 Jay Jackson is a man of many talents. He's known as a female illusionist, but he's also a choreographer and he's an advocate for cannabis. One of the things that he has done in his brand building is that he has been able to straddle the worlds between female performance and cannabis. So Jay, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to Green Marker Report. How did you decide that this was going to be your persona, Laganja Estranja? Well, first off, thank you so much for having me. I'm so grateful to anyone who is giving my voice some cadence in the world. And second of all, how I got to this position that I'm in today. You know, it's a long, long journey, but the shortened version is that I like to say drag chose me. I did not choose drag. I went to school to be a dancer and a choreographer. I grew up as a performer my whole life. So I had this innate ability to entertain people, but it wasn't until really college that the wig, the makeup, all of the things that come along with the art form of drag really happened for me. Because up to that point, I was just focused in dance. So it was a magical, a magical experience, which really changed my life. I had no idea in the beginning that one day people would be in line with joints for me. I mean, you know, the cannabis activist part of my journey really has been a wonderful surprise and something that I'm very proud of. Because, you know, as I've learned and gotten education, there's a there's a strong lineage between the LGBTQAI plus community and the cannabis community. And I really feel like I'm a good reminder of that and hopefully doing, you know, some new important work in those spaces. And you have been able to, like I said, parlay this into other businesses. So you have partnered with some of the cannabis companies for products. Can you tell us a little bit about that and how that's come about? Yes, it's definitely been a struggle as a queer person to partner with companies. I will be honest, that has been, you know, something I've had to really fight for as an activist is creating safe spaces for queer people in the industry. I think, unfortunately, a lot of big businesses came in and took over and kind of diluted the message and the whole essence of the plant, which is that it's a medicine. It's really here to help people. Even when you're consuming recreationally, you're getting medical benefits. But what was the point of this question? How you how you parlayed your brand into partnering with cannabis companies. So like I said, there was a difficult difficulty that I was faced with, right? And so what I chose to do and what I've been lucky enough to have is I've worked with a lot of women, you know, women I find are able to relate to this, you know, feeling that I've had as a queer person in the industry because they're women. I think I have had the similar relations with people who are of color. It's the same, you know, feeling of not really being able to belong and have access to the same medicine as others. And so what I've done is partner with those people, partner with those people who have a similar message and a similar desire as me. And that's been incredible. You know, Fruit Slabs is a wonderful woman owned company by a woman named Roxanne. And we created, well, she created vegan, gluten free, kosher certified fruit leathers, so they're very organic and delicious. And so I partnered with her and created my own flavor. I also worked with the Hepburns out of San Francisco, another woman run owned business by Ali. She had a product that then I, again, you know, created the different strains, worked with her to get the perfect blend. But I've never really had my own cannabis yet. That's something I'm working really hard on and trying to find the right growers and companies to partner with. I really, you know, I don't see as many people kind of. Pushing that narrative or that that message of self care, of, you know, wellness and and how the cannabis can, you know, do so much good. And I think it's interesting that you were so brave about embracing it and embracing it for your community. And I'm curious, have you seen maybe your impact on that? That your courage to step out that way has maybe had other people say, you know, Jay, thank you so much for doing this because now I have the courage to also step up and say, hey, I'm in the gay community and also I'm in the cannabis community. I do see it. I do hear it. Would I say it's often probably not. I think more I inspire people internally. I think at this point it's still not cool to be gay and smoke pot in the cannabis industry. I think among the LGBT people, if you smoke pot, you are cool. Like most of us all smoke pot because we all have PTSD and it works, you know. So in the queer community, I don't think it's seen as like you're a druggy. Whereas in the cannabis industry and you're bringing the queer dumb, it's like. Yeah, there's a level of uncomfortability and especially because like I said, as a performer, I am a very sexually charged character who owns that. And so I just think it confronts a lot of issues. That's why drag has always been a rebellious art form is because it is confronting this idea of gender and what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a man and that makes people uncomfortable. So I don't know. I feel like we're really making a lot of progress. I think drag is definitely becoming more pop culture. And I think cannabis is too. I just hope that both as they are put in the limelight are truly. Looked at. With an open heart and I, because there are so many misconceptions about both identities and we really need to break the stigma. In both areas and the only way we're going to do that is through education. I agree. And it's it's ironic that cannabis, which is so counterculture. All of a sudden starts to put up walls and say, well, we really only want these people in our sandbox because we're familiar with them. So I appreciate the efforts that you are making and the work you're doing. And I applaud you. I'm looking forward to the day that you get to perform on a stage again. I get to see you and thank you for your advocacy and what you're doing to bridge the worlds between the gay community and the cannabis community. Absolutely. I'm so excited to continue this journey. I think there is a lot of ground to be tilled and turned. And I can't wait to to be a part of it. You know, I'm one small voice, but I feel like my voice is helping others. As you said earlier, and that's what this is about. It's encouraging people to just be themselves and also accept that maybe the medicine that they're looking for is the alternative. It is cannabis and that there's nothing wrong with that. Thank you, Jay.