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Conversations with the Inspiring Jackie Wuest

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Wuest.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jackie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a mother of two, a florist and an organic gardener. After the recession, I watched several different flower shops close, so I knew there was little security in the floral industry. I was already growing cannabis so I decided to grow commercially. I had a vision of owning a cannabis cultivation facility that would fund a homeless shelter as the cost of living in Denver had risen and caused many good people to live on the streets… I am a big dreamer. So, I grew cannabis for seven different dispensaries in a five-year span… it didn’t go well. I had to excuse myself from some awful work environments. My reasons for leaving included being sexually harassed and verbally assaulted by co-workers and so-called supervisors. Being forced to work in moldy conditions until I was ill with a respiratory infection. I was forced to spray toxic chemicals on the crops. Once I was forced to harvest a crop that hadn’t been flushed, meaning the chemical fertilizers were still in the flowers, which is very bad for people. I watched trimmers get sick from trimming cannabis covered in powdery mildew. I wasn’t taken seriously by my supervisors or my peers, as I was often the only woman in the garden. I found myself hitting the glass ceiling everywhere I tried to work. Once I watched the owner of a dispensary personally ask each grower (there were eight of us, including me) what they thought the problems were. I patiently waited for the young male owner to come and ask me for my opinion as I had many ideas and solutions to the myriad of problems the garden was facing at the time. I was shocked and saddened that he never asked me for my opinion, it occurred to me that my opinion didn’t matter to him because I was a woman. It was painful for me as I wanted to help him have a healthy, lucrative garden- he was losing a ton of money hence the interviews with growers. Coming from an organic gardening background, it was hard for me to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I wasn’t in line with my values. I eventually went back to the floral industry. It was around that time that I had begun making all sorts of edibles and topical ointments from my homegrown cannabis. Why mother was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. She had a full hysterectomy and began chemotherapy. Luckily my mom enjoyed using cannabis so I gave her copious amounts of cannabis from my garden. I began growing hemp so my mom could incorporate CBD, cannabidiol, in her daily diet. We had been buying CBD from a local farmer, it was great but super expensive. My mom lived through eleven months of chemo and never vomited once! Her doctors were impressed with her quick recovery, she is now in full remission. I quickly discovered how much I enjoyed sharing my CBD body care products. When the farm bill passed in January, decriminalizing hemp, I started my own company, Colorado Medicine Woman. I was introduced to organic hemp farmers out near Paonia, Healing Greens Farms and I have been using their fabulous hemp flowers to infuse my organic olive and coconut oils. I am a Reiki master and I infuse all of my hemp medicine with Reiki which is pure healing light. I am finally in line with my values and my desire to help people. Knowing that many families and individuals struggle with the high cost of living in Denver, I offer philanthropy- discounts to get CBD to the people! I am blessed and I am grateful!!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Building Colorado Medicine Woman I have faced many challenges. I was kicked out of a small business program that was offered by the city of Aurora when I shared with them that I sell hemp products. They kindly informed me that I was no longer able to attend the class offerings and I would not be able to see the business coaches and counselors because it was a federally funded program and cannabis businesses were not allowed to participate! I was rejected by twenty different banks even though hemp has been decriminalized, they all denied me a business bank account because they don’t bank for cannabis businesses! PayPal shut me down for selling CBD and has kept hundreds of dollars that I collected with their card reader and my online store. I’m not sure I will ever see that money again. I had to build my own website (Not so easy for someone like me who is not very tech savvy!) as many online web building platforms would not host a CBD e-commerce website. The majority of my advertisements for CBD were pulled from social media as they were not supporting the sale of cannabis or hemp. Which made it near impossible to get the word out about my organic solventless CBD products. I have faced the judgment of those who do not know that Hemp is genetically different from medical marijuana and is non intoxicating.

Thank goodness I have a great sense of humor! Laughter has saved me from throwing in the towel. I say all this push back is the result of all the lies we have been told about cannabis! I intent to help our culture shed all this ignorance and fear! I intent to help teach the public the truth. We all have an Endocannabinoid system in our bodies. We require hemp just as our ancestors did. Hemp was the very first domesticated crop! We evolved with this plant. The founding fathers of our nation brought hemp from Europe and insisted that every farmer grow hemp! The American Medical Association (who’s mission is: “To Promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health” ) fought the federal  bureau of narcotics (who introduced the Marijuana Tax Act to make cannabis illegal in the 1930’s) in the  Supreme Court!  So another words our government went against medical advice and made cannabis illegal! Since then millions and millions of people have been incarcerated for this cannabis plant that does nothing but help us! No one has ever died from a cannabis overdose, in fact your body will store cannabinoids for later use! Unlike alcohol or other bad intoxicants that the body flushes out within few days. We are incarcerating innocent people and ruining lives with unjust laws!

My grandmother and my step grandfather were incarcerated for selling cannabis in the 1990s. I never saw my step grandfather again, he was deported back to Mexico. My grandmother died shortly after being released from prison. This is a subject that really pulls on my heartstrings! I just want everybody to know the truth!!!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Colorado Medicine Woman story. Tell us more about it.
I am finding myself completely obsessed with cannabis, especially hemp. I read about it, I write about it, I grow it, I use it, I talk about it with anyone who will listen, Hemp has become the backbone of my company, Colorado Medicine Woman. I am proud to be a cannabis advocate and educator! I love telling people about their endocannabinoid system, the ECS that works to keep their bodies in homeostasis. I love sharing my handcrafted hemp products with people and pets! My hemp oils are solventless and not from concentrate, meaning I don’t use chemical solvents to extract CBD and other cannabinoids nor do I source it from an extracting lab.

I use organic hemp flowers to infuse my organic oils to create my line of body care products. My hemp oil is truly full-spectrum, meaning all the cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that were in those sparkly hemp flowers are all in my oil. This is great since we now know about the Entourage Effect- the idea that using all the chemical compounds found in hemp creates greater healing potential than using CBD isolates alone.

I am proud to share that I only use natural and organic ingredients. My bath bombs each contain a semi-precious gem and are colored with beetroot and spirulina. My elixirs are flavored with organic and ingestible essential oils.
I am so grateful I found Reiki- or rather I am grateful Reiki found me! Reiki is a profound healing modality that induces deep relaxation. Reiki can heal the body, the mind and the soul. I give myself Reiki treatments daily to keep my mind optimistic, my body pain-free, and my spirit relaxed. I infuse each of my hemp products with Reiki to increase it’s healing potential. I offer Reiki treatments in person and at a distance. I also offer spiritual coaching for those seeking assistance on their journey. I love my job!

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
My advice for finding a mentor would be to go within. Make time for stillness and self-reflection. You have all the answers. Learn to love yourself. Learn to trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Be true to yourself, your values and your vision. All the helpers you require will be attracted to you, naturally.

When you require a teacher or a mentor to help you along the way, be sure they are in line with your core values. They don’t have to be saints, but you definitely want them to have a similar code of ethics. I would say the same applies to networking, in general. Again trust your instincts. You will know when someone is a helpful well-wisher or not.

I’d say I learned all that the hard way. I am way too trusting of everyone, right off the bat. It’s my nature to assume everyone has the best intentions… I’ve had to really learn to trust my gut and stop painting pretty personas on harmful or toxic people. I’ve learned to express my gratitude to those whom I can trust, those that are really on my team. True friends are the most valuable connections! Let love in and give love back! Let the rest fall away.

Pricing:

  • I offer Reiki and spiritual coaching on a sliding scale… $45-$85 per session. I wish to make the healing light of Reiki accessible to everyone!
  • I offer organic hemp (CBD) products from $10-$60 and I offer substantial discounts for those in need

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Jackie Rose Wuest

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