a lot of wasted money, she said.

About 0.37% of all venture capital across all industries goes to Black women, according to a 2021 study from data provider Crunchbase. Figaro, the first Black woman cannabis manufacturer in New Jersey, said state regulators and the cannabis industry need to find ways to improve that statistic.

“It’s not like we’re out here not asking. There’s not that many Black women publicly asking to get into this space even. For the five of us who are here and want to do this, it shouldn’t be that hard,” she said.

For women to continue to succeed in the cannabis industry, there must be a “statewide intentional effort,” said Jessica Gonzalez, a cannabis attorney at Rudick Law Group. Lowering the barriers to entry for businesses owned by women — and particularly women of color — will require solutions from all parties, she said: the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the Legislature, and municipalities across New Jersey.

Still, many business owners applaud New Jersey cannabis officials for their commitment to prioritizing inclusivity and taking diversity seriously. Osagie-Erese lauded New Jersey’s move to “set the tone” early by appointing a Black woman, Houenou, to chair the state cannabis agency, while DeRogatis attributes the tight community of women in this space to the state prioritizing women- and minority-owned businesses at the forefront.

“It’s never perfect, like licensing schemes are always challenging, but they’ve done a lot right in terms of prioritizing diversity and helping women-owned businesses in the state of New Jersey,” she said.

Finding support in their communities

Cannabis is very much a boys’ club — think of a “stoner” and you probably think of a male skater type — but the women now entering the industry are helping to shift the narrative, said Osagie-Erese.

The women all reiterated their appreciation for the strong female mentors they have, and the importance of those who paved the way and continue to reach back to help others at the starting line.

DeRogatis runs Nightjar with her co-founders, Amanda Rositano and Katie Covett. Not only is her team women-led, but the attorneys and advisors Nightjar works with are also women.

“We truly believe that to bring women up, not just in the industry, but in general, is to give women opportunities, to give them our money and our time and to make sure that we’re putting back into that ecosystem,” she said.

Women are driving conversations in the industry, she said. Having women as decision-makers leads to more products that are geared toward them, like products for period cramps or sexual health.

Figaro noted she also has a team of women helping her. One of her customers in the unregulated market helped her get the $20,000 she needed to secure a manufacturing license. Another friend, her “right-hand woman in the business,” has been a great sounding board for her. She pointed to other female business owners who care about her products and promise to carry them in their stores.

All that support made it easier to make the decision to partner with a big company in an effort to get her products into more customers’ hands.

“Back then I thought it was like David and Goliath, but having those women to speak with, it really pushed me along and it really made the difference,” she said.

’Support the individuals who paved the way’

Over the six years Gonzalez has been involved in cannabis, she’s learned the “art of politics and art of effective education.” She urged women looking to break into the industry to educate themselves on cannabis and business policies at the local, state, and national levels.

“Start working with the cannabis community and support the individuals who paved the way. Figure out what type of advocate you want to be and leverage your expertise to propose solutions,” said Gonzalez, an Ecuador native who now lives in Jersey City.

Osagie-Erese also encouraged other women to ensure they are educating themselves on business in general and cannabis before jumping into the industry. She spent nearly two years researching not just how to pitch ideas and fundraise, but also the history of cannabis and how the endocannabinoid system works.

“When we look at diversity numbers, we do not understand why we’re not seeing more women, not seeing more Black- or brown-owned companies. I always say when we get to the education that doesn’t always enter spaces where Black and brown people are, we will see those numbers increase,” she said.

Figaro stressed that succeeding in the business is hard, but it’s not impossible. Something that started for her as a passion project at farmers markets transformed into a business with products for sale in two states. Figaro called this a “blessing.”

Her advice for women is to be relentless, not to take no for an answer, and force your way into the business if you have to.

“Ultimately, the more of us that do it, the more well-rounded this industry will be. Hopefully, in a couple of years, we won’t be talking about how only 2% of us own the market. We’ll be talking about how 50% of us own the market,” she said. “So to all the girlies out there — stay with it.”