Cannabis Queen

Cheryl Shuman is known world over as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana"(Photo by Reco Moore)

By Kimberley Cummins

Cheryl Shuman loves marijuana.

You would not be able to tell it if you just took her at face value. A tall, blond, slim, Caucasian blue-eye beauty.  

An inquisitive mind might ask, ‘what could she possibly know about herb? 

Everything! She might respond.

Cheryl eats cannabis; drinks it, preferably in a “power smoothie” that is marijuana, wheatgrass and vegetables. She cooks with it, bakes with it, bathes with it, lotions and oils her body with it. Whatever the form, Cheryl finds a way to utilise marijuana in her daily routine.

No, she isn’t any regular drug fiend; for almost 15 years she has carved a niche in the cannabis industry in the United States of America and through her marijuana businesses has amassed a net-worth of an estimated US$100 million, as of 2017.

Cheryl shared her cancer journey.
(Photo by Reco Moore) 

Cheryl is the founder of the Beverley hills Cannabis Club and has been dubbed the “Martha Stewart of marijuana”.

Prior to 2006 she was just another Beverley Hills mum whose life revolved catering for her daughter, socialising, shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. She had moved to California in her early 20s, and quickly built a career catering eye wear to the stars and was twice divorced.

Before delving into the cannabis world, it was never on her radar

In her address during the second annual Barbados Medical Cannabis conference held in at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus recently, the 59-year-old said the only time she had ever considered using herb was around 1996 when her psychiatrist prescribed it because of major anxiety disorders.

So how did she get from that point to now being one of the most recognisable faces of the industry and having a clientele made up of “celebrities and high-profile millionaires and billionaires”?

One word– cancer.

Just before establishing her business, Cheryl was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Fighting back tears, she told the story of how her doctors had all but written her off and were preparing her for imminent death.

To state that her life had hit rock bottom because of the diagnosis is an understatement. The cancer had spread to her colon, bladder and other vital organs. Cheryl said that even after she underwent a radical hysterectomy subsequently, her condition continued to go down hill to the point that her organs started to shut down, and she developed infections.

 Three 3 months to live.

 “It still makes me cry sometimes . . . my doctors told me I had less than three 3 months to live. A problem with ovarian cancer is it’s completely asymptomatic. I had no idea I was sick. Unfortunately with ovarian cancer by the time you have symptoms it is too late,” she recounted.

She was then transferred to a hospice care at the James Cancer Centre in Columbus.

Forgetting that preceding to her sickness she had had signed up to “meet love” on the single’s website Match.com, Cheryl got an unlikely buoy when she received a ping from an old school mate.

She recalled: “There was this guy who we went to high school together he had been an organic farmer and when he found me and visited me in the end-of-life care. He said to me that his sister was growing two specific strains [of cannabis] in northern California. One is called cannatonic and one is called Cannabis indica, they were indigenous strains specifically for that region and the area of Humboldt County and is heralded as the best cannabis area in the world.”

Cannatonic is a unique hybrid strain bred by Spanish seed bank Resin Seeds specifically for its low Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content and high Cannabidiol (CBD) content.

THC is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, and causes the sensation of getting “high” that’s often associated with marijuana. However, CBD is not psychoactive which makes it an appealing option for those who are looking for relief from pain and other symptoms without the mind-altering effects of marijuana or certain pharmaceutical drugs.

CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.

At the 2nd annual Barbados Medical Cannabis conference.
 (Photo by Reco Moore) 

The “cannabis queen” decided to treat herself with high-doses of the oil, which she had smuggled into the centre.

“It was very scary during that time, that was in 2007 and keep in mind when I was in the hospice . . . and that time there was a 15 year to life sentence if you got caught with cannabis. So not only was I risking my life to do that, to have him bring these flowers and seeds in from California to Ohio,” she said.

But what she found interesting was that growers at that time were throwing these flowers away because they didn’t get them high. Since it had such a high CDB content it was considered not of any value.

In the next 30 days or so after self-medicating, she made a 100 per cent turn around, was off her IV morphine pump, able to bathe and walk easily. And she left the centre against medical advice (AMA), according to her, to take a chance on a new life filled with cannabis.

“Quite frankly, when you are dying what do you have to lose?” she asked.

“I signed out AMA, went to my friend’s house on the farm, he started using the cannabis for baking, then we started with oils and all different kinds of things. We started working these strains and that’s what started the CDB craze,” she explained.

Cheryl, who is the face of Moms of Marijuana, the largest activist groups for women in the industry, recounted that when she first delved into the sector she was labeled a fraud. Even today, there are a still number of anti-Cheryl Shuman sites online who condemn her for being self-serving rather than an activist and some questioned if her cancer diagnosis was real.

“I was called a con artist, a snake oil salesman. CDB, what is that? It’s some kind of scam.’ And guess what, it is not easy dodging bullets on the front line. It is not easy being called names and then again when you’re dying what do you care? It’s like you just do it and make it happen. The only thing that you really need is passion, empowerment and believing in yourself. I truly believe my living example can do that, can manifest those things,” she said.

Cannabis business ventures

Today Cheryl claims to be cancer free as a result of her marijuana use although it has yet to be proven if such is possible and the American Cancer Society warns that while some studies have so far shown that cannabinoids can be safe in treating cancer, they do not show that they help to control or cure the disease.

That’s why they have cautioned that relying on marijuana alone as a treatment while avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences.

When Cheryl is not touring the world delivering addresses, she noted for $US1,000 an hour, she is operating her own cannabis farm, hosting marijuana parties and engaging in her several marijuana interests and hawking products like golf shirts, ashtrays, hemp infused shampoo and olive oil, a line of hand-held marijuana vaporisers.

Cheryl on her cannabis farm.
(Internet photo)