by Veronica Castillo
Meet Sue Carlton
I spent time with Sue and The Botanical Joint for a week in April during my tribute to Cannabis. I honored Cannabis during the first time that it was 4/20 all month long. The Botanical Joint sponsored my week long stay and I had such a nice time learning from Sue- founder and CEO.
Sue’s passion for what she does, the plant itself, and the systems of oppression is strong and much appreciated. She is a vocal hemp farmer, not scared to love the plant and advocate for the plant but not blinded by the oppression of the plant and how it was used to oppress minority groups.
Hear More from Sue Carlton about Cannabis and The Botanical Joint
Interview slightly edited for clarity.
Please tell me about your background and connection to Cannabis/Hemp?
“I started out working within medical grows in Oregon when I was 20. I personally really enjoyed cannabis for pain + stress relief from reproductive disorders. Working with it allowed me to get affordable flower + therapeutic relief through the plant. I transitioned into working with medicated edibles, creating chocolate and other confections for a few years, building award winning edibles like Couch Potatoes.
Growing was always my passion, my grandparents were the largest cattle farmers in Washington back in the 1940’s, along with my mother who grew up farming in Ohio. I feel that it runs in my blood, which is why I sought out to bring my passion for farming into the curation of The Botanical Joint- my licensed hemp farm in Fresno County, California.”
You are a Hispanic woman in a white male dominated industry; can you share a little about what it took to launch your company?
Honestly, it’s the 8 years of being exposed to oppression and discrimination on the agriculture side of Cannabis and hemp, that fueled me to say fuck working for the man and step up on my own to building my own business and farm.
“As a Hispanic female grower, it’s important for me to help represent and advocate for the inclusivity and equity of LatinX growers and other minority groups like Blacks and Asians; those that are highly underrepresented in the agriculture and overall cannabis industry. It’s important to take advantage of any opportunity I have to continue to use my platform to show that anyone- no matter size, strength, gender, sexual identity, can be anything you want to be. For me, that’s being a 5’4, 110-pound, female- operating and cultivating 200 boutique hemp plants outdoors.
What it takes is determination, perseverance, the ability to think outside of the box, and hope and trust mostly within yourself that you are your greatest tool to use in life.”
I love your passion for the plant, it’s obvious and appreciated; anything new coming that you can give us a little peak into?
“As of recently I have been working within genetics, I think it’s super cool to be able to say I’m a Latina in hemp genetics and may even be the first.
We have 8 various strains coming out this harvest, three of which I helped personally create the genetics for: Space Invader, Pacific Cooler, Quasar. I plan to continue on with genetics with my fiancé Crocquito, we are planning out our indoor facility buildout on our farm this year and we expect to have our boutique hemp seeds available by May 2021.”