From Bud to Boardroom | Season 1, Episode 1: Purpose and Policy – A Social Equity Entrepreneur’s Cannabis Journey

So before getting into cannabis, um, I was practicing attorney, um, mostly in criminal defense. After law school I did a little bit of administrative law doing Medicare and Medicaid appeals with a firm that helped do a lot of the amicus briefs for the Affordable Care Act when that whole thing was underway.

So a lot in public health. I've done some work in anti-gun violence in Hartford, working for the mayor, um, through the US Attorney's office, um, and still I view that as public health as well. And then I went into, um, working for the public defender's office for a few years, um, and then private practice while I was on my cannabis entrepreneurial journey.

So that's a little bit, you know, my professional background. I am born and raised in Connecticut, been here all my life, um, as you said, a mom to three amazing kiddos. And yeah, just always wanted to do something that I felt could leave an impact, a positive impact on my community, and also that was intellectually challenging and kind of fueled some passions for me.  

Sarah Westby: Yeah. So tell me a little bit about what sparked your interest in cannabis and how you got your foot in the door.

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, I think for me, so I'm a child of the eighties, so you know, the messages that we got, just say no. I never picked up any type of weed, cigarettes, alcohol, or anything, um, throughout my adolescence.

Really even in, in, well into my adulthood. But, um, during COVID I started to explore plant medicine and the benefits of cannabis, especially as it relates to PTSD and anxiety because like many people were scared not knowing what was going on. And it was really the first time in my life that I had to really stop.

And so that was more on like the holistic side for the personal use. Certainly cannabis has been, you know, a character in my life growing up in urban communities, um, the war on drugs, being a public defender and being a, a criminal defense lawyer. I mean, I have countless clients who were, you know, have been violated for utilizing marijuana. Or have been picked up on marijuana offences. And so when cannabis became legal here, you know, I really, it piqued my curiosity both from the holistic side, obviously the entrepreneurial-ship side and the, you know, the money-making possibilities. But also from the legal justice side of things really, it begged to me the question of, okay, so what are we going to do now that this is legal with all these folks who have records for, you know, that have marijuana charges on him and how are we going to redress some of this harm in the propaganda that came as a result of the war on drugs.

Sarah Westby: Yeah, and it's, it's interesting because Connecticut's market really came online in that post COVID era where cannabis use was probably at an all-time high. Um, there was a lot of investment in the industry. It had been declared an essential business um post COVID and so it kind of made sense for Connecticut to legalize when it did. And so in addition to the, the business aspects and the licensing, there was also the decriminalizing.

Tiana Hercules: Yes.

Sarah Westby: And so you've been involved on both sides of that. Um, so we'll talk about the business side in a minute, but could you tell us a little bit about your efforts on the social justice side and particularly your work with pardons?

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, so decriminalization has always been a big central part of like my ethos, both business wise and just personally. You know, whenever, even before it became legalized, I would always advocate for my clients to be able to utilize this as, you know, in a medicinal way.

Because that is essentially what I feel like whether you have a cannabis card or not, you are utilizing it for some type of wellness purpose. And so really trying to get courts and probation officers to see it that way. That's always been something that I've advocated for, but when the governor passed legislation and essentially certain records were being erased, which was a great thing.

I know being a practitioner on the ground, that hardly anyone has just a cannabis like offense on their record, right. You know, it usually comes with a breach of peace, a resisting, maybe some trespass. Like there's always gonna be more than just that offense. Even you know, so the arrest usually involves a lot more than that.

Right. And so it was like, okay, well that's great that the cannabis charges are going to be erased. But what about all these, this other stuff that's going to prevent, prevent people from having opportunity and access, whether in the industry or just in generally writ large in society. A criminal record is essentially an albatross for folks to try to move forward in their lives.

And so, it just seemed kind of like an opportunity for me to be able to bring attention to that conversation because there was so much excitement around the cannabis discussion and around erasing people's records that we could get support for just erasing people's records in general. And that's when, you know, um, the clean slate, you know, not, not the clean slate. What is the legislation? I can't even think of it right now, what is what it's called? But essentially the legislation that, um, changed the way that, that's changed some of the requirements with, with respect to pardons in Connecticut. It reduced the timelines it made, there are now, um, certain offenses that will be automatically erased off of your record. And so all of that was happening around the same time. And so what, what I was doing was allowing people to have access to a process that, for a lot, a lot of folks was very much, um, you know I was demystifying this process. People knew that at some point maybe they could get, you know, a pardon in, but there was so much, um you know, misconception around what exactly that entailed. A lot of folks didn't know how to access the process. A lot of people didn't believe, certainly in the process, if you haven't had good outcomes or positive outcomes with the criminal legal system, you're not like signing up to like, you know, go down to the police department and be fingerprinted and get your background report and things like that.

And so it was getting out in the community, educating folks on the pardons process. And then I would hold clinics essentially for free and take people through the process of having their records erased. Um, until, you know, last year I was doing them, you know, small ones, maybe I would get like 20, 25 people.

But last year, was it last year? Yeah, it was last year. Sorry, my timeline since my mom died, my sense of time is very wacky. Um, I believe it was last year we did a large pardons clinic where we had over 400 people come through's and participate. Yeah. And so we've had over a hundred people who've come through the process successfully, have gotten their, their pardon, and there are several dozens still in the pipeline.

And, um, people are getting good outcomes. You know, it was, it was it was impactful. It was rewarding. I partnered with Kennard Ray of Fine Fettle, who, you know, and a couple of other folks um, all the community colleges pretty much in the major cities partner with us to host us. So it was just, it was, it was a huge undertaking, but it was an an amazing opportunity to be able to serve, you know, that many people and give the information.

And, you know, being able to say no to the question, have you ever been convicted of a crime in Connecticut is a powerful thing. You know, when you're filling out a job application, a loan application, even a business application or license for certain businesses, cannabis being one of them. Um and so, yeah, it's definitely a way to, when we look at certain communities and resources being limited, being able to eradicate some of those barriers or at least limit some of those barriers for people to be able to access, um, the resource limited resources and opportunities that do exist.

Sarah Westby: So, yeah, and it really puts into effect the, the promises from ending cannabis prohibition. Right? Like, it's one thing to say it in the law, but people are living with these effects. You know, they can't get loans, they can't get jobs. Um, so that's, that's fantastic and congratulations on, on helping such a large number of people through that process.

Tiana Hercules: Thanks.

Sarah Westby: So, let's talk a little bit about some of your cannabis business ventures in the state. Can you tell me a little bit about what made you want to pursue certain licenses and, you know, what resources you leaned on when you were trying to get a business up and running?

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, so my my whole thing was like, I'm a marketing and product girl. I think, you know, I love pretty packages and things that look nice and, um, I was learning more and more, um, the way in which women were becoming kind of, you know, like the leading consumer of cannabis, especially things that were not, other than flower - topicals and edibles. And so I wanted to launch a product line under the Lady Jane brand, which is my brand.

And so cultivation and growing and being able to produce my own products was really like where my focus wad but recognizing how difficult that would be and how expensive that would be, I started to shift more towards the retail side of things, thinking, okay, well if I can get a store. You know, call it Lady Jane, and then eventually maybe partner with somebody and come out with my own line of products.

And so I, I kind of started becoming my own PR machine around the Lady Jane brand, doing events, learning more about the business, kind of figuring out who was who in the industry.

Just speaking to whoever would sit down with me to have a conversation. And then certainly when I connected with Shipman & Goodwin with you, was able to be introduced to, you know, my now partners with Ayr Wellness. And so that was kind of my, my journey was really, um, you know, being pretty much a nobody in the industry.

Relying on the experts, you know, relying on people who know a lot more about the industry than I do, but also just not being afraid to ask questions when you don't understand things. Legal expertise is invaluable in this because there, you know, like, like any, you know, I guess commodity or you know, any business you want to ensure that your legal structure is handled correctly and that you understand what you can and cannot do because there's a lot at stake. You know, um, licenses can get snatched away, and that's a huge investment, um, to, you know, to have that happen because you don't understand a regulation or you don't understand a timeline or something like that.

Sarah Westby: Yeah. So I'm sure that there were a lot of challenges along the way. You expected, like you know, finding a good partner and raising capital. Were there any that were unexpected?

Tiana Hercules: Hmm, that's a good, good question. I think I probably, because I started to become so inoculated, I guess, with people who are working in cannabis and have love the plant and respect it and understand it. I kind of lost sight of how many folks in our state are still like stuck in the 1990s or 1980s as it relates to cannabis. And so, I do feel like there is still, you know, a lot of stigma around the plant. Yeah. And so, while at the state level, you know, it's like go ahead, go out there and you know, make, put your licenses to work.

We still have to get approval at the local level, and we still have to get approval at planning and zoning boards, and that requires input from towns and residents and neighbors. And so, um, I think I kind of lost a little bit of sight of like that local component.

But then you forget, oh wait, this is cannabis. And people still like, have a lot of issues with it just because of, you know, what it is. And so, um, I think looking back like a lot more, and not just for myself, because I did do a lot of education and things, but again, I think it was kind of like preaching to the choir in a bit.

So I think, um, the state and, you know, maybe some of us also in the industry, there needs to be a little bit more of a, you know, kind of narrowing that gap between, um, some of the local municipalities. Because as you see, like a lot of, um, municipalities still have like moratoriums, where they're not gonna have any, you know, recreational sales or anything in their backyards.

But I do believe more work can be done there so that it's not so hard for us as business owners. Because I still have, you know, two licenses that I would like to get operational. And so it's going to require obviously planning and zoning approval. And so, um, you know, I don't want to have another battle without a planning and zoning meeting.

Sarah Westby: Yeah, I know I talked to a lot of business owners who have had that issue and you know, we've assisted some businesses with trying to get zoning approval and yeah especially on the retail side, yeah the resistance can be pretty fierce.

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, it is. And then I would say, you know, now that I have an operational business as well, you know, they're, my team is amazing.

Um, which, you know, I rely heavily on the team over at Ayr Manchester. They're, they're great but there are certain you know, regulations by the state that do make things challenging and also very expensive to operate, you know, we are a hybrid retailer and at the time the medical market, you know, was our focus for sure because that's where, um, my partners, they came out of medical from Florida. That's, you know, the center to their, um, business model. And so that was always an important thing. But as we've been operating for almost a year, we just haven't seen many medical customers. And you know, we have to have a full-time pharmacist on staff.

And so I know with this most recent legislation there have, we've advocated for changes, it's not a perfect fix, but it is a move in the right direction. I think, um, the state needs to give a little bit more deference to those of us who are actually operational and seeing, hey, this is what's working - this is not what's working. If we want to see these businesses thrive with fidelity here. Um, you know, because sometimes it feels like we're taking two steps forward and then like maybe 10 steps backwards, you know? And so it can be, it can be a little frustrating, but there are some positive changes that I look forward to hopefully seeing how they work for the benefit of me trying to get my other two licenses operational in the next, hopefully year and a half and it still remains to be seen.

Sarah Westby: So, so based on your experience operating the business and going through the whole startup process, what kind of changes would you like to see the legislature make? And I know you've been involved in, in some legislative efforts yourself as many business owners have. So what are some of your priorities?

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, I think, um, hmm. I'm trying, I don't wanna sound like, like super self-interested, so I'm trying to think of things like from, you know, kind of like a like a holistic, um, perspective. It would be nice if there were just easier ways for folks to first and foremost be able to have a license or be able to partner to have a license.

So, for example, I have, um you know, a provisional cultivation license and, um, I can't, you know, dilute any part of my 65%, which I understand why that is, but that makes it very hard to raise capital. Right. Um, and so if I were to, if I were able to partner with whether it's other social equity applicants or I mean entrepreneurs or business owners or whomever, you know, wanted to have an investment stake and an equity stake in that license, um, leveraging my 65%, I think I would be able to probably get that business up and operational a lot sooner.

So something you know, things that are just more on par with the way that other businesses operate would be helpful. Um, you know, more on the kind of like granularly some of the marketing restrictions and, um, packaging restrictions and things of that nature. Like we certainly understand. The importance of not appealing to children and things like that, but people, people like pretty packaging. I know I do. That's what makes me buy 95% of the things that I purchase. If the box looks pretty and the bottle looks pretty, I'm probably gonna buy it. So, um, you know, just really looking more into like, how to look at cannabis as any other consumer good. And not this thing that has to be kind of set a set apart because that, that is what helps normalize it in a way that, where it can be regulated properly, you know?

Right. And that's, that allows us also to compete with the illicit market because that's really what the goal should be, you know, to, to ensure that any cannabis that anyone consumes has been tested and that we can say that there is nothing harmful in it that can cause some negative effect for someone.

Um, but also be able to, you know, address consumer and patient concerns, um, in a maybe a more accessible way for people, people not having to leave their homes and things of that nature. I think they reduced the cannabis canopy, um, you know, starting canopy for cultivation, which is a huge help for sure.

Um, allowing cultivation outside of DIAs. We'll see how that's all going to pan out again, because now we're going to be trying to get into towns that, you know, may not have even been thinking about having cultivation or maybe they, maybe they were. And so, um, you know, going to, we're going to see how all those changes kind of, kind of net out.

But I do think, um. Because the industry has changed so much from when we, you know, when we kind of embarked on this journey, a lot of us embarked on this journey where our licenses were valued at probably so much more. Um, you know, as time goes by, is it going to have a turnaround? Is is it going to be dwindled?

Is the valuation going to dwindle? And so, us as you know, social equity, um, business owners not having the ability to sell our, sell our licenses, or even apportion thereof to leverage. I think that is kind of like a handicap for many of us who may want to pursue other things, who, who may just think, you know, from their own business acumen that this is the best time for me to get out and be able to make some type of profit on this.

We need to, you know, continue to explore and discuss and try to advocate for some change around.

Sarah Westby: Sure. And you were alluding to the fact that, um, you know, you as a social equity applicant have a required ownership percentage in the business, and that's how the program in Connecticut was set up to incentivize partnerships between social equity entrepreneurs and, you know businesses, multi-state operators, investors who could provide some of the seed capital and potentially some operating expertise. Um, but, and this is something that I've been trying to help a lot of applicants and businesses with too, is how can you sell your interest? How can you form a new partnership?

Because things don't work out in business a lot of times. And, you know, even if the partnership is good the market changes, um, and new people want to come in, existing people want to leave. And Connecticut has made it really, really hard to make those changes, particularly for social equity entrepreneurs.

And so I think that's something that, you know, the, the lobbyists and the business owners and the lawyers have been pushing for since the beginning. Yeah and particularly the restraints on alienating your ownership percentage have been a focus this most recent session, unfortunately that did not pass, but it’s likely to be brought up next session.

So, you know, maybe we will see some movement there. And I think, again, you know, you were talking about the intent was good. We don't want businesses to, you know, enter into predatory relationships with people where they can just, you know, say they're a part of the business and then sell that interest out from under them.

Um, but at the same time, it's kind of gone the other way where it's, where it's handicapped, a lot of people. Um, so yeah, that, that's a, a tricky feature of our law and I think we'll have to wait and see how that shakes out in the next couple of years. I know that you're very close with several members of the Social Equity Council, can you speak a little bit to the, you know their role in this process, and things that you might like to see done better, um, from the social equity side?

Tiana Hercules: Yeah. You know I have a higher high degree of respect for every one of our council members because they have a very difficult job.

You know, the continued dialogue between us as business owners and them as a body that obviously is not just there to protect and advocate for our interests, but their larger goal with ensuring that you know, that the reinvestments are made into the community's most impacted by the war on drugs.

But if we are not successful, I don't know how they accomplish that larger goal. And so I think instead of like, kind of like a top-down approach. We really need to be looking at it as, you know, we are part of these communities that were impact, we are the community that was, you know, disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, you know?

But if we can more, more or less, look at that as one and the same, I think we would get a lot further. Um, because if we are not successful, if our businesses are closing or, or we're operating, continuing to operate at loss, you know, month after month or quarter over quarter, then there's not gonna be much that we can do in terms of investing into the communities that we want, we wanna invest in.

You know, let's make sure that the business owners are successful, supported, resourced, so that way then we can build on top of that, um, and ensure that, you know, the tax revenue can get where it needs to be. And that, you know, we can come around the table and, and have, you know, an agenda around what is our three year plan for New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New London, um, you know, is it housing?

You know, how do we utilize some of this cannabis revenue to support affordable housing in these communities, or, you know, outside of these communities or whatever it is, you know, really utilizing, um, the group of us who've lived, have a lived experience, living in our communities for many of us still live in, um, the communities that we've come from or.

Or similar urban settings. And many of us have been involved in nonprofit work, political work, business owners, and so we have a lot to contribute with respect to that. And so that's what I would like to see, you know, a more aligned agenda that we’re really working hand in hand to achieve the mission of the cannabis legislation ultimately.

Sarah Westby: What are some of the social equity initiatives that you've put forward for your business?

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, so definitely the Pardons Clinics was one of the big ones that was, you know, very big undertaking. So that was one of the big ones that I put forth under my business.

Um, we have done things with, um, domestic violence shelters, that's also, um, a  mission that's near and dear to my heart. And working with an afterschool program in the Square Village community, which is in Manchester. So supporting them with resources and we're always looking for other things that we can do in our communities and certainly once I have my other two business operational, kind of see what the needs are in the community and what residents would like us to do. I would like to see, especially for cultivation, I would really like to see some incubator programs that are bringing people into cultivation from the community to really, um, who may have experience, you know, with the plant, um, on their own, but teaching them the ins and outs of a cultivation facility and how to run it and do extractions and, you know, produce and manufacture products because that's where I see a lot of opportunity. Because the cultivation is obviously a larger scale operation compared to a retail, where you don't have a huge, huge staff. You don't really need to have a huge, huge staff. And so there's a, there's a bigger opportunity there at the cultivation level to hire a robust team and really have people trained in some great skills and a great potentially a great career if it's something that they really enjoy. So I would, I would really like to see more efforts around the workforce development piece of this. In our state, I don't feel like there's been a lot done there. I definitely commend our, um, you know, community college network and our state colleges that have like cannabis work, um, programs and cannabis certificates and even degrees.

Um, I think that is really, really, um, amazing. But I still feel like there's a gap, right? There's a gap between the need and the practical experience. So I understand also there's not that many cultivators right now. You know, you have obviously the, the original ones I've been operating, but um, a lot of us are not online yet.

And so, um, you know, the more of us that can get online and get working then we can also put community members to work as well, which would be great.

Sarah Westby: I think it's a really important point to emphasize just how much one business can do for the community. Right? You know, the, the pardon clinics, the domestic violence shelter partnerships.

And, and what just one business, one private business can do, right? Um, and then if we start really seeing the, the tax revenue that we want to see what the, the council can do with those funds.

Yeah, but it all starts with the business, right? The businesses have to make money and, um, I think one, one theme from, um a lot of people I've spoken with in the industry and a lot of the businesses that I represent is there just has to be some give with these regulations. Yeah. You know, the, the marketing, the packaging, the, the content. Um, you know, like, let's make our regulated market really competitive. Let's keep the bad stuff out. We can do both of those things at the same time.

Tiana Hercules: Yes, I definitely agree. And, and you know, I get it, like sometimes you have to be more like zealous and in the beginning and see how things go, but I, I do believe that, you know, we've been operating for quite some time and I mean what is the real difference between medical and recreation? You know what I mean? Everything is grown in the same place, you know, it's like you come in through the same door if you're in a hybrid facility. So, you know, I, I just don't know that we, um, I believe we are at a point, a critical point where we can make some smart decisions to help, you know, the future of these of our businesses, you know, and if there is the political will to do so and so, we shall see.

Sarah Westby: So Tiana, this has been a really excellent conversation. I've learned a lot from you, as I always do when we talk, and it's really nice to hear about some of the things that you have going on in the community.

And I'd like to just close with, um, you telling us what you're most excited about for your cannabis business in 2025.

Tiana Hercules: Yeah, so I'm really excited about getting the Lady Jane brand produced and on shelves. You know, I think that I believe it's Kevin Henry who's like, has a partnership with cookies and so I think that is really exciting and that was something that I was saying in the beginning, you know, it's a ripe opportunity for us to have some brands and some homegrown brands and um, you know, just get some different products on the shelves and get people excited about different ways to utilize and consume cannabis.

And so, I think that it's a woman focused, woman centered woman, first brand, um, to address certain, um, reproductive pain points with women who may be suffering from endometriosis, fibroids, painful, um, intimacy and things of that nature.

But um, you know, it's products really designed with women in mind and I think  it's an opportunity to have something unique on our shelves that women can get excited about. We can get more women comfortable utilizing cannabis as a holistic, natural way of healing and addressing some of their wellness needs.

So I'm excited about that.

Sarah Westby: That's great. And where can listeners find out more about the Lady Jane brand and find your retail store.

Tiana Hercules: Yes. So my retail store is at 185 Spencer Street in Manchester, Connecticut. I don't mean to be so morbid, but after my mom passed, I literally got rid of every bit of my social media.

So, I don't have Lady Jane on anywhere on the web right now, but I'm working on revamping everything. I'll definitely keep you pasted posted on when everything is back up and folks can find me online. So, look for it, but Lady Jane CT is definitely making a comeback and gonna be better than ever with the products and events and all the good stuff.

Sarah Westby: Awesome. Well, I'm really looking forward to that and I hope that we will be talking again soon and thank you so much for joining me.

Tiana Hercules: Thank you for having me. This is awesome.