Meg Sanders, CEO and co-founder of Canna Provisions, an employee-owned company (ESOP), has spent more than 15 years shaping the legal cannabis industry — from helping write Colorado’s first recreational cannabis regulations to building the most awarded dispensary in Massachusetts. This International Women’s Day, we’re honoring her journey and the women leading cannabis forward in Massachusetts and beyond.
International Women’s Day lands on March 8, and there’s no better time to spotlight the women who are building this industry from the ground up. In cannabis, where roughly 8 to 10 percent of top leadership roles are held by women, leaders like Meg Sanders aren’t just running successful businesses — they’re proving what’s possible when women get a real seat at the table.
From Colorado’s Cannabis Dawn to the Berkshires
Meg Sanders’ story in cannabis starts in 2009, when the legal industry was barely more than an idea taking shape in Colorado. She left a career in financial compliance to take a chance on a brand-new market — one where, as she’s described it, the braver you were, the luckier you got.
In 2010, she opened Mindful, one of Colorado’s first medical cannabis dispensaries. Two years later, when Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 to legalize adult-use cannabis, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Sanders to the 24-member Implementation Task Force charged with building the state’s recreational regulations. She was the only representative from the cannabis industry selected — a clear signal of how seriously regulators valued her perspective.
That work helped shape the regulatory blueprint other states would follow. But Sanders’ influence in Colorado didn’t stop at regulation. She also served on the Aurora Economic Development Council board and participated in a National Science Academy workshop alongside representatives from the White House, FBI, and NSA to advance cannabis research and policy — the kind of policy-level work that most people in the industry never get close to.
As CEO of Mindful, Sanders grew the company into a nationally recognized cannabis brand with dispensaries and production facilities across Colorado and Illinois, eventually successfully divesting the business. Along the way, she raised capital for and consulted with more than 30 cannabis companies across five states, building expertise in nearly every corner of the legal market. Her leadership caught the attention of major media: 60 Minutes, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC, ABC, CBS, Rolling Stone, High Times, and international outlets including Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and the Times of London have all featured her as a voice of the legal cannabis movement.
Building Massachusetts’ Most Awarded Dispensary
Sanders brought all of that experience east when she and her partner Erik Williams co-founded Canna Provisions. The Lee dispensary opened in 2019 as only the second standalone adult-use dispensary licensed in Massachusetts, followed by the Holyoke location in 2020. Canna Provisions also operates a cultivation facility in Sheffield, and a Pittsfield location is currently in the works.
Since its inception, Canna Provisions has earned more “Best Dispensary in Massachusetts” awards than any other cannabis retailer in the state, solidifying its position as a top 10 cannabis business in Massachusetts. The company has been named Best Cannabis Dispensary in the Valley Advocate’s Best of the Valley readers’ poll two years running, Best Recreational Dispensary in MA by Chronogram Magazine for three consecutive years, and its Smash Hits cannabis line — developed by director of cultivation Greg “Chemdog” Krzanowski — has racked up awards including wins at the Croptoberfest Cup and High Times People’s Choice.
Sanders herself was named Cannabis Business Leader of the Year in Massachusetts at the 2023 NECANN Community Awards and was recognized as one of 75 Notable Leaders in Cannabis by Green Market Report that same year. Marijuana Venture Magazine featured her in its “Women to Watch” spotlight for her track record of thriving in volatile, competitive markets.
Under her leadership, Canna Provisions remains one of the few profitable cannabis operators in the United States — a distinction that speaks to Sanders’ operational discipline in an industry where roughly two-thirds of businesses are not profitable.
Community Builder, Not Just Business Builder
What sets Meg Sanders apart from many cannabis executives is the depth of her community involvement. In 2023, the Lee Chamber of Commerce unanimously voted Canna Provisions its Corporate Citizen of the Year — the first time in the Chamber’s 100-year history that a cannabis business received the nomination, let alone the award.
That recognition didn’t happen by accident. Sanders is deeply embedded in the communities where Canna Provisions operates. She collaborates with organizations including the Lee Chamber of Commerce, Berkshire Humane Society, EforAll (where she’s been a startup mentor since 2022), Berkshire Business and Professional Women, 1Berkshire, the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, Holyoke Rotary, the Lee Lions Club, and the Lee Cultural Council. That’s not a list of logos on a sponsorship page — it’s the real, ongoing work of someone who believes a cannabis business should be a community asset.
Why Women-Led Cannabis Businesses Matter
The cannabis industry has a representation problem. While women now make up a significant and growing share of cannabis consumers — a 2023 University of Michigan study found that women ages 19 to 30 reported consuming more cannabis than men for the first time since tracking began in 1975 — women remain dramatically underrepresented in executive roles. Meg Sanders knows that and works at every turn to make sure women have a seat, and a voice, at the boys table.
Less than three percent of cannabis financing goes to women-owned businesses, according to data shared at the 2025 Women Grow Leadership Summit. Sanders has been direct about what it takes to change that: when investors support women leaders at the same rate they support men, the industry will have more women leaders.
At Canna Provisions, Sanders has modeled a different kind of company. The business operates as an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), making it one of a small number of employee-owned cannabis companies in Massachusetts. That structure means the people who power the business — many of them women — have a genuine stake in its success. As Sanders has put it: we should all be rowing in the same boat, winning together.
Growing Humans, Not Just Plants
One of the things that distinguishes Sanders as a leader is her commitment to developing people. She’s described the company’s philosophy simply: “At Canna Provisions, we’re not just growing plants and growing a business — we’re growing humans”. Another reason we honor International Women’s Day: Celebrating Meg Sanders and Women in Cannabis.
That means investing in training programs that go well beyond product knowledge. At Canna Provisions, budtenders are called “Guides” because Sanders believes the shopping experience should feel like a guided journey, not a transaction. It means creating a workplace culture where employees across every age group — from their 20s to their 70s — feel like they’re part of something meaningful when they put on their badge and walk through the door.
It also means mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs through EforAll, advocating for smarter cannabis regulation in Massachusetts, and continuing the work she started in Colorado to make the legal cannabis industry more practical, more equitable, and more human.
Visit Us This International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is a moment to recognize contributions, but at Canna Provisions, the values Meg Sanders has built into this company are year-round commitments — from curating products that serve the full spectrum of cannabis consumers to creating an inclusive, education-first shopping environment where every person who walks through the door is met with care.
If you haven’t visited us yet, this is a great time to stop by and experience what a woman-led dispensary looks and feels like. Our Guides are ready to help you find exactly what you’re looking for — whether you’re a seasoned cannabis enthusiast or exploring for the very first time.
Happy International Women’s Day from the entire Canna Provisions team. Here’s to the women building this industry — one customer, one community, and one thoughtfully curated menu at a time.
Visit Canna Provisions: Lee, MA | Holyoke, MA | Pittsfield, MA (Coming Soon)
Browse our menus: Lee Menu | Holyoke Menu
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