by Contributing Writer Donna Michele Ramos
THE HUB: What has your experience been as a female in this industry that’s largely dominated by white males?
Wells: I started in 2006 with an edible business. I opened Goddess Delivers in 2011. I was the only woman. It was pretty daunting still. When I go to conferences the ratio is 80/20 male to female. I came into the cannabis business with the desire to heal. It’s dominated by men with money but my message is very female oriented and it’s a healing herb. I came from a TV producing background and that served me well. I’ve grown from a small business to 80,000 customers all over the state of California. Young males ages 21-35 purchase the most but the market shows women over 35 years old are constantly joining, and that’s who we cater to. We take a lot of time to help them, I’m very attuned to customer service. As a woman I believe very strongly in balance. Being a woman has given me a keen insight, most companies don’t have. Women want it for sex, fun, different ailments, anxiety, pain and sleeping. Older Americans use it for pain.
THE HUB: Do you think Black women and other women of color will be able to break into this male dominated industry?
Wells: I do. It’s like anything dominated by one specific race or class. Women have to work their way up, unless they have skills in marketing and computers. You have to push yourself like any job. When we put ads out we get 70% male and only 30% female response because of the stigma of cannabis in our country. We hire an even balance of male and female.
THE HUB: In terms of the long-time social injustices and criminalization against Black and brown people for possession of marijuana, do you think this will ever be reversed?
Wells: Yes, just recently reported on the news in L.A. County they reported that anybody in jail for marijuana will be released and their records expunged, if it falls within a certain parameter. This is great for young Black males and middle-aged males; especially the expungement that’s very important. We must work to get rid of this social inequity. The D.A. and prosecutors are working on that. Governor Newsom has worked statewide to help get this done.
THE HUB: How hard was it to get permits to ship your product throughout California?
Wells: We worked on licenses for two years and have been very active in the last five years with the government attending meetings, etc. Cannabis is healing on many levels but states treat it like it’s a step under plutonium. I laugh at the hoops we have to jump through to get things done. 66% of different counties, that don’t have retail outlets can now have access to cannabis because of our delivery system. Social acceptance has skyrocketed in California in the last two years. Our products are packaged and delivered by us around the state of California like Amazon. This is great because we can really customize delivery. Of course we have to make sure the customer is over 21 years old. Our customer service is great, we get back to people when they call and we are very discreet. We give guidance and make our customer feel secure. I want to make cannabis accessible and normalizee for the general public. I really believe in the healing power of this herb.
For more info visit: https://goddessdelivers.com/
Contributing Writer, Donna Michele Ramos
