Ganja Goddess: Tara Wells Considers Cannabis Divine and Wants Women To Be Bold

Before her career in cannabis, Tara Wells was an Emmy-winning executive producer and writer for “The Amazing Race” on CBS. Her background in production, business, and marketing has made her adept at understanding the cannabis market.

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AUTHOR: Heather Allman

PUBLISHER: CANNABIS LAW REPORT

 

Tara Wells of Ganja  Goddess Considers Cannabis Divine and Wants Women To Be Bold

 

Before her career in cannabis, Tara Wells was an Emmy-winning executive producer and writer for “The Amazing Race” on CBS. Her background in production, business, and marketing has made her adept at understanding the cannabis market.

Currently, however, Tara Wells is leading the way in cannabis delivery and paving a path for future women in cannabis. She is the founder of Ganja Goddess, a premium brand with delivery services and award-winning products.

They cater to consumers in California, the world’s largest cannabis market. Wells recently launched CBD Goddess, a national, e-commerce site for consumer and pet CBD products.

Tara Wells, Founder of Ganja Goddess and CBD Goddess

Overall Experience: 

With more than 10 years of experience in retail cannabis, Tara Wells saw early on that women were often overlooked in the cannabis market, despite the fact that they have the largest purchasing power in the home. 

Moms, career professionals, and others were underserved, which only made Tara become more determined to make the cannabis experience esthetically beautiful, judgment-free, safe and convenient for everyone —especially women.

 

Overall Business Goal: 

Create and offer welcoming, nonjudgmental, safe, convenient cannabis access for everyone.

 

Overall Mission: 

Deliver the ultimate cannabis experience right to people’s doorstep –regardless of where they live in California– in an easy and accessible way, and normalize cannabis.

On September 24, 2020, I talked with Tara Wells, Co-Founder of Ganja Goddess and firm believer in divine Cannabis.

CLR: Where in Florida did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

Tara Wells: I grew up in the mostly undeveloped Florida Keys, and I had a very free, nature-oriented childhood. I learned to boat at age 10, and I love nature! I was immediately enamored and felt very connected to nature in my youth. 

CLR: Why do you love what you do?

TW: Firstly, I love plants. I realized early on how connected to plants we are as humans. When my plants would grow, I found that empowering, that I had played a minuscule role in that creation. 

Secondly, I witnessed firsthand the healing and therapeutic properties of Cannabis and CBD, and what they can do to enhance the human body naturally.

I noticed such a huge difference in my own body’s inflammation when I used this amazing plant.

So, my own experiences using it and my health results, and then viewing the changes and results that our little group of consumers experienced with Cannabis and CBD use made up my mind for me. 

CLR: What are your most memorable milestones in Cannabis?

TW: A few major milestones for me personally occurred in the past decade:

  • In 2006, I started in the world of Cannabis.
  • In 2011, Ganja Goddess was founded, with an online ecommerce platform, delivery, and over 150 cannabis brands offered.
  • In 2014, Ganja Goddess owned its first retail storefront in Seattle, and recently, in 2020, CBD Goddess was launched.  

CLR: If you were a “triple threat,” what three words would you use to describe yourself?

TW:

  1. Happy and Positive

  2. Compulsive in my attention to detail

  3. Intuitive

CLR: Mainly, there are two distinct kinds of cannabis intentions:  (1) people-centric, or compassionate or (2) profit-centric, or capitalistic.

How do you reconcile the two in order to maintain a balance?

TW: People are the reason I got into this business, but you have to be successful to keep going, obviously. But it’s easy for me to stay focused on people despite profit because I believe in this plant and its therapeutic benefits!

I’ve experienced cannabis medicine working for me, my friends, my colleagues, and my family, so it’s not difficult to stay focused on my mission: helping people live their best life.

We craft our products for our consumers, first and foremost. Profit follows, or it doesn’t, but I’m staying in the cannabis space.

CLR: What is the most exciting thing in Cannabis right now, or shows the most potential?

TW: That this whole industry of Cannabis is only in its infancy, and the opportunity to research —objectively and without interference— is the future of the cannabis space.

Research will lead to more specific knowledge about cannabis use in individuals with certain conditions, and research will ultimately pave the way through federal legalization.

The ability to conduct clinical trials would be a fantastic opportunity to learn more detailed, individualized, and condition-based cannabis research.

Then we stay focused on people and how we can help them. 

CLR: Within cannabis, how do you actively work to promote parity and equality within your company? 

TW: We hire the best people for the job. Period. And we’re very choosy, or careful, when it comes to any partnership we form, with employees or otherwise.

CLR: What are simple but effective ways that other Cannabis entrepreneurs can promote diversity in employment and create an inclusive atmosphere?

TW: There is value in diversity and our work culture is healthier because we have so many unique voices. Every voice deserves to be heard, and at Ganja Goddess, we listen to input from all voices.

People reflect the diversity of life, and the cannabis space needs more diversity and inclusiveness.

So hire all the qualified people, all the best people and the best fit for the job, regardless of any other parameters. It’s really that simple.

CLR: What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a woman in Cannabis? What needs immediate attention?

TW:Where do I start? At least 90% of corporate leaders in the Cannabis industry are men, according to a April 2020 poll. Legalization would help matters, of course, but with such a nascent industry, there is no reason we can’t achieve gender and racial balance. 

“It’s crucial to actively make it [the Cannabis industry] welcoming to women.

The most highly prized Cannabis is the all-female plant: sensimilla. 

The whole industry is steeped in the feminine, which is one reason why I came up with the name Ganja Goddess” ¹

CLR: How do we collectively work together to normalize and de-stigmatize Cannabis? Give me a couple of concrete examples.

TW: Research and education. Talking about cannabis, and using it when necessary.

More importantly, though, we need to “live” our cannabis life every day and make it the core of all our decisions and actions. In the business sphere, but also in our various individual personal spheres, we have a responsibility to bring cannabis into every facet of our lives.

For example, concerning business, we at Ganja Goddess carefully consider cost in terms of  both affordability and accessibility. If people have access to cannabis, but can’t afford to buy it, then is it really accessible to everyone equally? No.

At Ganja Goddess, we take both factors into account in an effort to normalize cannabis use in a widespread way. 

Concerning the personal sphere, I used to throw adult-only cannabis parties where everyone would talk about this amazing plant, share uses for it, discuss its connection to the divine, and just enjoy pure socialization in a safe environment —while using cannabis.

Taking away the stigma in any way possible! Accessibility goes hand in hand with inclusiveness. For normalization to occur, we have to make it a normal part of daily life. 

CLR: What keeps you awake at night?

TW: That we’re going backwards as a country, concerning cannabis. This has to end.

CLR: What helps you sleep?

TW: I take an edible or tincture, like “Slumber.”

CLR: What is the best advice you can offer to other individuals and companies in the space?

TW: Keep your vision, but stay connected to the bigger, broader picture. Cannabis is a team effort, but each individual plays their individual, unique role if normalization of this plant is to occur in our lifetime. 

Above all, be extremely careful who you work with. That’s a big one… choose wisely. 

CLR: What are your biggest hopes for future women in Cannabis?

TW: That we even out the employment numbers to have more gender and racial balance and equality in the cannabis industry. My hope is that legalization and normalization will bring even more qualified women into the fold.

Women must be bold, though, and I have faith that this will happen in the next few years. 

 

¹ Interview with Medium, author Len Giancola

 

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