Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Priest. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

CannaLance is driven by the mission to share cannabis education with the world. In 2011, my husband and I lost our son to a genetic condition known as Menkes Disease. During his short 11 tender months of life, he endured hundreds of seizures on nearly a daily basis. At this time, we enjoyed cannabis, but we were not privy to the plethora of benefits offered by cannabinoid therapies and were left asking ourselves the question, “what if?” What if Xander had had access to cannabinoid therapies, would the seizure monster have gone away? Would he have been able to live longer? Would it have improved his quality of life? These are all questions that we ask ourselves daily knowing that the answer is likely an astounding yes. After learning about the benefits of cannabis we started blogging in our free time hoping that our words would reach someone who was begging for answers where modern medicine had failed before it was too late.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My journey as a cannabis writer likely started many years ago. If you were to ask anyone I went to High School with they would tell you that “Ashley likes two things, writing and weed,” and they wouldn’t be lying. I have always loved cannabis and the culture surrounding it. I have also always had a deep passion for writing that started in late elementary/early middle school. I hold a cybersecurity degree and have worked a myriad of different hospitality and retail jobs. I never set out to become a cannabis writer, the universe simply aligned for it through the life and untimely death of my firstborn son Xander. Since starting our blog as Marijuana Writers in 2014, our company has been rebranded to CannaLance combining the freelancing aspect of our business and our target niche, cannabis. Through CannaLance, my husband and I have ghostwritten thousands of articles consisting of millions of words surrounding cannabis and its truth. My work has been published under my name in several print magazines and many online sites such as Potency710.com and CannabisNurse.com where I run both blogs. My largest portfolio portfolio of work is with Veriheal. Here I have over 450 published articles with nearly 2 million reads! My husband and I also authored a book at the beginning of our careers as cannabis writers titled “Did You Know This About Cannabis?” which can be found on Amazon.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Existing clients, hands down. Word of mouth is still an unparalleled form of advertising. Allowing our work to speak for itself and fostering great working relationships with our clients have been our greatest sources for new clients consistently over the years.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

When we started our business as Marijuana Writers in 2014, it all started with a dream and a $20 domain from GoDaddy. We built everything on our own from the ground up. Thankfully, as writers, the startup was very minimal and we have been able to thrive since 2014 without the need for investors or outside funding.

Contact Info:

• Website: cannalance.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannalance
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannaLance/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleypriestmjwriter/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CannaLance/