by Christine Bryant, marketing director

Hashtag Cannabis is known in our industry for supporting non-profit organizations whose missions align with our values. And what are those values? We believe in the humanity and equal worth of all people, and we seek out ways to co-create the world in which we want to live. In 2016, to fight hunger in Seattle, Hashtag and our partners raised over $10,000 for PCC’s food bank drive. In 2017, to help immigrant families in Seattle gain security and independence, Hashtag and our partners raised over $5,000 for Refugee Women’s Alliance.

In 2018, Hashtag supported the following organizations:

• With our industry partners and by collecting cash donations from customers, we donated nearly $4,000 to Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.

• We donated $1,000 to TUFFEST ‘18.

• During June 2018, in recognition of Pride month, we partnered with Botanica Seattle to donate nearly $500 to Lifelong.

• Hashtag Cannabis sponsored Crazy Pitches, a gay women’s intramural softball team in Seattle.

• And now, Hashtag very proudly sponsors NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and the 2018 NARAL Feminist Future ball and auction.

I asked Jerina Pillert, co-owner and Chief Operations Officer of Hashtag, “Why does Hashtag support NARAL?” Here’s her response.

One of the most amazing things about creating and running a company like Hashtag Cannabis is that our success allows us to contribute in small ways to making and shaping the world we want to live in: a world where the needs of everyone matter, inclusivity reigns, and women are considered people--people with full agency to make choices concerning their own bodies.

In a different way, we see cannabis as a new freedom, a new choice that people can now legally make out in the open. Cannabis as a choice has the power to greatly impact our quality of life, from easing anxiety over social interactions, providing inspiration to start a creative project, or alleviating pain and boosting wellness. We take great care in facilitating this new choice we have in our society and do our best to provide a wide selection of quality products in an educational and nonjudgmental environment. Every day, we live by the motto, “your body, your choice--your cannabis, your voice.”

We also believe that actions and words affect the people around you, that companies especially have a responsibility to take part of society, and that what they do, say, and sell matters. Our voice as a company is able to help move the needle of our collective culture, toward equality and equity, in a way that we cannot as individuals. It is important that we understand the impact we can have as a business and to carefully add our voice to partner organizations in our community whose missions align with ours.

As a woman-owned company operating in an entirely new industry, we are also redefining what it means to run a retail shop, what it means to employ a team of service professionals, and what it means to interact with our community. From the beginning, we have looked for ways to showcase our values of human rights for all and our dream of an equal society, and to operate our company in ways that exhibit these values. From choosing to work with other women-owned cannabis companies, to hiring and promoting with diversity of all kinds in mind, to stocking our employee bathrooms with free tampons, we look for ways to bring that world into being.

And, as part of our mission, we look for partnerships that align with our goals and where we feel we can make the most difference. We are delighted to sponsor NARAL and to amplify their signal in the small ways that we can, in the hopes of contributing to a better world where individual choice and freedoms are valued. Our deep hope is to live in a world where we always have choices for birth control, planning a family, and for abortion.

As women, we were raised to expect that our voices would not be heard. As a business, we can now amplify our voices, our values, and our dream for a world where all people everywhere will always have this choice.