The first time I met Penny Lane, she crowned me.
Not with a title, not with clout—cat ears. Soft, playful, wildly disarming. She keeps extra pairs in her bag the way elders keep peppermint in church: ready to offer comfort, ready to make a stranger feel like family. That crown is her signature handshake, her way of saying you belong.
In a business where velvet ropes pretend to be values, Penny walks right past the pretense and builds a circle. If she taps you, that means she sees the spark in you—and she expects you to light up the next room.
I’ve watched her do it on the biggest floor in the game—MJBizCon—where her legend includes getting married among the booths and billion-dollar whispers. Not metaphorically. Literally. In the middle of the commerce, the commotion, the clinking of lanyards and the low hum of nondisclosure agreements, Penny and her husband said their vows.
She created the aisle—she built one out of love, legacy, and cannabis smoke. She turned the ultimate business conference into a statement: We are here. We belong. And we are building something real.
It wasn’t about spectacle—it was about symbolism. Love and partnership standing tall in a culture that too often forgets its heart. Penny and her husband tied the knot—an anchored the moment. They showed the world that business and belonging can coexist, and that the plant which healed her could also witness her joy.
A CROWN MADE OF CAT EARS
Penny moves through the cannabis industry with a kind of radiant defiance. Missouri plates on the rental, miles on the odometer, she’ll drive cross-country to make an event because connection travels better by road. On the floor she’s part oracle, part concierge. A Puffco in one hand, her favorite Vibes cone in the other—always one gram, sometimes one-and-a-half—and those cat ears tucked where others would stash business cards.
She’s glamour and ground in one body: nails on flex and logistics lethal. You won’t forget the look, but what lingers is the feeling—seen, steady, invited.
“There was no blueprint,” she told me. “Just grit, intuition, and a deep love for the plant.”
Years before the photos and fame, there were seizures and nights that stretched forever. “Rick Simpson himself handed me RSO and said, Try this—it will help. That night, for the first time in a long time, I slept without fear,” Penny said. “It wasn’t magic—it was balance returning.”
That was her first miracle moment—the one that redefined everything. “Cannabis isn’t my hobby,” she said. “She’s a lover, a teacher, a mirror—but above all, she’s a partner. I respect her power, and in return, she helps me remember mine.”
THE BEAUTIFUL FORCE BEHIND THE FACE
Penny knows what people see first—the lashes, the polish, the perfect posture. But she also knows what they miss.
“The biggest misconception,” she said, “is that if you’re a beautiful woman in weed, you must be the face, not the force.”
She’s proof that glamour is not camouflage—it’s clarity. “Being beautiful doesn’t make me less credible,” she said. “It makes me undeniable.”
Penny has built brands, educated communities, and negotiated partnerships that shifted the conversation. She’s walked into rooms designed to keep her out and turned doubt into leverage.
Her style is prophecy, not performance. “My visual identity is where women in cannabis are headed,” she told me. “Polish without apology, softness without surrender.”
THE SOUL AUDIT
Ask her what frustrates her most and she doesn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely—the rush for profit has blurred the soul of cannabis for too many,” she said. “Money and trends take priority over the plant, the culture, and the communities that built this industry.”
She’s seen it all—the tokenism, the shortcuts, the hollow hashtags. Her antidote is action. She mentors new women in the space, advocates for patients, and reminds everyone that this plant started as medicine, not marketing.
“The work isn’t about hype or fast wins,” she said. “It’s about preserving the heart of cannabis while setting a standard for the leaders who follow.”
WHEN OKLAHOMA TURNED IT UP
You haven’t truly lived until you’ve hosted an event with Penny Lane—especially in Oklahoma, where the smoke, the sound, and the stories all hit different.
In 2025, Penny and I co-hosted The Oklahoma Cannabis Music Awards, along with an Annual Biker Rally and let me tell you—what a day. From the golden trophies to the sound of artists performing, the energy was electric. Penny commanded the stage in full pink glam, along with her ambassadors.
And only in Oklahoma could we go from awarding “Best Dispensary and Influencer of the year to calling out the winner of the Annual Oklahoma Bikers’ Tittie Parade—and yes, that’s a real event. When Penny took the mic to announce it, the crowd erupted. It was wild, irreverent, and unforgettable—pure Oklahoma. That’s the thing about her—she can move from advocacy to humor without missing a beat, bridging the plant and the people with ease.
We laughed until our sides hurt, crowned winners, sparked joints, and celebrated the heartbeat of an industry that’s still figuring itself out but always knows how to party. Penny brings the good time.
THE CHAOS BEHIND THE CONFIDENCE
Her feed is clean, her campaigns flawless, but what no one sees is the weather behind the window. “Behind every post, shoot, event, and campaign is a storm,” Penny said. “Late nights, last-minute scrambles, airports, creative blocks, and moments I question if I’m enough.”
Polish, she says, is earned. “It comes from surviving the chaos while still showing up like a boss.”
She knows burnout is real—and she doesn’t glamorize it. “Hustle without boundaries will break you,” she said. “Rest, reflection, and self-care aren’t indulgences. They’re survival tools. In a culture that glorifies nonstop grind, knowing when to step back is the ultimate power play.”
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
If you’ve ever been underestimated, study her strategy.
“I walked into a high-level event as the only woman in the room,” she recalled, “and the only one whose presence was openly questioned.”
She didn’t shrink. She recalibrated the energy. “Being underestimated is one of the sharpest advantages in this industry,” she said. “Visibility is power.”
Penny can float and anchor in the same breath—grace and grit sharing the same skin. “Glamour gets attention,” she told me. “Substance keeps respect.” She’s teaching this industry that femininity and authority are not opposites—they’re the new balance sheet.
THREE RULES TO BUILD BY
Penny’s mentorship comes with clear direction. Her rules are gospel for any woman entering the space:
- Know your sh*t. This isn’t a hobby—it’s a regulated, competitive industry. Study it.
- Don’t confuse visibility with respect. Being bold will get you noticed, but knowledge earns authority.
- Guard your energy and build your people. Your circle is your sustainability.
“Confidence isn’t about never feeling unsure,” she says. “It’s about choosing to rise anyway.”
HER LEGACY IS LIVED, NOT LABELED
Ten years from now, Penny Lane doesn’t just want to be remembered—she wants to be replicated.
“Legacy is about influence, impact, and opening doors for others,” she said. “It’s proving women can define culture on their own terms.”
And if her brand disappeared tomorrow? “I wouldn’t flinch,” she smiled. “I’d build again—bigger and smarter. Influence isn’t tied to a logo; it’s in vision, action, and impact. Resilience can’t be banned. Boldness can’t be silenced.”
MJ BIZ AND BEYOND
If you’ve ever walked the floor at MJBiz, you’ve seen her. She’s the energy that cuts through the fatigue. When everyone else is clutching swag bags and spreadsheets, Penny’s handing out cat ears and conversation. She’ll crown a stranger, spark a dialogue, and remind the room what cannabis culture feels like.
And after hours? That’s where her legend really lives. Penny and her husband are the couple everyone wants to chill with—equal parts wisdom, wildness, and warmth. Their partnership mirrors the plant: rooted, evolving, beautifully balanced. They remind us that behind every empire worth building, there’s love.
Teaching a Generation of Cannabis Bankers