We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dori Wile . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dori below.

Dori , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I am a late bloomer when it comes to cannabis: I didn’t start using until I my 50’s. Until that point, I believed the lies our government told us about the dangers of marijuana. Once Colorado legalized cannabis, I tried it. First for sleep, then for anxiety and then for pain. Along the way I realized cannabis could help me focus and overall just made me a happier, healthier version of myself.

I replaced 4 different prescription medications with cannabis. (And the ones I replaced were the ones with a high chance of addiction.) It is empowering to be in charge of your own medication.

I’m from Texas: a state that is not very cannabis friendly. It was difficult to find other women my age who were using cannabis, but I knew they were out there. I decided to create a community where women over 50 could learn about cannabis in a non-judgmental environment and Half Baked Housewives was born.

The mission of Half Baked Housewives is to normalize, de-stigmatize and legalize cannabis so women over 50 can live their best lives with plant medicine.

Initially I held parties at my home called Tokin’ Tuesdays. Most of the women attending these events said they had never smoked with women their age before. Many didn’t have the opportunities I had to visit dispensaries in legal states and wanted to learn more about the latest products and research on cannabis for women our age.

I began selling carefully curated products at these events, not unlike a “Pampered Chef” party. As the Half Baked Housewives social media presence grew, I decided to take the business to the next level: e-commerce. After a year of working with suppliers, was ready to offer my own propriety products. Once my own products lines were developed, wholesaling was the logical next step. Which is where we are today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Throughout my professional life, I worked in corporate marketing for some of American’s top “cult brands” such as KFC, Popeyes, Krispy Kreme and Whataburger. At the University of Texas, I studied Mass Communications and excelled in the understanding of consumer behavior and how media could influence purchasing behavior. (BS, MA).

One of my first projects at KFC was to spearhead the DARE project in Texas elementary schools. This was during the 80s and the “just say no” movement was HUGE! While I do not regret my work with DARE, I do understand why so many of us raised our children to believe cannabis was harmful.

I’m proud to use these marketing skills today, but rather than promote a lifestyle that leads to high cholesterol, I now promote a plant that is amazingly good for us – especially for women over 50.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

THC vs CBD

Learning about cannabis in Colorado (Denver for business and Crested Butte for vacation), I thought cannabis products must have THC in order to be effective. Then I met my husband. My husband’s son has Dravet Syndrome, which is a horrible seizure disorder. My stepson was the first cannabis advocate in our family. In 2015 he sat next to Governor Greg Abbott as he signed the law making Epidiolex legal in Texas. (Epidiolex is the first FDA approved CBD medication). This was prior to the Farm Bill. This CBD-only medication significantly reduced the number, and severity, of his seizures.

Convinced that THC pain cream was superior to CBD only cream, I decided to learn more about CBD only products. I found that CBD only pain creams worked just as well as the THC pain creams. Taking CBD orally each day reduced the inflammation causing my arthritis.

Living in Texas, leaning in to CBD gave Half Baked Housewives a solid, legal revenue stream. Of course, traditional CBD products were just the start. By 2020, hemp derived cannabinoids which mirrored the intoxicating effects of THC came to Texas. Delta 8, and later Delta 9, products became available and are legal in accordance with the 2018 Farm Bill.

A year ago, Texas tried to outlaw Delta 8 and did so for a few weeks. The matter is currently tied up in our state judicial system. But for now, products which combine CBD and Delta 8 or Delta 9 are our biggest sellers.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Advertisers stop marketing to women in their 40s. I didn’t realize, until my 50s, that advertisers stop marketing to women over 50. Which is a huge mistake for the brands.

Women over 50 have the most buying power of any demographic. We are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation in history. Yet we are overlooked by advertisers and this is particularly true in cannabis. Cannabis marketing is very similar to fast food marketing: focused on young men age 18-34.

While the cannabis industry focuses on young men in search of stronger THC content, women over 50 begin to experience aches and pains they never had before. We are skeptical of physicians who only want to prescribe us more medications. We want control of our own healthcare.

On top of our buying power and the changes in our bodies, 83% of women over 50 are also care takers for someone else: aging parents, aging husbands and grandchildren. As women over 50 are introduced to cannabis for their needs, they introduce cannabis to those they take care of.

When women over 50 walk into a dispensary, they are met by young budtenders who don’t know much, if anything, about our conditions. Most are not comfortable assisting older clients. In all my years of traveling to legal dispensaries, there has only been one instance where my budtender was a woman my age! (And she quickly joined the HBH community!)

That’s why my mission is to move Half Baked Housewives products into legal dispensaries in all states. If dispensaries are unwilling/unable to hire women over 50, they will be able to direct women my age to the HBH display where the products are created specifically for women over 50.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.halfbakedhousewives.com
• Instagram: @halfbakedhousewives
• Facebook: @halfbakedhousewives; private Facebook group: Half Baked Housewives: The Sisterhood
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dori-wile-a4b96619b/

Image Credits
Kelsi Leigh Photography @iamkelsileigh