REEL LIFE WITH JANE: ‘Mary Janes’ Director: Women Can Have Career in Cannabis

Below is an excerpt of an interview with Director Windy Borman after the Woodstock Film Festival Premiere of “Mary Janes: The Women of Weed”:

What has been the reaction of your documentary since it premiered at Woodstock? It was sad to hear that the percentage of women in the business has dropped.

It was very sad to learn that over the course of filming, the percentage of women who are senior leaders in cannabis has dropped from 36 percent in 2015 to 27 percent in 2017. This reinforced why Mary Janes: The Women of Weed, a film that celebrates female leadership in this new industry, is so important. Geena Davis says, “If we can see it, we can be it.” We need to show women that it is possible to have a career in cannabis—and there is room for them. This has been the number one takeaway from the film festival screenings.

The second takeaway was hearing the different experiences between the film audiences in California (which has had a medical marijuana program since 1996 and begins “adult use” sales in January 2018) and New York (which began medical sales in 2016). This illustrates why we need to have a national conversation about cannabis. We’re at a critical point with the majority of states legalizing some form of cannabis, but the federal government refuses to act, so the regulations vary from state to state.

We hope Mary Janes can continue to add to these conversations.

Read the full article by Lisa Iannucci on Reel Life with Jane.