“The reality is women actually run the world,” Ida Nelson told me over the phone last week, which got me laughing and clapping at the same time. Women know this statement as fact, but we still have to prove ourselves and our worth within mostly white, male-dominated industries. Nelson is using the hustle from the pandemic to change that and showcase her strength in entrepreneurship within the cannabis industry, which has grown tremendously in Illinois since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2020.
Like most folks who sought out new opportunities because of the pandemic, she started two businesses in 2020 and built off her passions of baking, women’s wellness, and community empowerment. After getting laid off from her corporate job in May, she launched Ida’s Artisan Ice Cream & Treats and made a line with organic cannabidiol, or CBD, which was the city’s first local CBD-infused ice cream. The ice cream comes in seven flavors including peach cobbler, caramel crunch, and turtle cheesecake, each with 50 mg of CBD oil, and they are smooth, creamy, very rich, and yes, very relaxing (I ordered five pints). To order some, folks can check out the menu online and then text Nelson at 773-956-3353—she or her daughter will deliver it to you over the weekend.
Chloe Millard, founder of Rose & Jade, also started her company last year to normalize a different kind of struggle: seeking help to relieve chronic pain, particularly for new mothers. Like Nelson, Millard experienced chronic pain from anxiety, stress, and pandemic life. After her second pregnancy, the 29-year-old was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, an ailment in which discs between the vertebrae of the spine deteriorate or break down. With a professional background in medical devices and pharmaceuticals, she didn’t want to get addicted to narcotic pain meds.
Millard sees the women-led growth in the cannabis industry as a reflection of the times, and how people respond to new methods of natural treatment, especially as it gains legal and mainstream traction. And a big part of that is representation: as more women start cannabis businesses, their clients feel more confident in speaking up about their needs. Local entrepreneurs like Millard and Nelson are positively impacting their communities by opening up new doors glittered with hope for better wellness, access, and equality within the industry.
