Women are one of the fastest-growing and most influential forces shaping the cannabis industry.
In 2023, women ages 19 to 30 reported higher cannabis use than men for the first time, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study. Today, roughly one in three women in the United States consumes cannabis, and women account for more than half of users on major platforms.
Women are driving demand for products rooted in wellness, microdosing, beauty and functional health. They are pushing for transparency in testing, more thoughtful retail environments and marketing that reflects real use rather than outdated stereotypes like the well-caricatured stoner bro.
Cannabis Capital Tells a Complicated Story
Fewer than a quarter of cannabis companies are women-owned. Women-led businesses receive less than 3 percent of total industry financing. The gap between influence and ownership remains one of the defining tensions of the industry today.
“Titles are progress. Ownership is parity,” Sarah Strickler said. Strickler is the cofounder of Grown Rogue, a flower-forward cannabis company rooted in Oregon’s Rogue Valley.
Cannabis remains a capital-intensive industry with limited access to traditional financing. Without capital, scaling a business is difficult. Without ownership, long-term wealth and influence remain out of reach.
Kim Seefried of Safe Harbor Financial, a financial platform delivering smarter banking, lending, payments and business services specifically tailored for the cannabis industry, sees this imbalance firsthand.
“The reality is that women-owned businesses still receive a fraction of available cannabis financing. That imbalance is not about capability but rather access,” she said.
Women Redefine the Industry’s Evolution
At the same time, women continue to shape nearly every dimension of the industry, from cultivation to compliance, from branding to capital markets, their influence is expanding. In real estate and investment, where capital decisions often determine who grows and who stalls, that influence is beginning to take hold.
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“Capital and ownership ultimately drive influence,” Niki Krear said. Krear is Vice President of Acquisitions for of NewLake Capital Partners, an internally managed real estate investment trust that provides real estate capital to state-licensed cannabis operators.
The conversation around cannabis has also evolved, and women have played a central role in that shift. Anne Donohoe of KCSA Strategic Communications notes that the industry has moved toward a more mature and responsible identity, with greater focus on health, transparency and long-term sustainability.
“[Women’s] leadership has not only helped legitimize the space, but has also expanded how the industry sees itself and how the public understands it,” Donohoe said.
Progress Without Repair Isn’t Equity
The War on Drugs disproportionately harmed women, particularly Black and Latina women. Incarceration rates surged over the past several decades, largely tied to nonviolent drug offenses. The consequences extended beyond prison, affecting housing, employment and family stability. Betty Aldworth, Co-Executive Director of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) knows this reality firsthand.
“As cannabis legalization advances, we cannot allow a new industry to thrive while ignoring the women harmed by prohibition,” she said.
A layered reality complicates the idea of success for women in the cannabis industry. Equity requires repair, access and sustained investment in the people who were most impacted.
Women are already leading across the cannabis ecosystem. They are building companies, sustaining community, shaping policy and redefining how the plant is understood and used.
The next phase of the industry will depend on whether that leadership is matched with ownership, capital access and structural support. Influence can shift a market, but ownership determines who benefits from it.
