Key People & Brands

Last verified: March 2026

The People Who Built It

Portland's cannabis culture isn't an accident. It was built by specific people with specific visions — equity advocates who fought for inclusion, craft obsessives who refused to accept commodity product, technologists who built the industry's infrastructure, and entrepreneurs who turned Portland kitchens into national brands. Here are the people and organizations whose work defines Portland cannabis.

Equity & Advocacy

Jesce Horton

If Portland's cannabis equity movement has a single architect, it's Jesce Horton. In 2015, Horton co-founded the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) — the first national trade association focused on minority cannabis business owners. His impact spans:

• NuLeaf Project / NuProject: Over $500,000 in grants and loans to BIPOC cannabis entrepreneurs, with mentorship and business planning
• Saints Cannabis: His own cannabis brand
• Panacea Valley Gardens: Cultivation operation

Horton doesn't just advocate for equity — he funds it, mentors it, and operates businesses that prove the model works. Read more about his impact on our Equity & Neighborhoods page.

Jeannette Ward Horton

Operations architect for NuLeaf/NuProject, Jeannette Ward Horton manages the logistics of distributing $500,000+ in grants and loans while building sustainable support systems for BIPOC cannabis entrepreneurs. The Hortons' partnership combines Jesce's vision and advocacy with Jeannette's operational expertise.

Dr. Rachel Knox

Dr. Rachel Knox chairs the Oregon Cannabis Commission and leads Portland's Cannabis Policy Oversight team. A physician who bridges clinical medicine and cannabis policy, Dr. Knox brings scientific rigor to a policy space that often operates on politics and anecdote. Her dual role gives her influence over both state-level regulation and Portland-specific implementation.

Amy Margolis

Amy Margolis leads the Oregon Cannabis Association and founded two groundbreaking organizations:

• The Initiative: The first women-focused cannabis business accelerator in the country. The Initiative provides mentorship, resources, and networks specifically for women entering the cannabis industry.
• The Commune: A cannabis-industry co-working space that gives startups and small operators a professional base without the overhead of dedicated office space.

Margolis has shaped Oregon cannabis policy from both the advocacy and business support sides, making her one of the most influential figures in the state's cannabis landscape.

Craft Brands & Entrepreneurs

Aaron Morris & Wyld

Aaron Morris built Wyld from a Portland farmhouse operation into Oregon's #1 edible brand and one of the largest cannabis companies in America:

• 7,500+ retail locations across 16 states
• Climate Neutral Certified — among the first cannabis companies to achieve this
• Friends of Trees partnership: 750,000+ trees planted
• Acquired Grön in January 2026, consolidating two Portland-born brands

Wyld's growth trajectory — from a kitchen to national scale — is the Portland cannabis success story. Real fruit, sustainability commitments, and relentless quality built a brand that competes nationally while remaining rooted in Portland values.

Christine Apple & Grön

Christine Apple founded Grön in a Portland kitchen in 2015, building the brand around fair-trade cacao chocolates. Grön became so synonymous with Portland hospitality that Jupiter NEXT hotel places Grön chocolates on guest pillows. Wyld's 2026 acquisition keeps the brand Portland-rooted while providing national distribution muscle.

Emma Chasen

Emma Chasen is a Brown University graduate who became Portland's — and arguably the country's — most recognized budtender, earning the title "Best Budtender" from Willamette Week. She now runs Eminent Consulting, advising cannabis brands and dispensaries on product education, terpene science, and consumer communication. Chasen represents the professionalization of cannabis retail — budtending as expertise, not just salesmanship.

Industry Infrastructure

Beau Whitney

Beau Whitney is the cannabis economist who shaped Oregon's cannabis tax structure and now advises governments internationally on cannabis policy. When policymakers need data-driven analysis of market size, tax optimization, or regulatory impact, Whitney is often the first call. His work directly influenced the 17% state excise rate and the overall framework that generated $1.3 billion+ in state tax revenue.

Phylos Bioscience

Portland-based Phylos Bioscience is a cannabis genetics company that has built one of the largest cannabis DNA databases in the world. Their work maps the genetic relationships between cannabis varieties, helping growers understand lineage, predict characteristics, and protect proprietary genetics. Phylos represents Portland's contribution to the science underlying the industry.

Greenbits (now Dutchie)

Portland-founded Greenbits built the point-of-sale technology that powered a significant portion of Oregon's dispensaries. The company was acquired by Dutchie, which now operates one of the leading cannabis retail technology platforms in the country. When you check out at a dispensary using a touchscreen POS system, there's a good chance it runs on technology that originated in Portland.

Marijuana Software

Founded by Raja and Kathleen Afrika, Marijuana Software powers approximately 1 in 10 Oregon dispensaries. Like Greenbits/Dutchie, Marijuana Software represents Portland's role as a cannabis technology hub — not just growing and selling cannabis, but building the software infrastructure the industry runs on.

Legacy Brands & Operations

Cura Cannabis / Select Oil

Cura Cannabis, producer of Select Oil (one of the best-selling cannabis oil brands on the West Coast), scaled from Portland to become a multi-state operation. Select cartridges are among the most recognized cannabis products in America, and the brand's Portland origins reflect the city's early-mover advantage in cannabis product innovation.

The Dispensary Innovators

Portland's dispensary culture produced several nationally recognized retail concepts:

• Farma (Jeremy Plumb) — Maps 64 plant compounds to predict effects. Founded the Cultivation Classic. Pioneered terpene-forward retail.
• Serra — Gallery-aesthetic dispensary that classifies cannabis by mood. Collaborated with Woodblock Chocolate.
• Cannabliss & Co. — Oregon's first medical dispensary, operating in Firestation 23 (a 1913 firehouse with the original brass fire pole).