Angela Knittel: Dedicated to Promoting its Members
Angela Knittel: Worldwide Marijuana Community
She’s a woman who has found herself in a situation that many have faced, but instead of letting herself become another victim of the budget cuts and layoffs many companies were forced to make to stay afloat, she used it as an opportunity to break away and get ahead. Angela Knittel is the founder and CEO of Worldwide Marijuana Community and is the brains behind what is becoming the newest and most inclusive resource for those involved in marijuana-related industries. Her demeanor is unparalleled, her perspective is forward and contemporary, and she has an unwavering energy that will be pushing the green rush to the next level.
What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?
It is an emerging industry and holds potential, an immeasurable amount of potential. I have always been very aware of current events and found myself watching closely over the changing of legislation and the changing of opinion on cannabis and the amazing impact it can have on kids who are suffering from various illnesses. It just seemed like it was the right time and the right place to embark on something new and see it from the very beginning.
What were you doing before?
I worked as a trainer for a medical supply company. I did systems training, leadership and management training and essentially any legal compliance regulatory training. I was well-versed in our products and technologies and could teach anyone anything they needed to know about them.
Tell me about the point in the time you realized the coming of the ‘green rush’?
Simply turn on the news and there are all these stories of marijuana in medicine, in legislation… All you have to do is pay attention and you can see that it is there and ever-present. It reminds me of the dot-com era when, all of a sudden, everything exploded and there were new businesses and new opportunities. Now I am seeing the same thing here, except now it’s happening with marijuana.
Simply turn on the news and there are all these stories of marijuana in medicine, in legislation… All you have to do is pay attention and you can see that it is there and ever present.
Right now, where are you guiding your passion and energy towards?
I am really working towards developing that sense of community, because that’s really what this industry needs. So, with Worldwide Marijuana Community’s website, one of the things we are doing is trying to build that and become that resource you can depend on to find other cannabis-related businesses, find professional services, and find the assets you need to take your business to the next level.
In regards to finding other cannabis-related businesses, we are currently working on creating a directory as well as having an online forum for those involved to discuss issues, concerns, problems, and work towards solutions. We are really striving to be the community center of the marijuana industry.
Describe your work ethic to me in one word.
Diligent
Tell me about a time in your career that didn’t go as planned and what you did about that? How did you handle it?
I think the perfect example is last year, when the company I worked at over the last twelve years went into bankruptcy and in order to save itself they had to make a huge reduction of staff and they had to cut, by 20%, the pay of the employees who were left at the organization. So, my answer to that was to start my own business. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to depend on another organization to provide for my family and if I really wanted to make a difference, then I needed to find a niche to fill and work on building my own business and that’s what led us here.
What book have you read that you’ve been inspired by? Any particular read we should put on our list?
I would have to say, Leadership and Self-Deception, written by The Arbinger Institute. It talks about how we see ourselves and how we see others around us and how we treat people and how that dictates the type of life we lead, the type of person we are. It’s how we treat not only those who are politically, socially, economically equal to us, but also how we treat those who maybe aren’t as privileged, those who are subordinate to us. Do we see the humanity in each other?
Tell me about an esteemed achievement of yours.
It would have to be my onsite THC potency test kit that is currently under development. Tetra Micro Labs Inc. has been developing this easy-to-use test kit in order for consumers to know the potency of THC in the products they are buying. My patent-pending test kit will take the place of offsite lab testing for about ten dollars a test. This will definitely be my biggest achievement. We have a prototype and before long we hope to be in every dispensary across the country.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Own your weaknesses. By owning your weaknesses, they can no longer control you. We need to focus on what our strengths are. There is a lot of talk out there about the need to turn weaknesses into strengths and I have to say that I don’t believe you can do that, but by owning your weaknesses, you no longer let them control or define you. By making them yours, you know when to reach out and ask for help. When you do this, you allow yourself to broaden your own set of skills by bridging with another person whose strengths are your weaknesses.
What is the most important thing for us to know now about the legal marijuana industry?
That we are finally getting on the right side of history. Marijuana has only been illegal for seventy years; it has been used globally for over 3000 years. In this country, we made a mistake seventy years ago and we are finally getting around to fixing it.
We made a mistake seventy years ago and we are finally getting around to fixing it.
If we are sitting across from each other a year from now, how will our conversation about the ‘green rush’ be going?
I think we are going to be amazed at the progress that the industry has made. We already have several states that have either already legalized it or have it proposed to be on the books this year to be legalized. A year from now, we are going to be amazed by how much that number has grown. And hopefully, a year from now, we will be looking at having it rescheduled.
