Revolutionizing Wellness through Compassionate Cultivation: JANE Cannabis Uplifts Communities

Created by women, for women, JANE, a low-dose cannabis company, was born after founder and CEO Michelle Courtright‘s diagnosis with breast cancer in 2017, where she received numerous pharmaceuticals that resulted in nausea, vomiting and early onset menopause from chemotherapy.

For over 600 million years, people and animals have had a relationship with cannabis, Courtright says, from the endocannabinoid systems’ regulatory roles with sleep, pain and perception to healing communities through plant medicine centuries ago.

“Well, [the company’s name] did come from ‘Mary Jane,’” Courtright says. “There’s something strong about Jane. It feels like she’s truly every woman, and also like she is level-headed.”

Though marijuana for recreational use has been legalized since May 2023, the same month JANE was founded, Courtright says the stigmatization toward cannabis still exists. JANE was created with the intention of providing relief through re-education on pre-existing stigmas that weed is “bad,” or only used as a means to get high.

Josh Hochstatter, Director of Operations, says JANE isn’t about an online product, but rather about pulling in a community of people and entrepreneurs in the conversation around THC and menopause, acting as a platform for people to talk and initiate conversations.

“Every time I take it during the day, I just have such a more productive and better day,” Hochstatter says. “I just forget about the stress.”

Growing up, Courtright says she smoked weed with one purpose: to get high. Her goals since remission, experiencing motherhood and founding her own business have evolved with an emphasis on micro-dosing.

Micro-dosing, the act of taking a fraction of the regular dose of cannabis, which Courtright says gives an additional benefit — helping manage stress, irritability, hot flashes and trouble sleeping.

“We’re so out of balance with the way we eat and with pharmaceuticals when it comes to what they’re giving us to take for our bodies,” Courtright says. “Even though, we’ve heard the commercials selling pharmaceuticals that are like, ‘Side effects may include death,’ and we must ask ourselves — why aren’t we trying something natural?”

When it comes to what defines a low dose, Courtright says she takes one to three 2.5 mg gummies, the product name being “JOY,” with effects in 20-25 minutes, laying upwards to three hours. All of Courtright’s products are ironically named after what they intend to tackle or inspire; from “F— CANCER,” “CREATIVITY” and “MENOPAUSE” tinctures to an intimacy roll titled “PLEASURE.”

“Unfortunately, we stigmatized it, we made it illegal, we locked people up and had lives irrevocably taken away, which is f—ing crazy,” she says. “Alcohol is depressive and we know it’s not good for us, and yet we still have it as a cultural touchstone.”

JANE products like the tinctures are self-modulated, allowing users to take half of a drop if needed, depending on how fast or slow their body metabolizes the cannabis, Courtright says. Taking a dose that is too high for a user’s metabolic rate can result in unwanted symptoms, such as paranoia or added anxiety.

“I’m not trying to tell people to switch from alcohol to a drug,” Courtright says. “I’m trying to say we’ve had this herb — this plant medicine, for 600 million years at least, and our body has a rhythm with it.”

Andi Powers, a customer, says JANE created a comfortable, accepting space for her and her wife, Yvonne Powers.

“The first thing that I noticed about the brand, was how it felt very comfortable and very much like they’re listening and really taking feedback from not only a queer couple but also people in our age group, which I feel like usually isn’t the case,” Andi Powers says.

JANE was the most medicinal experience that the couple had had, as they used to smoke weed until it reached a point where the two needed a break from the way getting overly high was disrupting their lives.

“JANE products erase the little irritability and the little edge you have throughout your day,” Yvonne Powers says. “You’re able to be really mindful and content — I feel more connected to nature and my environment.”

LouAnn Berglund, co-founder and CEO of JANE, says her own process isn’t strictly cannabis, as she has used plant medicines over the last five years, which has helped her with symptoms she has had as a result of menopause.

“I don’t drink alcohol and I haven’t for years, just because I’ve chosen not to — don’t like how I feel,” Berglund says. “But to be able to take half a gummy every once in a while and not feel anything other than just myself is very refreshing.”

With Mother’s Day approaching, JANE is working to bridge the generational gap and generate more conversation about the benefits, a task that comes with the challenge of cannabis once being illegal and highly stigmatized during their childhoods, through one gummy.

The campaign will include a single, premium low-dose gummy and two designed keepsake intention cards — one written especially for moms called the Nurturer.

‘When you say Delta-9, a lot of people think that’s an adulterated product or something like that,” Courtright says. “We only use pure organic, Minnesota organic grown hemp, so it’s local, and all of that is the same plant — It’s the same species.”

Anyone who is skeptical or has assumptions about cannabis, just take a step back and realize that it’s natural and growing in every environment, Hochstatter says.

“This is a brand for women, by women, and I’m definitely not a woman, but the beauty is that I’m learning more and more just how important it is for everyone to share this message and this journey together,” Hochstatter says. “I’m not a woman, but I was born from a woman, and my best friend’s a woman, and my boss is a woman. And you know, it’s just, it is the representation of life, so it’s just so important to support it.”

Being in a dual female household, Andi Powers says she likes how female-focused JANE is, with some of the products relating to sex that relate to the two being mindful together.

“A lot of the products we use we end up using together, and we get to be creative together, whether it relates to sex, or like waking up in the morning and drinking our smoothies together, having our coffee, and going on walks and things like that,” Andi Powers says. “So, it’s been really interesting and really cool to have it be such a part of our life as a couple together.”