Three dispensaries eye global market
By Patrick Wagner
OAKLAND, Calif. – Dona Frank was introduced to the cannabis industry through the Detroit chapter of the Hell’s Angels when she was just 15 years old. Since then, the industry has shifted away from the black market and Frank has moved from Motor City to sunny California.
Today she is the founder and owner of the Natural Cannabis Company, which operates as the parent company of three dispensaries and many other ventures.
“My pride and joy is High Art,” she said of an international art competition she set up in collaboration with Juxtapoz Magazine.
Frank has been successful at exploring the fringes of where pop culture and cannabis meet ever since opening her first dispensary back in 2005. The key, she said, is treating her enterprises just like any other business.
“One of my icons and heroes is Steve Jobs,” Frank said. “I really loved the way that they (Apple) present their business, and so I tried to emulate some of my favorite businesses.”
Now with three dispensaries in California — MendoCann, OrganiCann and Oakland Organics — Frank said the main reason she has remained a consistent member of California’s tumultuous cannabis industry is because of her transparent business practices and dedication to local farmers. By paying the IRS, social security and worker’s compensation, as well as providing every employee with a payroll check, Frank has been able to ensure her companies remain on the right side of the law.
“We just acted like a legitimate business,” she said. “That’s how we stayed afloat and didn’t get the wrath of the government. I think also because I honored the farmers that we worked with. We are not vertically integrated, meaning we don’t grow our own and sell our own. We do have our own cultivation, but it is only about 5% of our operation and about 95% of our operation is with the small farmers of Northern California. We’ve remained steadfast to that business plan for 10 years.”
With her businesses firmly embedded in California, Frank is waiting on a change in federal legislation in order to capitalize on a national — and eventually global — market with her website.
“We’ve always been of the mindset that click-and-order will replace brick-and-mortar eventually,” she said. “Everybody is trying to get a license in Maryland or a license in New York but I’m thinking, ‘Why? Why go to all of these cities?’ … Eventually I would like to send out our procurement team all over the world to take a look at what cannabis is being grown. We’ve coined the term ‘global cannabis network’ and we’re hoping to grow into those shoes.”