High Achiever Gaynell Rogers Shares Her Cannabis, Cancer, and Cooking Journeys
The cannabis-industry veteran collects her stories and recipes in her new book, Gaynell’s Kitchen.
Gaynell Rogers’s personal cannabis journey closely follows the plant’s circuitous path to prominence in the United States, including the sharp turns and the fits and starts. She discovered cannabis during the prohibition-era, as a teenager in the 1960s. Rogers later relocated to the Bay Area, where she worked as a publicist in the music business, the film industry, and the cannabis space. Rogers helped shape the narrative during the early days of medical cannabis, and now the four-time cancer survivor is sharing her story with a new book, Gaynell’s Kitchen: Down Home Cooking From A Wayward Southern Belle.
We spoke with Rogers, who is a Cannabis Media Council advisor, about her life and her book, which is available for pre-order. Keep reading for our conversation with Gaynell and to get a taste of the stories and recipes she’s sharing from her life in music and film.
How long have you used cannabis?
Off and on since eighth grade and more during college to adult life. I grew up in what was called “The Space Coast” of Florida, not just because of Cape Canaveral and NASA and rocket ships. We had world and national champion surfers land in our midst in Melbourne Beach and Indialantic, Florida. There was a large and famous surf community near Cocoa Beach that used cannabis all the time.
How did you discover cannabis?
My “surf bunny” sister introduced me to cannabis in the mid-1960s in Florida when we were in eighth grade. Caught her sorting seeds from stems in our bathroom! A hilarious moment.
We’d sneak out of the house in the middle of the night when we heard that bales of “hay” had washed up on the beach. When the boats were running cannabis in the middle of the night, sometimes they got caught in a storm and turned over. They were running cannabis from the Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico, and it was in “high” demand. Heady times for sure!
What’s your cannabis routine? How and when do you consume cannabis?
As a now four-time cancer survivor, I started using cannabis for medical purposes in 2007 after a bout with colon cancer. I have had four cancers in the last 28 years and proud to say it has been an essential part of my daily routine, in and out of treatments.
“Did those directors, producers, session players, and engineers do cannabis? You betcha. All under the radar because of the stigmas of the times and the risk of reputations, but it was always present. ”
I consume cannabis tinctures and gummies two or three times a day, depending on my current treatment course, to treat the aches and pains or to lift my mood in the cancer treatment settings — which can be depressing but also uplifting, depending on how you want to look at it. We are lucky to have such good health care in the Bay Area, and Stanford is a gold standard in cancer care. I also have MD Anderson in Houston as my second team to run things by.
How did cannabis play a role in your career? And how is this book an outgrowth of your journey?
I worked in the music and film industries for many years, as a Senior Publicist and Head of Feature Film Publicity, working on movies, documentaries, music, and post-production on films. Studios like Russian Hill Recording in SF, The Plant in Sausalito, Lucasfilm at Skywalker Ranch , and Pixar in Emeryville. Did those directors, producers, session players, and engineers do cannabis? You betcha. All under the radar because of the stigmas of the times and the risk of reputations, but it was always present.
I was cooking for many of these celebrity folks along the way. David Byrne, John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, Wynton Marsalis, and Taj Mahal to name a few. This is all now in the new book Gaynell’s Kitchen: Down Home Cooking From A Wayward Southern Belle, as well as my cancer and cannabis adventures.
In 2009, after co-founding the Rustic Bakery brand and working with some artisan food brands in San Francisco, I was recruited by a HR friend who was working with Steve DeAngelo, founder of Harborside Health Center, which was a medical cannabis collective. He was looking for a national and international publicist with experience.
The medical cannabis industry at that time was a whole different world than it is now. Our mandate was to change the media narrative nationally and internationally. I can’t tell you how many times my pals in the media would say things like “you are doing ‘pot’ now — oh that’s rich!” or “hey, it’s the pot media lady!” Even though I was hung up on a lot, we persisted.
In 2010, The New York Times published a story titled “Don’t Call It ‘Pot’ in This Circle; It’s a Profession” — a first in the industry and a media breakthrough. After that story appeared, the Washington Post, Fortune, CNN, CBS This Morning, PBS News Hour, and hundreds of media outlets were at our door. This also was when the first tinctures Harborside developed were being given to epileptic children with success. That certainly helped.
“The medical cannabis industry at that time was a whole different world than it is now. I can’t tell you how many times my pals in the media would say things like ‘you are doing pot now — oh that’s rich!’ or ‘hey, it’s the pot media lady!’ Even though I was hung up on a lot, we persisted. ”
After a Discovery Channel miniseries, Weed Wars, that I procured for Steve and Harborside, international media did perk up. BBC, Rai One in Italy, Der Spiegel in Germany, The London Times — we had more than 140 crews and media through Harborside.
Then, Steve and I launched an investment group with Troy Dayton, called The Arc View Group. My part was the launch of the idea of a cannabis investment group that was vetted and engaged. After that, I went independent in 2018 and started Treehouse Global Ventures with my amazing partners, Lindy Snider and Lori Ferrara, where we continued to consult in media, marketing, branding, and helping CEOs and founders on media messaging and strategy. I retired in 2023. It was fun, super rewarding, and quite a ride!
Why did you decide to write this book now, and what are you hoping to achieve?
I have been working on this book since 2005, when I graduated from a cooking school in Sonoma, the Bauman College of Culinary Arts & Nutrition, as a gift from my husband after five years clear of my first cancer. I have a condition known as Lynch Syndrome and a badass gene pool that likes to make tumors, so the cancer journey is completely in entwined with the cannabis journey.
After that course and a few other cooking classes in Italy and Spain, I started to coach cancer patients and their families on natural foods, herbs and homeopathic tinctures, cannabis, and building their pantry with ingredients to make things easy and on hand.
Now fighting my fourth cancer — treatable and so far manageable but not curable — I found some real time to focus on the book for the last three years. I interspersed my music and film life with my cannabis and cancer life in the book.
What do you wish more people understood about cannabis?
That the plant is a healer. Sure, it is not for everyone, but if you have an open mind and heart, it does wonderful things for your soul and spirit. Opens you up. Changes your lens.
What cannabis-related issue keeps you up at night?
The politics and industry restrictions drive me crazy, as it is the same as it was 15 years ago with no banking, strict regulations, and heavy taxes. I am sad that so many companies and good people have lost their businesses because of the lack of understanding of how cannabis can actually help our health, culture, and society. Look at Denmark! The happiest place on earth? Why? They allow everything!
Anything else you'd like to share about cannabis and its impact on your life?
I have been so blessed and honored to be in this community for so long. The humans I have met along the way — we have so many longtime good friends who are like family to me. Like Joyce and the CMC board that I am proud to be a member of. They are forward-thinking and dedicated people overcoming huge hurdles and challenges. And are determined to make a difference. Me too!
