Can you define “functional mushrooms”?
Functional mushrooms are the reishi, lion’s mane, turkey tail, maitake, cordyceps. A lot of these functional mushrooms will give you energy or relax you, but they’re all adaptogens and really great for us in general. They help strengthen and support our immune systems, but they don’t give us any fun. They’re not fun or mental health mushrooms.
You are active in the movement to legalize psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. Can you talk about that work?
The Psychedelic Access Project advocates for the rational and fact-based reevaluation of psychedelics on the communal and state level. It’s just a group of us getting together to educate legislators. As we move through this in the state-led [Psychedelic Medicine Task Force], we’re here to educate and lobby for [law changes].
So you will be down at the Capitol, lobbying on psychedelic issues?
It hasn’t really booted up yet, but it will be. Right now we’re gathering in the background, listening to the task force and what their movements are going to be and figuring out how we can help move them forward. We’ll also reach out to the legislators and educate them on what they want to know.
Which psychedelic drugs are we talking about?
We’re going to be talking about psilocybin, LSD and MDMA.Â
Are we only talking about legalization for therapeutic purposes, or are we talking about a broader legalization?
Right now, it’s all going to be strictly medical.
Tell me about your personal history and how you were inspired to get into the cannabis business?
I did 20 years of massage therapy, a lot of energy work back in the 1990s. I spent almost a decade in the mental health sector. I also went into the corporate world for quite some time. I’m originally from Missouri, and in 2012 I came up here to Minnesota. My mom was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016. At the same time, my grandmother suffered multiple strokes. We went down to Missouri because my mom was in the hospital and my grandmother got kicked out for insurance purposes the same weekend. We decided to relocate to Missouri where I helped my mother with end of life care. Through that is really where I reconnected with cannabis. It was either explore more plant medicines or get onto some sort of pharmaceutical medications for anxiety and depression. I went to cannabis first. I had some issues with cannabis in the past, but I really wanted to try plant medicine. CBD is what really helped me gain myself back. I wanted to bring that to the market in Minnesota, and that’s exactly what I did.Â
Where did the name House of Oilworx come from?Â
You know, names are hard. Full transparency, when we [formed the LLC] back in 2019, hemp was still very much taboo and hard to maneuver through. We were looking at offshore banking just to get started. So not having hemp or cannabis in our name was really critical, as was being able to pivot if the industry did not pick up. So House of Oilworx just became something that emulated what we were using at the time, which was oils because CBD was a sublingual oil. And if that didn’t work, we could sell cooking oil or essential oils. The name House of Oilworx really encompassed the ability to move a little freely in the space.Â
How has the reception been from the community for a shop like yours in an outer-ring suburb?
The community has really embraced it. When we first started a lot of people were a little iffy about it. By putting ourselves out there and really educating everyone more than trying to sell them something gave them confidence in us. They know that it’s quality over quantity and if they have questions they can just come in and ask.Â
Are there any considerations that you’ve had to deal with that a similar shop in, say, Minneapolis or St. Paul might not have to worry about?
In the bigger cities there’s a lot more anonymity. I do have to deal with small-town politics and pretty much everyone knows what I’m doing all the time. And with my orange hair I can’t go anywhere without someone knowing who I am.Â
Where do you see your business going? Where would you like to be five to 10 years from now?
In a five-year outlook, our business would be set up on the adult-use side, whether it’s a microbusiness or a retail spot. For me, I really have a passion to get this cannabis side solidified, and then continue the psychedelic movement on not only the state level, but wherever we can get the ball rolling.Â
What advice would you give someone who is thinking about getting into the cannabis industry?
The biggest advice that I would have is make sure that you try to create a work-life balance, and just make connections. Look at every avenue, you never know where one connection could lead you to another connection that can lead you to the end goal.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.Â
