Self-described “philanthropic philosopher and motivational muse” Jade Sancho-Duser, known as RxMaryJade, is a licensed massage therapist, holistic Cannabis educator and community organizer based in New Jersey. She has a deep understanding of Cannabis as medicine, a radiant energy and a penchant for getting totally blasted.
How did you find yourself at this intersection of Cannabis, culture and community?
In my early 20s, I decided to lose weight, so I cut out everything. No drinking, no sugar, no carbs and no Cannabis. Years later, I started having medical problems and ending up in the emergency room all the time. My boyfriend at the time was like, “I’ve heard smoking can help with that,” and it did.
I was about to move to Colorado for medicine around 2016 until I started working at Breakwater Dispensary. They helped me get my medical card, and my life drastically improved. I haven’t taken pharmaceutical medications in at least 10 years. I stopped taking my medicine through the use of CBD, specifically Charlotte’s Web and Cannatonic.
At Breakwater, I worked as a trimmer, then got promoted to the front as a budtender, and then a health coach. I saw there was a lot left to be desired in the medical industry, and there needed to be more education.
I had formulated this online presence, RxMaryJade, and I started bringing physicians to tour cultivation facilities. From there, I started doing community outreach. Specifically, my thing is pathology, so helping individuals understand their pathology and how it relates to what types of Cannabis they should be using.
How did you get into events?
My first event was a CBD brunch. I had a psychologist come and a Cannabis nurse. A gentleman who had Parkinson’s brought me a bottle of CBD he had just purchased for $250. I died inside when this man showed me this bottle for $250 because the stuff we had on hand was $50, probably better quality. That was when I realized this is a cash grab for a lot of people, and I can’t allow that.
We all deserve access to things, no matter what financial boundaries or medical conditions we have.
The Mary in RxMaryJade doesn’t stand for “marijuana.” It stands for Mary, for both of my grandmothers, who taught me kindness and community and gathering together.
My grandmother would be in her 60s and be like, “They need their lawn mowed next door,” and go into their shed, pull out their lawnmower and mow their whole lawn. So that’s my energy.
You held a three-day Earth Day cleanup this year. How has that tradition come to be?
When the pandemic started in 2020, I volunteered for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. I adopted a 2.2-mile-long trail that I was doing maintenance on, and I realized everything the people in the industry do is inside.
Cannabis is one of the least green industries. Running all these lights and all this water. So that’s when I decided I want to do a cleanup. The first cleanup was really small, I think it was like five of us in 2021. I’ve done it every year since, and it’s grown immensely, to this year’s three-day event. You don’t know how many Dutch wrappers we find — and dispensary packaging.
I also do a wildflower planting ceremony to help protect the Earth and to set intentions. We were able to plant over 150,000 wildflowers this year, which helps increase the monarch population, as well as bees and other pollinators.
We always have the opportunity to change the paradigm. We just have to decide when and take that action. I used to not know that I could be better. I didn’t know I could do any of this stuff. I’d get mad or jealous, or victimize myself and say, “Oh, I wish I could do that. Must be nice.” Must be nice? Yeah, it is nice. Because guess what? I picked my ass up, and I tried, and I failed, and I tried, and I failed, and I kept doing it until I was better. That’s all I ever want for anybody. You can always do different, and you can always do better.
How do you use topicals as a part of Mary Jade Therapeutics?
I’ve been a massage therapist for 21 years. My first class and e-book I created was “Take the Confusion Out of Infusion.” I started making Shaman Salve, that’s my CBD topical. And then I have a product called Witches Brew, which is my THC-infused topical.
You’ll see CBD massages pop up, and everybody thinks CBD’s innocuous, but you can hurt somebody using CBD. That’s why I started having workshops on topical application because it’s not for everyone. There are certain people who take medications that make their skin thinner, so they’ll start feeling woozy because they don’t have that barrier. I’ve done it accidentally to people; that’s how I learned.
As an active participant in the medical program, how have things changed since the recreational market opened up?
The medical program is nearly nonexistent now. I spoke at the CRC (Cannabis Regulatory Commission) meeting about that a couple of years ago. There was almost like a food pyramid they had, showing the regulatory structure, but the bottom corner was medical and patients. I said to them, maybe cheesy of me, the Bob Marley quote, “The stone that the builder refused will always be the head cornerstone.” I’m like, if you take us out, this whole thing falls apart. I still have my medical card, but I buy rec because what am I going to do with a nearly expired MSO (multistate operator) product?
Tell us about the events you lead, terpene treks?
I started that last summer in conjunction with dispensaries. I don’t like to charge for my events if I don’t have to, and charging for hikes seems blasphemous. Everything I do should be free or accessible to people. Cannabis is an ableist industry. I want to make sure people realize they can get out in nature, there’s something for every type of body, every type of capacity.
I just really like bringing the community together. Some of these people don’t have anybody who’s trying to do anything positive. I want you to see that you can do better. I want you to see that there’s always an opportunity for growth.
What are you loving on the market these days?
Definitely Kusala Care and Neptune’s Garden; they told me if I ever want to just go sing to the plants, I can. That got me in my feels. Neptune’s Garden is my daily symptom relief. I have dexterity issues, so prerolls are helpful. I’m a connoisseur, but when you need something right away, it’s there.
I don’t want to have to use it to feel better, but I don’t take other medications. This is my vitamin. I’ll go and have a shit day, and I’m like, what’s wrong with me? And I’m like, you know, you didn’t smoke. Go take your vitamins. And then I take my vitamins, and I’m like “Ohh …You mean I’m not a raging bitch? This is crazy.”
