“I am working hard to bring the highest quality certified organic hemp extracts & supplements to our clients while de-stigmatizing and normalizing cannabis.
— Jessica Bates, Moon Mother Hemp Company
How would you describe yourself and what you do?
I am a mother, herbalist, founder & CEO of Moon Mother Hemp Company.
When did you get started working with cannabis? What is your vision and mission for your professional cannabis endeavors?
I started working professionally with cannabis in my practice as a certified clinical herbalist eight years ago and began creating hemp based CBD products two years ago. I am working hard to bring the highest quality certified organic hemp extracts and supplements to our clients, while de-stigmatizing and normalizing cannabis.
What is your personal cannabis origin journey?
My journey with cannabis began when I was 13 when I smoked my first joint. It was a full on love affair for me from then on. This resulted in many years of mental, emotional and spiritual expansion and self exploration. Although mental expansion and recreational use has its own therapeutic nature, I didn’t begin exploring the physical therapeutic properties of cannabis until I was approaching it as a plant medicine from an herbalists perspective in my mid 20s.
When I started studying the physical benefits of cannabis, everything truly changed in my relationship with the plant. After years of working with the plant personally and in my practice, I began incorporating hemp based CBD into my line of herbal remedies and topicals. The shift from Moon Mother Medicinals, my former herbal remedies company, to Moon Mother Hemp Company, happened swiftly and organically as my clientele became aware of the benefits of CBD and the demand for those particular products grew.
With the growing demand for high quality hemp products, our company continues to grow and so does our team of dedicated cannabis lovers.
My thirst for knowledge about this powerful plant is unquenched still after years of studying, as scientific studies have only just touched on the plant’s capabilities.
My partner and I live in service to the plant, the soil and the earth as we work to bring cannabis normalization to our greater community and society and will continue to do so until the plant is free and so are all of its users.
What is your Superpower?
My superpower is vision and scope. I have the ability to zoom in or out from detail to big picture and out to the future and hold it all at once. The power of this kind of vision has helped me to build and run the growing company that we have today, while maintaining integrity and authenticity of where we started. As a “mompreneur,” this superpower is everything as it helps me to navigate my day and my many roles without losing sight of the bigger picture.
What has been your greatest obstacle in business to date – and how have you overcome it – or are you still working on tackling it?
My greatest obstacle has been the lack of regulation surrounding the industry. Last year, like many companies, we went through multiple credit card processors. We didn’t have some of the experiences with predatory processors like some of our colleagues did, but the uncertainty of it all is very stressful. A lack of regulation leads to a lack of accountability. We have had SO MANY packages stolen, many of which were taken by postal workers who had no accountability before the 2018 Farm Bill passed and the USPS stance on the shipment of hemp products changed. We still have a long way to go before cohesive regulation is in place and our industry is no longer preyed upon, but we are making strides.
What would you like women to know about entering the Cannabis industry or exploring Cannabis?
My vision for women in the Cannabis industry is equality and collaboration. We are definitely stronger together, and I have personally witnessed and felt the impact of this truth. My community of female CEOs and women in Cannabis have worked hard to support each other, from Instagram cohosts and giveaway collaborations to advice, a listening ear and shared experience as well as contacts.
When we work with the energy of collaboration versus competition, we can rise higher in a male-dominated industry.
I would also like to remind women entering into the industry to remember the men and women, whose lives have been destroyed by the war on drugs and all of those still imprisoned due to gross inequity. There are many organizations working toward equity in the cannabis industry and justice for those still imprisoned that need our support.
Connect with Jessica Bates:
Website: http://www.moonmotherhemp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonMotherHemp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/moonmotherhemp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonmotherhempco/
her canna life: high-minded women 