How WICE started

                                                                 Nothing Changes, if Nothing CHANGES...

Woman & women have been advocates, creators, leaders, mothers, founders, business owners and more. We have needed a space within the Cannabis Industry that allows us to come together, share new ideas of what is and isn't working within the cannabis industry. And trust us, there is a lot that isn't working, which includes the reduction of women, minorities and those with disabilities within the cannabis industry in the United States. 

It's telling that in recent reports, the number of women in leadership roles within the cannabis industry has dropped significantly. Was this news surprising? No. Why? Because woman/women push themselves until they burn out. And this industry so far has been no different from any other. Including pay gaps, dominate male ownership and lack of minorities in the cannabis industry.

 
The cannabis industry has currently failed to provide a full balance for women, minorities, and those with disabilities to join this industry. Right now, the industry has offered businessmen more opportunities. Women make up roughly 12% to 15% of the Cannabis Industry (depending on the report and sources). There is currently no data to reflect what the percent of business owners are minorities or those with disabilities.

WICE was created for many reasons and has several goals and objectives. This includes being a woman owned small business event company. The owner and founder had originally entered the cannabis industry to open a testing lab (ancillary services); however, after being at a large cannabis expo in December of 2019 to find the vendors she needed for her lab, she attended a lady’s night. The women had been placed in a room with drinks for a 2-hour mixer with no schedule or keynote speaker. Ms. Westlake thought that was odd, because her past experience with expos from her healthcare background has provided her with different experiences than the one, she had. Soon after, Ms. Westlake and her family went on family vacation, whereby she began searching the internet for cannabis expos to attend that were geared towards women. To her surprise, she found none.  

While Ms. Westlake is still hopeful to open her Cannabis Testing Lab some day in the future, that has been on hold since 2020. Some have asked if this was due to COVID. The answer is "No". All Cannabis Licensing for Dispensaries, Growers and Testing for the State of Nevada has been placed on hold due to multiple lawsuits that were filed against the State of Nevada, due to how the 2019 Cannabis Licenses were distributed. While a person can purchase someone else's Cannabis License in the State of Nevada with proper background checks, etc., it is extremely cost prohibited to do so, as those licenses come with steep costs. Therefore, until the State of Nevada re-opens Cannabis Licenses, Ms. Westlake's potential future Cannabis Testing Lab has been placed on hold. 

In the meantime, WICE has continued to grow after the first expo was executed in September of 2021. In 2022, WICE hosted four shows around the United States. The cities include Atlantic City, New Jersey, Denver, Colorado, Las Vegas, Nevada and San Francsico, California. We are excited for our two expos in 2023, three exposes in 2024 including an international event, and three expos for 2025. Look forward to seeing you at the shows!