Ah Warner | Founder and CEO, Cannabis Basics

Ah Warner holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Washington in Gender and Women’s Studies. She is the Founder and CEO of Cannabis Basics, Seattle’s Own since 1995. Additionally, she is the Co-author and Chief Orchestrator of the 2016 CHABA law, successfully removing Cannabis Health and Beauty Aids from the Washington Controlled Substances Act, allowing them to be sold on the mainstream marketplace. Ah is also the Founder and Executive Director of ICHABAPA (International Cannabis Health and Beauty Aids Producer’s Alliance).

Ah has received the Hemp Times 1999 Bioneer Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Body Care” and the MJBA Women’s Alliance Special Award for her focus and dedication to the women in Washington’s Cannabis Industry. And “just for fun”, she is the Founder and Director of Women of Weed, a private social club based out of Washington state, established in May 2013.

How do you incorporate gender parity, social justice, and environmental sustainability into your work and the growth of your business/organization?

I’m completely conscious, when hiring, to support qualified women and foster their empowerment to achieve their goals in the cannabis industry. And although, Women of Weed (the private social club) was not set up to be business-focused or even activist-focused, creating this nucleus of involved women to commune and share ideas, promotes the new generation of activism and businesses.

In terms of social justice, I’m the Treasurer and guiding member of NORML Women of Washington. We focus on cross-generational and family-focused, outreach and education in an effort to normalize cannabis users and culture. In the same vein, my company is very “out” as a queer-owned business, in order to promote visibility, acceptance, and diversity in both the private and business sectors.

In terms of environmental sustainability, Cannabis Basics currently makes every effort to reduce, recycle, and reuse all shipping and packaging materials.  Much larger than that, I have been working for almost two decades to bring industrial hemp farming back to the state of Washington. As of June 2016, Washington state legislation was enacted to allow for the production and research of industrial hemp, and we intend to get one of those research permits. In addition to that, we are planning to build the Cannabis Basics Center, which will include this hemp research, a cannabis museum, an events center, a series of “hempcrete” cabins for overnight stays, a wellness and treatment center, and state of the art sustainable production facility.

Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannabisbasics1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cannabisbasics

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cannabis-Basics-408941189152729/