Living the Dream: Meghan Miller

My work with Chalice Brands in Oregon allows me to combine three things I’m passionate about: cannabis, the planet and the people behind the scenes. I believe that building strong relationships with small farmers and local businesses is the key to providing the best education, selection and value. This effort has become a conscious collaboration business model: a profit-driving strategy that relies on partnership and cross promotion. Working with small businesses is the foundation of the cannabis industry, and it remains integral to coming together as a community while delivering the best products Oregon has to offer.

We believe that local cannabis should be uplifted by local dispensaries, which explains the high value we place on collaboration with in-state growers and manufacturers. While we could fill our 16 storefronts with only our internal brands, Chalice is committed to sourcing half of our inventory from local vendors to give customers options from all top producers. We look for brands that need a second chance, may have been overlooked or that have an important story to share with our customers.

Independent local farms are an essential part of the cannabis industry, and we feel it’s our responsibility as a large distributor to help lift them up. We’ve established some of our best partnerships at the agricultural level, and we offer many opportunities to help them develop their brands and build their business. Variety is just as important to us as it is to our customers, so we make a point to stock flower from small cultivators as well as our larger competitors.

When major wildfires hit last year, we had warehouse space available and were able to safely store product for a handful of vendors throughout the summer. We may be competitors, but we like to think we’re all on the same team, working to provide quality education, reducing the cannabis stigma and driving nationwide legalization.

With the lack of state-level support, it’s key that the cannabis community supports each other. We need a bigger seat at the table, and the only way to make progress is through a unified voice. This is especially important for large companies, like us, lending a hand to smaller businesses rather than trying to squelch the competition.

Working together is key to remaining genuine, honest and transparent to consumers. The cannabis industry is seeing servant leadership at its best right now, and the decision makers across brands should be asking what adjustments need to be made in the community to move forward together.