A Whole New World
It has been an amazing professional journey in which I’m now a global thought-leader recognised for conference engagement, podcast participation and technical works.
Written by Alisia Ratliff, Chief Scientific Officer, Jersey Hemp and CEO Victus Capital Ventures
Looking back on my life and career aspirations, I would’ve never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be in the legal weed business! I have always been a bit of a geek drawn to all things scientific since I was very young. I excelled academically, was captain of my high school volleyball team and an accomplished pianist. Admittedly, I knew nothing about non-permitted extracurricular activities. I wasn’t even cool enough to know anything significant about cannabis, weed, mary-jane, wacky-tobaccy or whatever interesting moniker; although many of my peers were very well-acquainted with the botanical goodness. Unfortunately, my opinion of cannabis was similar to that of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s before his mind was changed;
“cannabis will kill your brain cells”. He said, “[Marijuana] doesn't have a high potential for abuse, and there are very legitimate medical applications. In fact, sometimes marijuana is the only thing that works... We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologise for my own role in that.”
After intently watching the CNN docuseries “Weed” and learning of Charlotte Figi’s story, I was also convinced that my idea of cannabis and its effects were completely off. Luckily, my background as a chemist would lead me into the start-up world of cannabis where I could utilise and grow my skillset as well as envision a future riding the waves of the green rush.
Even as a child, I was attracted to STEM-related activities whether it be solving complex mathematical equations, performing scientific experiments, or engineering the skeletal system, classifying each bone. Naturally, I pursued a career in the STEM-related field of Chemistry. I initially wanted to go into Dentistry and needed a scientific degree as a prerequisite for dental school. Along the journey, I realised I had a strong passion and talent for chemical analyses and wet chemistry bench work. It also didn’t help that dental school would require a longer time commitment and well let’s face it…in my early twenties I’m ready to ditch school and dial up the dollars! I graduated from university and one month later went into the Environmental field as an Extraction Analyst. It was my first role professionally as a new graduate where I was promoted to manage a small staff within my first 3 months of employment. I loved everything about working in a traditional laboratory setting, wet chemistry, calculations, data interpretation, etc. It was also a fast-paced environment working in production chemistry to turnaround data for our clients on time. So, how does a traditional lab rat go from extracting toxic compounds from water and soil to extracting cannabinoids and producing dank, infused formulas?
The thing about traditional laboratories and the work setting is that room for growth is limited and you can easily find yourself in a monotonous, repetitive work routine which can be exhaustive. I found myself at this very point in my career after spending some time doing bench work, analysis, and project management. I was becoming increasingly numb to each day, not truly understanding my purpose, looking for a measurable result to my work efforts. That’s precisely when a serendipitous opportunity landed in my inbox and Dr. Gupta’s documentary motivated me to find out more about cannabis as a medicine. The next thing I knew, I was interpreting blueprints for my first cannabis extraction facility build out! Initially going into the role, I assumed I was walking into a facility that needed a few pieces of scientific equipment and SOPs drafted which was completely in my talent wheel. What I didn’t expect was to manage contractors, interpret blueprints, manage construction and oh the best part negotiate procurement for a ribbon blender in China every morning at 1:00a while actively nursing a newborn.
In a male-dominated industry like the cannabis industry and especially amongst leadership teams, it can make you feel as a woman, you have to prove that anything female-related won’t interfere with executing in your role. Because of this motivation, I became a very good multitasker, effective listener, diplomatic leader and so much more!
Once I arrived in the industry, I started to shift out of the normal 9-5, traditional science mindset into a more progressive, integrative one; building core skills in other functional areas besides just science. It has been an amazing professional journey in which I’m now a global thought-leader recognised for conference engagement, podcast participation and technical works. I travel the world for various business purposes, and I wouldn’t be doing so if it weren’t for the emerging cannabis industry and global markets. I guess it’s true what they say, working one year in the cannabis field is similar to one dog year (i.e. 7-15 human years). That translates into an escalated career growth path in a growing industry and niche markets. Because of the artisanal craft of cannabis products, experienced professionals can command exceptional compensation packages due to the growing demand for expertise as the industry burgeons. And of course, every nerdy girl wants to develop new skills and techniques. Working in a burgeoning industry such as cannabis gives me as a scientist the opportunity to experiment with product formulas and delivery methods, cultivation methods and educate the community about cannabis products. This industry provides a creative element to workplace culture and branding as well which is complimentary to reversing the negative stigma of cannabis-related imagery. I am engaged everyday in learning something new and couldn’t be more happy to contribute meaningful work making a positive impact.
I’m often asked the question, why cannabis and what does the industry mean to you?
This industry, as suggested in the title, opened an entirely new world to me. Part of that world was extremely positive and inspirational, the other part not so much. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced gaslighting, covert racism and sexism by people in leadership teams who should’ve been my mentors. Being the only woman of colour at the executive table can be intimidating and that fear was not easy to overcome; however, all things are possible when you couple faith with action and add a dose of perseverance. It is also helpful to have an amazing support system to motivate and encourage you to perform. My husband, business partner and life coach is my person and with his continuous support, along with my own ambitions, I plan to continue thriving in the scientific cannabinoid community specifically working with the next generation of scientists coming into this world.