Let’s Talk Cannabis Culture
Why I Won’t F-ck With CannaBrands That Don’t Consume, The Most Effective Form of Marketing in This Industry, And The Hypocrisy That We Need to Fix ASAP
We’re bringing cannabis education to the Light Culture podcast!
Check out the highlights of our discussion below, or CLICK PLAY listen to the full interview right here.👇
David: My name is David Herskovits. I'm the founder of Paper Magazine and this is Light Culture.
Our guest is Tammy Pettigrew, better known as the Cannabis Cutie. She has carved out a niche that incorporates many aspects of what I talk about here on the show.
Armed with an MBA and the blessings of Snoop Dogg, she's a fixture of the LA cannabis scene.
She knows a lot about what's coming up in the future for cannabis.
Tammy: Thank you so much, David, for having me. And thank you for that awesome introduction.
David: Oh, yeah, you're welcome.
So tell us what you see coming up for New York?
Tammy: With New York, you're talking about the biggest population of cannabis consumers.
Ideally, you would like to see New York get it right in the way California got it wrong. We want it to be a fair and equitable market so that the people that deserve a chance at this industry get it.
And then we want quick and safe access to medicine and realistic rules. So that's what I'm hoping to see with New York.
New Yorkers are making a lot of quick progress and got the legislation that the people wanted. So right now, it's promising.
David: So let's talk a little bit about California. Los Angeles, in particular.
It seems to be out of control, in some respects. It’s out of control in the sense that there's so much going on, so many new brands, so many people sniffing around to get a piece of the action.
How does that feel to you? Do you feel like that's something you can be a part of or does it make you hesitant?
Tammy: There's so many people coming into cannabis that don't even consume the plant. And those are the kinds of companies and brands that I'm not really interested in learning more about.
What I am interested in is seeing more equity brands.
There's a lot of communities that have been decimated by the War on Drugs. I want to see more dispensaries in those communities.
California has failed in that sense. I think they've done a better job in the Bay area, but it’s still rough.
You need about a million to get started with anything in cannabis cultivation and retail.
And for the communities impoverished by the War on Drugs, how do those people get a fair shot?
Because obviously the War on Drugs did not do these communities any positive service.
And there's a lot of people with a lot of money coming into cannabis. But your connection to the culture and to the plant is what I'm looking for.
David: Part of your business is consulting for brands, who are either in the cannabis space or looking to get into it. So what do they come to you for?
Tammy: They come to me to tap into the culture. There's so many dope people who have cannabis lines and aren’t well known, even if they’ve been around for twenty years.
So how do we connect you to the culture? Well, you've got to have somebody in the culture.
And that's what I can help with. I can help build your brand story and get it across so that people are open to receiving it.
As a community, cannabis users are very leery of newcomers.
So when you have somebody who is trusted by the community and who can directly put you in front of the proper audience, I think that is much more beneficial than all the money, beautiful branding, and packaging you can have.
David: Do you introduce them to people who could help spread the word about their brand?
Tammy: So how that's gonna work is it can be anything from writing and getting it to my media partners to just spreading the word. And then it's also just myself associating with your brand.
I help bring it to the culture. I’ll put it up at an event and people are going to naturally ask questions, “Hey, I see that you talk about this brand a lot. Can you tell me more?”
I believe word of mouth marketing in the cannabis industry is the best type of marketing. We are a very connected group of consumers.
And then, obviously, I can see where your pitfalls are. Maybe people don't trust your brand, so we're going to work on that. And again, that can be done via brand story or just association.
David: What if a brand contacted you, but you didn't feel like they were really authentic in their goals. How would you respond to that?
Tammy: If I don't feel like they're authentic, I just won't work with them.
There's been plenty of instances where I've refused service because the client just wanted to throw money at the situation. They didn’t want to be present in the community, just sell to it.
I can't make you authentic. So if I don't feel like it's a fit, and I know that the community is not going to react well to you, I'm not going to take you on as a client.
David: Does that apply to all the people who do what you do, or is there a pay to play side to this industry as well?
Tammy: I think there are people entering the cannabis industry today who just want to make money, and that's okay.
And there are advocates, influencers, and marketers willing to work with those brands.
For me, though, I'm very purpose driven. My goal is to help change the world and get cannabis legalization universal. It’s not just about money, it’s a cause.
So if I feel like you're just a company who's here because it's an opportunity, I respect you and wish you the best, but I'm not the consultant for you.
David: Earlier, you mentioned communities that were affected by the War on Drugs. Is that a place that you come from?
Tammy: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I grew up with such a negative view of cannabis because of what it did to my community.
In my community, cannabis, because of the laws in place, took away mothers and fathers from their children, leaving kids in foster care or in a single parent household.
You get people with records, who lose jobs and social mobility. What is being done to help my community? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Cannabis is being gentrified in Oklahoma because of a new cannabis industry, and nobody cares about what was done before that gentrification started.
These laws are the most dangerous thing about the cannabis plant, and that's where my passion comes from. I see people in this industry that are like, “Oh, this is gang shit. It's fine. It's cute.”
But no, actually, there are people who are still living with the consequences of decisions that they made 30 years ago when the law was stacked against them.
David: Did anything like that happen to you particularly? When you mentioned people having their children taken away from their fathers, their mothers and all those terrible effects, that was by the police, right? Not because they ran away from home or because of cannabis.
Tammy: I actually started in San Diego and moved to Oklahoma City as a child. And it was such a different world.
The perception of cannabis in Oklahoma was that it was the same thing as crack cocaine. And it was treated as such.
And I say legal kidnappings because that's exactly what it was—the police kidnapping people for cannabis use, for smoking a plant.
But now Oklahoma is the Wild Wild West when it comes to cannabis, which is very ironic. You can't go more than a square mile in Oklahoma City without there being a dispensary on every corner.
And there are so many people migrating to Oklahoma for this industry. People from California, Colorado, Arizona, all bringing their expertise to get into the market. So now it is a booming industry.
But it doesn't take away the fact that Oklahoma still has the number one incarceration rate of women.
And a big part of that is because of cannabis.
So it's beautiful to see Oklahoma switch gears, but can we please release the people still in prison?
And can we please clear the criminal records of the released? They can’t vote, get loans, or get a good job.
Being legally discriminated against for the rest of your life impacts generations–children, your children’s children.
We are segregating these people from the world.
David: It's terrible. It’s also eliminating some of the most creative and intelligent people who could make a contribution to our culture.
You went to the University of Miami and have an MBA from the business school there. How did the professors and students respond to your interest in cannabis? Were they open to it?
Tammy: Yeah, actually, I had many classmates who tried cannabis for the first time with me.
And I also had two professors in particular who had no idea about the science and potential of cannabis.
David: Now they're starting to incorporate cannabis education into actual classes and universities.
And it’s a shame that, at the same time, we still have people locked up while they're teaching this in school and people are getting rich on it.
It's always a huge glaring point for me to think about. Even in New York, where it is quasi legal, you're allowed to have possession of three joints and smoke anywhere that cigarettes are allowed. However, there's no way to buy it legally. So what is that? What kind of message is that?
Tammy: I think it's right on par with our nation. It's illegal at the Federal level, but in many States it's legal. So we have this contradiction.
Washington DC has the same thing. You can legally possess it, but it is illegal to purchase it at the same time.
So you have to get creative. You buy a $60 sticker with the understanding that you're not purchasing cannabis, it's just being donated to you alongside your legal purchase.
There's so much contradiction, and I think there will continue to be contradiction until it’s legal federally.
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