Caron Cooper: Building Women in Cannabis Community & Businesses
- Ishqa Hillman
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
From Florida to Legal Cannabis: One Woman's Journey
Caron Cooper didn't stumble into cannabis—she moved across the country for it.
Growing up partially in Florida where cannabis access was "challenging," Caron reached a breaking point. "There just came a time where I thought, I'm going to move to a legal state."
In 2017, she packed up and headed west. By summer 2018, she found herself at CannaCon convention, looking around at an unexpected revelation: "Oh, there's an industry. There are businesses. There are a lot of farmers and people that need help with marketing."
With expertise in web design and marketing from her automotive agency background, the path became clear. "It was kind of a no-brainer. I wanna start a web design business and help cannabis companies."
Today, Caron founded CannaSite (approaching 450 websites built) and also now runs Women Employed in Cannabis (WEIC)—one of the industry's most vital networking communities for women.
Cannabis as Medicine: From Recreation to Anxiety Management
Caron's relationship with cannabis evolved significantly over the years. In her younger days, it was recreational. Working from home without much community, "it kept me occupied, kept me motivated. It sparked creativity and gave me energy."
Then came motherhood—and anxiety she'd never experienced before.
"When I had my first baby, I learned what anxiety was," Caron shares. Now a mother of two boys (ages 5 and 9), cannabis became "medicine for anxiety and dealing with the enormous and amazing pressure of holding a life in your hand."
She's not alone in this experience. The shift from carefree to worried is common among new mothers.
"I was very carefree until I had my babies," Caron reflects. "I'm an overthinker, so worrying about things that hopefully will never happen. Cannabis helps me not worry so much."
Beyond anxiety management, cannabis serves another crucial purpose: presence.
"I often use it to slow down my brain, take a minute, put on some music, and bring me back to okay—now I can prioritize, focus, or be present for my children."
Breaking the Lazy Stoner Stigma
The "canna boss babe" concept resonates deeply with Caron's experience.
"I get more done," she affirms. "It makes me a better employee, a better person."
The lazy stoner stereotype? Not her reality—or that of most cannabis professionals she knows.
"Time is so precious and we're all so busy," Caron notes. Cannabis helps her be more present rather than zoned out, productive rather than lazy.
This aligns perfectly with the ethos behind both her businesses and WEIC: cannabis users get shit done.
CannaSite: WordPress, Open Source, and Cannabis-Friendly Web Design
When Caron launched her web design business, she did something unusual: she offered $500 websites.
"Who's building a $500 website?" she asks rhetorically. Most agencies required long-term contracts, monthly fees, and kept clients dependent on them for every update.
Caron took a different approach rooted in empowerment and accessibility.
Why WordPress and Open Source Matter
"Why risk investing money and time into a platform that you don't know if they will support you in the long run?" Caron asks. "Starting over sucks."
Platforms like Squarespace and Shopify serve purposes, but for cannabis businesses, they present significant risks:
Data ownership issues: "Those platforms don't make it easy to take your data with you when you go. Even if you could take it, it doesn't easily import into the next place."
Terms of service changes: Cannabis-adjacent businesses face constant uncertainty. Platforms can change terms at any time, potentially shutting down your site overnight.
Federal uncertainty: "We still don't know what's happening with legalization federally. That can change at any time."
Caron's solution: WordPress and WooCommerce hosted on your own server.
"It's your data," she emphasizes. "The only entity that would have access is whoever's processing your credit cards."
The GoDaddy Problem
Caron sees another common mistake: "People build big, beautiful investment websites and then put them on the cheapest, worst server—sharing resources with thousands of other sites."
Privacy and data security matter more every day. "Why not start on the most autonomous, most protected platform where you can control your data?"
Beyond Websites: Education and Empowerment
CannaSite doesn't just build sites and disappear. The company provides:
Post-launch education videos
How-to tutorials clients can reference anytime
Websites built to scale (add wholesale programs, affiliate systems, etc.)
Email marketing and SEO services
DIY $500 templates for budget-conscious startups
"Everything is built to scale," Caron explains. "Work with us if you want, but you can also grow your website with your business on your own."
The philosophy? Empower clients to succeed independently while remaining available for support.
Women Employed in Cannabis: Creating Spaces and Stages
When Kira passed the WEIC torch to Caron, the decision felt both exciting and overwhelming.
"There's so many amazing women," Caron recalls thinking. "How do I do this? What are we gonna keep going? What can we make different? What can we make better?"
She spent nearly a year and a half listening—attending events, meeting women, understanding needs before implementing changes.
The result? A thriving free membership community focused on collaboration over competition.
The WEIC Mission: Spaces and Stages for Women
"The mission of WEIC is creating spaces and stages for women to get their thoughts out, their ideas, their dreams—whatever it is in the cannabis space," Caron explains.
Not everyone enters cannabis to make money. Many focus on advocacy, social justice, or community service. WEIC welcomes all.
"There's still so many women working on advocacy who are not making money," Caron notes. "There's space to give back."
That's why WEIC membership is free. No payment requirement to participate.
"If you're a woman employed in cannabis, you're a member. Come join our social groups, virtual events, get on the directory, connect to other women."
Monthly Networking That Actually Works
The monthly WEIC networking calls consistently draw impressive attendance—faces old and new filling the screen.
Unlike traditional networking that feels forced or transactional, WEIC focuses on genuine connection.
"It's such a motivating way to start the month and goal set," Caron shares. The tagline? "Schedule a call after the call."
Follow someone on social. Send an email. Set up a coffee chat. The magic happens in follow-through.
Recent success stories include members connecting for collaborations, book clubs, podcast appearances, and business partnerships—all stemming from monthly WEIC calls.
Third Thursday: Peer Mentoring and Tech Support
In 2026, WEIC launched "Third Thursday" office hours—peer mentoring sessions where women can:
Get feedback on projects
Brainstorm in community
Receive tech support
Escape the vacuum of working from home
"Not everyone can afford to build a website by hiring an agency. Some people just want to do it themselves," Caron notes. "How can we help support that?"
The space provides what Caron wished she had: "If I had a group where I could have gone to get this feedback, that would've been so beneficial. So let's create that."
The Better Together Philosophy
Caron inherited Kira's hashtag "better together" and lives by the principle that a rising tide lifts all boats.
"We are not competing with anyone," she emphasizes about WEIC's relationship with other women's cannabis groups. "How can we all serve? How can we grow with other groups for women and collaborate and lift each other up?"
This philosophy extends to her business approach with CannaSite, where she actively refers clients to other agencies when projects aren't the right fit.
"I'm friendly and friends and trade a lot of referrals with larger agencies," Caron says. "It's just not what I wanted to do. We're staying in our lane and being really good at what we do."
The Reality of Cannabis Entrepreneurship in 2026
Running cannabis businesses in 2026 means navigating significant uncertainty.
The hemp ban concerns Caron deeply. She's heard from people who sent letters to senators, receiving responses focused on "protecting children"—with suspiciously similar wording suggesting coordinated messaging.
"We're seeing more caution jumping in at this point than we have in a while," Caron observes. "More people are putting on the brakes."
Some clients now discuss backup plans, including looking outside the U.S. as other countries move forward on legalization while America feels stuck.
Despite challenges, Caron remains committed to serving the space through both quality web design and community building.
Balancing It All: Two Kids, Three Businesses, and WEIC
How does Caron manage CannaSite, her other ventures, WEIC, and parenting two young boys?
The honest answer: by not trying to do everything at once.
"Start with one page," she advises clients building websites. "You don't have to build eight or ten immediately."
She takes her own advice with WEIC, focusing on sustainable growth over ambitious overextension.
The good news? CannaSite's success allows her to hire support. She recently brought on two women specifically to help with WEIC initiatives.
"CannaSite allowed us to hire two women for WEIC to help bring these visions to life," she shares. "Start where we can and do that well, then we'll keep growing."
Why Women Do It Better
Caron doesn't shy away from her preference for working with women.
"My experience is that women put out higher quality work," she states plainly. "I like working with other women. We tend to stay truer to the mission and less so to the profit."
She's inspired by purpose-driven brands and finds that women-led companies consistently prioritize mission over margins.
This philosophy shapes both CannaSite's client roster (heavily female entrepreneurs) and WEIC's focus on creating opportunities for women specifically.
In the full episode:
Caron shares even more in the full episode, including:
✨ Her filmmaking background and preferring to be "behind the camera"
✨ Advice she gives website clients about starting small
✨ Why she left automotive agency work
✨ The intersection of indica vs. sativa and creative work
✨ How WEIC hired its first employees
✨ Connections between Old Mom Stoners Club and WEIC members
✨ Why 450 websites doesn't feel like enough
✨ The importance of attending other women's groups
✨ Cannabis book club launch details
Listen to the full episode:
Connect with Caron Cooper:
CannaSite: CannaSite.com
Women Employed in Cannabis: WomenEmployedInCannabis.com
Join free WEIC membership
Attend monthly networking (first of the month)
Join Third Thursday office hours
Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts for weekly conversations with women building the cannabis industry's future—together.
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