Know us & Join us

Recognizing that social justice is imperative to an equitable legal cannabis industry and there are barriers in place which preclude its achievement, Tea Pad was founded by Jacquie Cohen Roth, MS , and launched in Maryland in 2019. It's hard to believe that at that time, there was little conversation outside of the legacy cannabis industry on how women and people of color are underrepresented in the regulated cannabis industry. With a personal history of facing gender and religious prejudice, Jacquie founded Tea Pad with the mission to break down the barriers preventing a person of any gender or race from gaining access or advancement in the cannabis industry. 

Today, Tea Pad is a nonprofit and a national networking group for like-minded cannabis industry professionals, regulators and legislators with a shared commitment that the nation’s burgeoning cannabis industry is fair and just with opportunity for all. Tea Pad events are held throughout the year in a convivial atmosphere with keynotes delivered with the underlying tone of the current status of inequity in the cannabis industry and how it it needs to change. Proceeds of Tea Pad events have funded The Tea Pad Scholarship for Black Entrepreneurship at Morgan State University. Now, proceeds support The Tea Pad Fellowship Program. 

The mission of Tea Pad reflects a value of Jacquie's, "Tikkun olam" is a Hebrew concept that literally means “repair of the world”. This inspires Jacquie to lead Tea Pad and sister social enterprise CannabizMD with the principles of tikkun olam, working with partners that act constructively and beneficially for society via passion, transparency, teamwork, accountability, determination and a strong willingness to evolve.

Recognizing a void for quality medical cannabis industry content focused on cannabis science, policy and industry innovation, Jacquie founded CannabizMD in 2017. CannabizMD is a B2B medical cannabis industry platform with a mission to to educate, build, and engage an ecosystem of stakeholders to ​deliver optimal patient and product outcomes.

Music has always been a part of Jacquie's life, with an eclectic taste for classical piano and guitar; American jazz; the blues; funk and rock and roll. The history of American jazz is especially powerful to her, with its attitude for life and all pieces of it ... heartache, joy and its inspiration for civil rights.

Jacquie is a uniquely qualified cannabis industry pioneer and recognized global leader with an academic background blend of policy studies, international economics and cannabis science. She’s a graduate of the inaugural class Master of Science Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics from the University of Maryland School Of Pharmacy (UMSOP, Honors, 2021). Jacquie is now an adjunct professor in state and federal cannabis laws and policy at UMSOP.

Jacquie has been routinely recognized as a trailblazing female entrepreneur in the traditional healthcare industry and now, in the medical cannabis industry.