Women of Cannabis respond to sexist ‘MeatGate’ incident

If a recent lawsuit brought by a defrauded, former Altai investor, wasn’t enough to ruin CEO Rob Weakley’s week, then his company’s decision to use a woman as a living meat-platter at a recent Las Vegas investors conference is the icing on his cake.

As a man who has been involved in the cannabis legalization movement and the cannabis industry for a decade, I am utterly appalled and disgusted by Altai’s nonchalant and blatant sexism displayed at the Marijuana Business Conference for the world to see.

Sex sells, even cannabis 

I remember working for the Proposition 19 campaign to legalize cannabis in 2010, and tabling at my first Hemp Con and seeing the sexy 420 nurses for the first time. My first thought was “this is not right, this is not medical nor is it a way to treat women…this makes us the alcohol industry.” If only the sexism had stopped there, but Altai has found a way to raise the bar and lower standards of common decency.

But, I am a man, and I can only view this as an outsider, as that sort of blatant sexism does not affect me due to my male privilege (I ask you, where was the male meat-platter to accompany her?). As a male feminist, I did the best thing I could think of, and I asked the woman of cannabis to respond to Altai’s sexism.

Debby Goldsberry was one of the first people I saw raising the alarm over the incident. Debby is a co-founder of the Berkeley Patients Group, the current executive director of Magnolia Wellness, and a mentor at the Gateway Incubator. Debby has more than 25 years in the cannabis movement and has the honor of being a friend of the late and great Jack Herer.

“I’m super disgusted to see a photo from the Las Vegas marijuana business conference from the Altai party,” said Goldsberry.

“The photo shows a woman laid out on a table covered with slices of meat. She was the serving tray for a platter of cold cuts. This is incredibly disgusting in so many ways. Women of the industry will not stand for this, and we must protect ourselves from these creepy people who want to treat us like meat. We all need to work together to create safe spaces for women, people of color and people who have been historically targeted by the war on drugs. With so many outside business people entering the industry, we have to work extra hard to spread common values, like tolerance and sharing.”

One of my sources, a female party guest and survivor of abuse, was heavily triggered and would only speak on condition of anonymity. “When I saw her it was more of the same old. As a survivor of abuse, it was really terrifying and triggering, it was hard to just be professional in that environment, and I found myself crying in a bathroom a few times. It was so uncomfortable I’m still fearful of the blowback, and angry at how much this has affected me even day’s after leaving the conference. Not even 45 minutes before seeing the meat girl I was screaming at a guy to ‘stop touching my friend!’ as he groped a friend who was completely frozen in fear. It’s scary that Las Vegas is a designated place where it’s okay to act like this. It makes me wonder who are we working with? If these are the things the men in the marijuana industry want to do after hours, it is very disheartening. It doesn’t scream inclusiveness to me.”

Ophelia Chong is the founder, curator, designer, and managing partner of Stock Pot Images, and like Debby, has been very involved with the incident. “We have a chance to lay the foundation of a new industry, to bring people of color, women, veterans, the disabled to the forefront and to give everyone a fair chance. At StockPot Images, my only rule to my photographers is ‘No Objectification of Women,’ we can create the conversation now and to have this woman covered in meat at the Altai after party in Las Vegas is not only misogynist, it is a throwback to the knuckle dragging days of the 20th Century.”

Old Boys Club still a factor

Leah Heise, is the CEO of Women Grow, a group dedicated to empowering women in the cannabis space. “Despite the work that so many have done to create a level playing field for women and other traditionally underrepresented groups within the cannabis industry, this incident reminds us that the old boys club is still alive and well. With several major recent legalization victories, mainstream interests are rapidly entering the industry. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that the biases and bad habits of male-dominated corporate culture don’t take root. We must hold ourselves to the highest standards of respect, responsibility, and awareness. Women Grow invites those involved in this event to join our community in actively creating safe, supportive spaces where individuals of all experiences can stand on equal footing.”

Diane Goldstein, is a retired Lt. Commander from the Redondo Beach Police Department and now is an outspoken drug policy reform advocate. “It reflects a lack of professionalism and respect for what women have contributed to ending the failed war on cannabis. Having worked in a male dominated police culture, I’m not a prude, but the use of a woman as a meat platter belongs in a private bachelor party not at an emerging industry event still trying to find acceptance in American culture. In many ways this objectification has contributed to many professional women distancing themselves from leadership roles, but I would argue it is our roles as women, mothers and professionals which qualifies us as the most potent advocates for the cause. Women and mothers have long shared a moral imperative to protect and nurture society. We are the caretakers and the healers of the world.

Nina Parks, CEO at Mirage Medicinal, like many of the women I spoke to, pointed to President-Elect Trump as a sign of the times. “Faced with the reality that our president can say something like ‘Grab her by the pussy,’ we are at a junction in human society where the majority of the country is still sexist and bigoted. I’ve been at cannabis events where reps for other brands have said asinine things to me like ‘well, maybe if you did something memorable like show me your tits I would have remembered your name.’ The response from so many women really showed that it triggered a larger issue which I think we need to face together as an industry that benefits from a female plant, and make sure that we don’t recreate a patriarchal system in our industry.”

Angela Bacca is a co-founder of LadyBud and a former Editor-In-Chief of Cannabis Now Magazine, with over a decade writing and editing in the cannabis space. “It is a shame Dixie, a company with a longstanding reputation in the medical cannabis space, thinks this is what it means to ‘include women’. This is the problem with the industry today, pay for play state legislation has empowered organizations like Dixie to perpetuate the very sexism that allows our society to not only look the other way on sexual assault, but to vote for it. I hope the women of the industry ‘grab back’ right into Dixie’s profits.”

Diane Fornbacher, the publisher of LadyBud and host of the LadyBud show on livestream, echoed my thoughts that the use solely of a woman is what made this sexist. “I think an actual platter would’ve sufficed for food that people are putting into their mouths rather than an actual human body. It is hard to ignore the implications of sexism if only a woman’s body is being used in this way to serve slices of meat.”

Amanda Reiman is the Manager of Marijuana Law and Policy at the Drug Policy Alliance, she stressed the importance of social justice in the cannabis movement. “I would say that even though cannabis is becoming an industry, we’re a movement first. Anyone who hopes to succeed in this business must recognize the values on which this and other social justice movements have been built. The objectification of women has no place in social movements and no place in cannabis.”

Sexualized and disrespected 

Lynnette Shaw, the godmother of dispensaries and founder of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, added that, “[Altai] trivialized, sexualized, and disrespected women. I am disgusted with this display and will NEVER use ALTAI products and I urge all my friends, fans, and supporters to do likewise.”

Sarah Ceti is the Director of Operations at Green Rush Consulting, and was “utterly disgusted to see the image of woman’s body being used for a meat platter at a cannabis industry party. We are better than this. Altai has shown their true colors, lacking in integrity and respect for women, a LARGE majority of their clientele. This is not ok and will not be allowed in this cannabis space, a value driven industry. Those who have made the big bucks in cannabis, like Altai, have a responsibility to rise above the old constructs of our capitalistic and misogynistic culture and lead with integrity. I expect more from them and will be boycotting until I hear and apology and that they have changed their ways.”

Mikki Norris is a co-founder of the West Coast Leaf/The Leaf Online, wife of Chris Conrad, and a tireless cannabis activist for decades. “I am not sure what to say, as it leaves me speechless. How degrading and insensitive could these people be to this blatant display of sexism? Being in Las Vegas is no excuse for this. It certainly leaves a bad taste in our mouths for a company that would consider such tactics to promote their business. They owe the women of this industry an apology. Even in this era of political incorrectness, they should know that this is not okay.”

Ellen Komp, Deputy Director of Cal-NORML, an editor of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, and author of Tokin’ Women: A 4,000-Year Herstory very poignantly summed things up, “Altai should take their tagline, ‘Elevating the Art of Cannabis’ more seriously.”

Altai’s ‘Mea Culpa,’ Dixie washes its hands of the event

The first posts to appear online all stated the party was co-hosted by Dixie and Altai brands, but Dixie was quick to state that they had no involvement and Altai merely slapped their logo on the party due to their business relationship. According to Joe Hodas, the Chief Media Officer for Dixie Brands, “We had no knowledge of the woman prior to the event. We were a last minute addition as a ‘sponsor’ and the extent of that was our logo on the invite. But, our name was on the invite thus we take responsibility and will work with Altai to ensure this doesn’t happen again and that we all handle it appropriately. We will certainly be reviewing our brand position with them, and all partners, so that they or anyone we may partner with in the future, understands that diversity and integrity are very much a part of our brand and how we do business. Lesson learned for me as CMO, review all the details because no matter how many events you have participated in (and I have been doing this for over 20 years), there is always the potential for a mistake to be made or a detail to be overlooked. But bottom line–we were one of several ‘sponsors’ but we unfortunately are the only ones being specifically called out…and for something we unfortunately knew nothing about. I would also add that we do not, nor would we ever condone objectification of that nature. And I know Altai feels the same.”

On November 20th, Altai offered their public apology in the way that most 16 year old kids show off their new shoes, on Instagram. “Altai Brands sincerely regrets a poor decision we made during a private event in Las Vegas by having a professional model act as a physical server for charcuterie. It did not demonstrate the respect that we have for all women.  We pride ourselves on representing California cannabis culture at its finest and we are committed to maintaining a community that recognizes and values the inherent dignity of every person, by fostering sensitivity, understanding and mutual respect of our customers, employees and partners.  The team at Altai is dedicated to making sure that all future events meet our high standards that reflect the core values we live each and every day.  Again, we would like to apologize to the community and hope to demonstrate our firm dedication to respectful treatment of all and to assure everyone this will never happen again.”

As many commentators on their Instagram made clear, that was not good enough. Which is why Altai’s beleaguered CEO, Rob Weakley, offered his own apology the next day. “This experience has been humbling and eye opening and I personally take full responsibility and apologize to all attendees, customers, the cannabis community, and the females in my life.  I could try to explain what we were thinking but that would be pointless as there is no excuse – it was a bad choice and it was offensive.  If I can see anything positive coming out of this situation it is that it has opened up an important dialogue.  Our focus right now is on the enormity of having offended people whom we deeply respect and making whatever amends we can.  I have heard your voice and it has made a personal impact on me.  I will continue to listen and am actively engaged in seeking ways to increase awareness and support of women’s rights and concerns.”

Both apologies use the word “apologize” but neglect to ever say they are sorry, opinions vary greatly as to which is preferred, ‘an apology‘ or ‘I’m sorry.’ While Rob Weakley refused to reply to any of my direct questions, including one about donating to women’s groups, Ophelia Chong has confirmed that Altai has sent out a $3,000 check to be distributed to various women’s groups.  “I just got a call from Rob Weakly, CEO of Altai Brands. He accepted full responsibility for the choice of using a woman as a serving platter. This is how all industries should communicate. With this I believe that we are all better people, companies and consumers. The glass is half full, we take that and we look at how we can be better and and better to each other. Thank you Altai for owning this and taking responsibility.” Ophelia says the funds will go to “underfunded organizations that serve the community at large.”

Debby Goldsberry added, “They have really tried hard to make amends. They have given a donation to a women’s group to help educate more people. Also calling and emailing everyone, mostly with a form letter. To me, this will take time to wash out. [Magnolia and RCP have] pulled them from the shelf, and will do a sell out deal where we donate the funds to a women’s shelter. It’s gonna be hard to recover, but I suspect their corporate culture will be effected positively and forever by this. Hopefully it struck a cord with others. Women and allies are watching, and we are going to make an industry full of safe spaces.”

The Princess Altai:

Nina Parks brought up the point that Altai took their name from the “Altai Princess,” a mummified Ukok princess found in the Altai Mountains, who is known to have died of breast cancer and used medical cannabis to combat her disease 2,500 years ago. While the brand’s About Us page makes slight mention of her use of cannabis for ‘pain,’ they heavily downplay the significance of a woman using cannabis to treat her breast cancer before we even had a functional diagnoses for cancer. Altai also saw it fit to co-opt the princess’ tattoo for use as their logo, but they did not see fit to mention that on their site, they merely use the image with no credit given. Perhaps this incident will give them cause to better represent their namesake.