Women come to cannabis for a myriad of reasons. Telling our stories is essential to help eliminate the stigma around cannabis that prevents women from getting access to the information – and products and services – they want or need. We’re partnering with HerCannaLife.com to bring you women’s stories about their personal cannabis journeys. 

Meet Ophelia Chong, Stock Pot Images

Excerpted from HerCannaLife.com

You can find Ophelia Chong online speaking truth about cannabis, especially related to women and minorities. She doesn’t hold back and is well-respected in the cannabis industry for her candor, talent, activism and unfaltering support of other women. With her company Stock Pot Images, she is literally “changing the face of cannabis.”

How would you describe yourself and what you do?

I am a curator for the real faces and communities of cannabis. My mission is to educate the general public about what cannabis is.

What inspired you to start your company and when and how did you get started? What is your vision and mission for your Canna endeavors?

Last January 2015, my sister was visiting from a foreign country and she was curious as to how cannabis could help with her scleroderma . As we tried different edibles and oils, I was watching her reactions; and I was curious as to how cannabis users were portrayed in the media. I searched through the major stock photography sites, and what I saw surprised me in not a good way. No one looked like my sister.

That is how Stock Pot Images started, through love and a passion for truth.

What’s your Cannabis Origin Story? 

My story started with an image – an image of my sister and the images created by the media that demonized her and other cannabis users. This is not who we are.

What is your Superpower?

I believe that images are weapons of change, they unlock doors for viewers to see what is on the other side. That is my superpower, the power of the image.

Learn more about Ophelia’s vision for Stock Pot Images and for women of color in the cannabis industry on HerCannaLife.com.