There Was No Ceiling

By Lindsay French, Founder of Hippie & French

In 2020, I walked into a women-in-cannabis conference and made a decision that felt both terrifying and inevitable. I approached the CEO of Wana Brands, looked her in the eye, and asked if she would be my mentor.

The room felt electric with estrogen, ambition, and momentum. Women weren’t asking for space in cannabis anymore. We were already taking it—building brands, educating customers, creating culture, and redefining wellness in an industry that had long been shaped without us in mind.

I left believing there was no ceiling.

Hippie & French founder Lindsay French with artist and cannabis advocate Lizzy Jeff at a women-in-cannabis conference in 2020..

I believed Hippie & French could become a recreational dispensary created for women and for anyone overlooked by traditional cannabis culture. I wanted it to feel elevated, welcoming, and safe—never clinical, intimidating, or built only for men.

That vision guided us for years.

Hippie & French became a place where people could ask questions without shame—where women could speak openly about pain, sleep, anxiety, menopause, and intimacy, and where cannabis wellness felt thoughtful, beautiful, and deeply personal.

This year, I made decisions that pulled us away from that culture. I take responsibility for them, but I will not allow two difficult months to erase nearly eight years of education, community, and care.

Hippie & French was built for people too often ignored by the traditional cannabis industry. Women helped build this culture. Black communities built this culture, even while people remain incarcerated for the same plant that now creates wealth for others. That history cannot be separated from its future.

Today, we are still standing on Butler Street while construction and constant disruption make an already difficult year harder for neighborhood businesses.

But we are still here.

We are returning to what made Hippie & French matter: thoughtful education, honest conversations, an elevated experience, and a space where people feel seen.

We know who we built this for, and we are protecting that culture again.

We’re here. Come see us. Let’s move forward together.