How does one go from the lowly swamp of political jousting to the high life of cannabis advocacy, empowerment, and retail? Well, that’s what I intended to find out with my friend, Patty Roe, the co-founder of Pink Haze, a women-led marijuana brand.
“Our cannabis is for the woman who knows her worth, who’s never afraid to turn down a good time, who is true to herself, and confident in her own skin. Pink Haze is here to empower.”
Pink Haze Website
For full disclosure, I used to be employed by Roe at Revolvis Consulting a number of years ago. I hope you enjoy this interview.
Sage Naumann: From being a top Republican political strategist to a marijuana entrepreneur - explain to me how that transformation occurred.
Patty Roe: I wanted to be in the cannabis industry since the early nineties but after I gave money to NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws) for a couple years out of college, I attended a meeting and the two long gray haired sixty-five-year-olds that “led the meeting” played tunes on a guitar and sang. They didn’t discuss cannabis, legalization, or the movement. I left with my tail between my legs.
Fast forward twenty plus years and two careers later, it was time to jump over to something I felt passionately about – cannabis. When I started, I kept it a secret because I didn’t know how our political clients would feel. After the San Diego Union Tribune outed me in a political article, I found our the majority of them didn’t care.
SN: Before I dive into the questions on pot - talk to me about your history in politics. What staffs were you on, campaigns did you assist with, etc.
PR: I started in the political arena on the fundraising side where I raised money for a political action committee for the roofing contractors of America to contribute to candidates that supported our small business agenda. From there I built my own fundraising consulting business and worked for several Members of Congress as well as political action committees. Some of my clients included Members of Congress Patrick McHenry (NC), Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (brothers from FL), Rick Renzi (AZ), Tom Feeney (FL), and The National Roofing Contractors.
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