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May 7, 2025 13 mins
In this inspiring episode, Cannadave, Groovee, and Summer Skyyyy of MiCannaCast sit down with Brittney and Mia—two powerhouse women shaping the future of cannabis at Jardin. From humble activist roots and family farms to directing operations and cannabis education, they share the highs and hurdles of their journey. The conversation dives into love sparked over Carl Sagan, navigating a male-dominated industry, empowering women in weed, and the science behind picking the perfect strain. With laughter, honesty, and insight, this episode is a garden of growth, change, and good vibes. 🌱🔥



  • 00:00 – Intro: Meet the hosts, guests, and Hardeen vibes
  • 00:25 – Brittany’s journey from activism to Director of Ops
  • 01:18 – Cannabis advocacy through personal family experience
  • 02:04 – From retail to leadership: winning awards and breaking barriers
  • 02:38 – How Brittany and Mia met through cannabis (and Carl Sagan!)
  • 03:44 – Mia’s roots: from Maui Waui to medicinal use in Canada
  • 04:31 – What Mia does: education and the “sommeliers” of cannabis
  • 05:10 – Why education is key for legalization and access
  • 05:21 – Adversity as women in the cannabis industry
  • 06:16 – Brittany on creating inclusive space at Hardeen
  • 07:18 – Female consumers & cannabis: shifting the narrative
  • 08:41 – Male-dominated norms and the need for representation
  • 09:44 – Women empowerment efforts in Michigan & beyond
  • 10:22 – How one person (and one podcast!) can spark change
  • 11:00 – What change looks like: careers, growth, and inclusion
  • 12:03 – Female-focused cannabis products & terpene research
  • 12:37 – Professionalizing cannabis and destigmatizing the plant
  • 13:01 – Closing thoughts & shoutouts to the community
  • 13:31 – Outro: Advocate. Educate. Inspire.
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, what's going on everybody? It's candidate and my canic
cast and I'm really off camera.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
We got Summer Sky here. Who Mia and Brittany of Harden.
We're back at Hardean and we got some questions. I'm
gonna let us Summer kick it off, all right?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Awesome? Well, Brittany and Mia, thank you for having us
here at Hardean to interview you both today. Starting off,
we would love to learn more about your history, Brittany
and your experiences that led you to being right here.

Speaker 4 (00:25):
Oh, I appreciate that we I'm the director of operations,
but I do take ownership and accountability in the sense
of what we're growing here. So really really happy. I
like to tell people I have two resumes. I have
my tech resume and then I have my trap resume.
So I started this industry about over a decade ago.

(00:49):
I started in activism, so a lot of people their
first time trying cannabis might be through smoking or consumption.
I did it because my grandfather was a wh fucking
dare sign.

Speaker 5 (01:00):
So I started in advocacy.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
I was the person that was tying the red ribbon
on the gate saying don't do drugs.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
And then when he had cancer.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
The doctor had offered him cannabis to help with his
pain and then also his appetite. But my entire family,
including myself, said no, don't do it, it's a drug.
From there, long story longer, I read everything I possibly
could find on cannabis at the time and realized, oh
my gosh, this is actually really.

Speaker 5 (01:32):
Good for you, you should try it.

Speaker 4 (01:35):
Since then, I've just been on this crusade of advocating
for people that are too sick to advocate for themselves,
and through that I've had a chance to work with
this plant from seed to sell, which has you know,
brought me here to Hardine, so really fortunate. Started as
the retail manager, then from there transitioned into the first

(01:58):
store director, and now I'm the first female director of operations,
which is pretty awesome.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, crushing and crushing, and you're just won the Activist
Award last year too.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
I appreciate that this year Humbly was able to take
home Best Management award as well. But our team in
total for the Nevada Cannabis Awards Music Festival brought in
eighteen trophies, so really proud of them and what we've
been able to accomplish here.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
You got to add more to your wall out there.

Speaker 6 (02:24):
Yeah, basically, absolutely, we're gonna need more space totally.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
And so how did you meet me on your journey?

Speaker 4 (02:34):
That is a great question, so quick caveat Me and
I will be together eight years in January, which is
pretty cool.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yes, congratulations, Yeah, we've we've been.

Speaker 4 (02:47):
Actually, cannabis is what brought us together, right, We had
met how most people meet, which is on an online
eating app. I was actually growing in northern California. We
have two family farms up there and in this tiny
place called Calaveris, right, and then in a fifty mile radius.
I think Mia was on the app, and then we

(03:08):
had connected that way, and then through talking about Carl Sagan,
who freaking loves cannabis and everything else, that's when it
kind of transitioned. I think what happened was I was
studying neuroscience and she was studying nursing, like two classes away.
I remember smoking a joint at the lake and then

(03:30):
she turned to me and was like, we should go
to school together. I'm like, yeah, you're right, and then
we completely switched our majors to business and then from
there we've just been on this crusade, so I love it.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
That's yeah.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, so your background.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
Let him know.

Speaker 6 (03:47):
Through my background so it's a little bit different than yours.
My grandmother grew up growing cannabis in Hawaii, you know that,
Maui wowie, And I've been exposed to it since a child.
And once when I got older, I was like, Okay,
let me see the medicinal aspect of this. Because I saw,
you know, the fun side of it and seeing how

(04:08):
it affected people where it improved their quality of life.

Speaker 5 (04:11):
I was like, I need to be part of this.

Speaker 6 (04:13):
And that was when I was in Ontario, Canada at
the time, and I had came back to the States
and that's when I met Brittany. And then that's the
cultivation side, right, So I got to see all of that,
which is really fun.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Cultivation is very close the plane. I love watching the
plant grow myself.

Speaker 4 (04:31):
And now we're here at Hardy Mia, tell them what
you do at Hardeen.

Speaker 6 (04:35):
Here at Harden, I'm the director for Learning and Development
at Hardin University, So we approach it very differently.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
Here.

Speaker 6 (04:42):
We approach it like Somalia's, so we go by effect,
the smell, the flavor profile and really trying to tune
into what is it that you want to experience because
people smoke and they're like, oh, you know what cannabis
isn't for me, I didn't have a good time. But
that's like having one burger at you know, some drive
through and thinking that's what all burgers taste like, right.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
It's really important.

Speaker 5 (05:06):
Yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
I love the university.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
I think that's three that you guys do the education
and have that going forward, because that's the main thing
to make this plan become more legal and accessible for
one is education. If I do want to dive in
some of the questions, somemmer, do you want to lead
it kick off some of those questions?

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Absolutely, and so thank you both for sharing about your
background and your experiences in cannabis as well as prior
and with that, we would definitely love to get some
advice on different situations that you've had in the past
and adversaries as women in the cannabis industry.

Speaker 6 (05:42):
For me, I think one of the adversities would be
when I was doing independent work for the cannabis industry,
people would be more cautious than they typically would because
they wouldn't want to give me certain opportunities because they'll say,
you know what, how do.

Speaker 5 (06:01):
I word this?

Speaker 6 (06:03):
They'll say, if I put this on your resume and
you take this position, it might hinder you from growth. Right,
So they're saying, not just like the industry itself, right,
even if it was for something like data analytics, they
don't want to put that on my resume because they're like,
it might hinder you from going to a different corporation

(06:24):
or whatnot.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
Really, that's my son.

Speaker 4 (06:29):
I have to like think about it because I've been
so fortunate to be a part of Hardine. Eighty percent
of our staff is female. Ninety percent of our staff
comes from multicultural backgrounds in different diversities. So I've done
a pretty good job of staying within an environment where
women empowerment is a really big thing and all the

(06:53):
gentlemen around us are super supportive. So that's the environment
I'm in now. I if I think back to some
of the adversities I've gone through as a female in
the cannabis industry, Well, we know that the industry is
very male dominated, so when you think about products, a
lot of times it's more geared towards males, but through

(07:17):
recent studies, especially throughout this year specifically, we've learned that
females are the most major consumers of cannabis. Right, So
now you see people starting to jump on when it
comes to campaigns for women. But I think that was
probably one of the more bigger challenges, is like finding

(07:39):
things that actually work for us and then gearing it
towards the female that actually consume, because it's super beneficial
when it comes to paid management, even appetite. I've lost
sixteen pounds smoking the right strains because Blackjack, for example,

(07:59):
I told you guys have this last time, but Blackjack
by fire Star it's like a pre workout for me.
So I use that too before I go in the gym,
and then afterwards I might smoke.

Speaker 5 (08:10):
Some haze and now my body is resting.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
So I think it's important for females to know that
this is actually beneficial for you. And now we're starting
to see that.

Speaker 6 (08:21):
And I think you made a really good point, Like Hardine,
I don't face any of those things that you know
I faced in the past.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
That's amazing.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, yeah, I love hearing that. Is there.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Do you think there's a reason why they wouldn't want
to put like certain positions on your resume and stuff
that would affect.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Going back to that, I think.

Speaker 5 (08:41):
They wanted me more.

Speaker 6 (08:43):
The person I'm talking about this is a guy that
would be like shut up in the middle of talking,
you know. So maybe it was just that one experience.
And I don't want to cap that all.

Speaker 5 (08:51):
For great thing.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Understandable, understand.

Speaker 4 (08:55):
But it's it's our opportunity. We call it mel dominated
industry for reason. You see a lot of males in
this industry. I think that at the end of the day,
you need a bit of everything, and so I've seen
organically what that does when we combine efforts together, and
so I really appreciate that you start to see that

(09:17):
movement moving forward.

Speaker 5 (09:18):
How is it in Michigan right now?

Speaker 3 (09:21):
Also very male dominated for sure, but there are some
notable women owners.

Speaker 5 (09:26):
That's awesome. That's awesome. We need to support that one hundred.

Speaker 1 (09:29):
Percent, absolutely absolutely. We actually work with a group what's
called the.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
Pink Sash goes by PS Society now women Empowerment Group,
and they do events in Michigan and they're now branching
out into other states in their areas.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
Actually we're based in Cali.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Now they're back in Michigan, so we work with that
and we sponsor them as the podcast. So we try
to help with the women empowerment because we think that
it should be more women in the industry being able
to have careers and growth and not be hindered by
a male dominant where there's like ninety percent males. We
respect what you guys do here and I love that
you guys have eighty percent of the workforce is women dominant,

(10:05):
and we like hopefully that transcends it more into Michigan
as well too, as we have a couple of good
brands out there. No Collexium, I believe is a woman's
own brand out in Detroit.

Speaker 5 (10:13):
Amazing.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
They do grow and they have their own retail shop.
So it's a fully ram so it's pretty sweet.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
Well, I'm sure you guys will get it. It takes
initiatives like this. I'm a firm believer in one person
can make a difference and if you just keep up
with that momentum over time, you're just going to see
it change, but for the better, right, because I don't
think people do it purposely, or maybe some do, but
at the end of the day, like what are we
going to choose to do, and that's to be conscious

(10:40):
of this and focus.

Speaker 5 (10:41):
On that as well.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, we're trying to brak some talle light and attention
to it.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
If by having the recording and all three of you
joining us and being part of this, we appreciate it
awesome And.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Then it's all about uplifting other women.

Speaker 5 (10:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (10:53):
Absolutely, and once when they start seeing it more, I
think we'll see more of a change and a shift.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
Couldn't agree more. They'll be soon, be soon.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
So what changes would you, ladies like to see in
the industry to help pave the way forward?

Speaker 5 (11:10):
Sorry, did you want to? Okay?

Speaker 4 (11:13):
I will say ladies first, No, I would like to
see more females in this industry. Ultimately, I have a
saying here at Hardine because it stands for garden, but
grow your career here at Hardin.

Speaker 6 (11:28):
Right.

Speaker 4 (11:29):
That's been a really big push for me in the
sense of, well, we could find jobs or we can
create them, right, and then we could stand by those
core values and kind of push it forward. So seeing
more females in this industry would be absolutely incredible. Think
about when you smoke the plant's fully female.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
It is that's the best part.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
And there's so many brilliant minds. If we just you know,
just look at that as a whole, I think that
would make such a huge impact, and I want to
hear some more voices out there. It also would be
extremely nice through that we're going to get more female
products in the sense of like more geared towards us,
because there's certain terpenes and cannabinoids that.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
Just help us.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
And I think that that's important to also research and
study and identify that how how it can help us
with our bodies, et cetera.

Speaker 5 (12:18):
Absolutely, I agree.

Speaker 6 (12:20):
Yeah, And then for me, I think, honestly, it just
comes down to, like what you said, those core values
and just getting more quality people and more professionals, you know,
you know, not to just focus on the gender, but
really just bridging the gap between business and cannabis and
cannabis and business, right.

Speaker 3 (12:37):
Exactly agreed, destigmatizing the plant, yeah, absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 6 (12:43):
And showing more cannabis professionals, you know, not the lazy
stoner but the present owner.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
You know. Absolutely, we're all productive stoners here.

Speaker 4 (12:51):
So I highly agree, no pun intended.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, and stuff. Well, honestly, I think think so that's it.
I appreciate Brittany, Thank you, Mia, Thank you Summer. Thank
you for leaving these questions you guys, Yeah, I got
nothing else, so anything, Summer.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
Oh No, I really appreciate both of your time today
and to be able to listen to your stories, your insights,
and to learn a little bit more about Hardine as well.

Speaker 4 (13:20):
Oh, we appreciate you guys coming through come by anytime.
You guys knew you're always family and welcome to our garden.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
Hey, we appreciate that, and as always everybody, we're here
to advocate, educate, and inspire to next time y'all, peace,
Let's go
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