I started to interview these women and learn how passionate they were about the plant. It’s not that it’s my whole life, but I was intrigued that there’s a lot of women in this subculture that we think of as a bro culture. I’ve had a relationship with cannabis since I was 14. I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued, so I started to go to cannabis networking mixers and farmers’ markets. I researched to figure out which way I was going to vote, and I read a statistic somewhere that said 36 percent of leadership roles in cannabis were filled by women. It was going to be normalised and the economy was going to be boosted here in California, or at least that’s what I thought. Legalising cannabis, we were going to have a shift in the way we think about it. I live in California and when cannabis legalisation was on the ballot in 2016 I was curious. Was the appeal of the project what you didn’t know about the subject, as much as what you already knew? It’s a beautiful portrait of resilient and courageous women going after their dreams, and the backdrop only happens to be cannabis. I had to shelve the film during the pandemic which slowed me down, but only to rest, which was a good thing. No regrets, it was a challenge, but I’m proud of the film. I’m an adventurer at heart, and I’m dedicated and passionate about telling stories by women, about women, for women, and marginalised communities as a queer filmmaker myself. It’s not only about making the film, it’s about the life experience I went through while making it. I felt it was rich storytelling, so I went with my intuition. I had no idea it was going to be four years of my life, but I was curious about this space. It’s not easy and I was a little naïve going into it. How do you look back on the experience of Lady Buds ? Making a film is not easy, nor is it a short process.
She hopes her film may help provoke her audience to challenge the status quo by supporting local businesses, women-owned businesses, and local farmers. In conversation with PopMatters, Russo discusses how corporate America threatens democracy. When the cannabis farmers, entrepreneurs, and activists discover the legislation has been written to favour big business, the story becomes less about fulfilling the promise of liberation from prosecution, instead holding onto their place in an industry ripe for acquisition by companies and individuals with deep pockets. This chapter in the evolution of the US cannabis industry is told from the perspective of a group of women: second-generation cannabis farmer Chiah Rodriques, retired school principal Sue Taylor, who dreams of opening a cannabis dispensary, Latinx queer activist Felicia Carbajal, entrepreneur Karyn Wagner, and cannabis pioneers, Pearl Moon and Dr. Russo’s documentary Lady Buds (2021), chronicles the legalisation and commercialisation of cannabis after the state of California passed “Proposition 64” in 2016.
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