The look on her face was one that seemed to be written in story pages. The story pages that would invite only the most curious to delve deep into the mind of an Oracle, one might say. She was a stopping point on the journey of which I would find myself learning more from within than from the setting placed in front of me. I was there for the Thunder Walker experience.
Thunder Walker, an Extraordinary Cannabis Advocate, Author, Educator, and Canna Business Expert, welcomed us into her latest venture in OKC. Proud Mary Cannabis is just off of 23rd Street. In the Heart of the District. Right next to the historic Blue Note, One of OKC’s oldest live music venues.
As we walked inside I immediately noticed a giant mural of sorts hanging on the wall. The mural was a beautiful portrayal of femininity and gave a sense of an all encompassing strength, which, to me, could only be embodied through divine wisdom of femininity and the empowerment of overcoming obstacles in the path of true success.
Just as I was admiring the artwork, Thunder Walker herself appeared. Every positive vibration that I felt from that artwork was now an aura that surrounded her as we spoke.
“I think of a grandmother’s quilt.” Thunder dove into our conversation instantly. As if she lived and breathed the culture, lifestyle, and industry that remains destined for global legalization. “Like the patches in a quilt. You know what I’m saying? So Oklahoma is a patch. New York is a patch. You know, Maryland is a patch and we’re doing everything differently, but we (Oklahoma) think we are getting it right. We have our flaws, but it gives opportunity.”
Ms. Thunder Walker stands as an accomplished and influential orator, possessing an extensive comprehension of the cannabis industry. With a wide array of speaking engagements under her belt and exceptional communicative prowess, she has risen to prominence within the cannabis community. Thunder’s captivating and enlightening presentations consistently leave a profound and enduring impression on her audiences.
Thunder is experienced in many different facets. She is the loving caregiver for her child Pystol. Pystol is nonverbal and autistic and cannabis is part of her wellness program. In addition to her commanding presence in speaking engagements, Thunder’s influence in the cannabis industry extends further. As a thriving entrepreneur, she is the proud owner of a dispensary, processor, and grow operation in Oklahoma. This hands-on involvement and extensive expertise add to her credibility and amplify the significance of her speeches.
Ms. Thunder Walker’s remarkable journey as a speaker, coupled with her undeniable success in the business realm and unwavering dedication to advancing the cannabis industry, firmly establishes her as a leading and influential figure not only within the cannabis community but also beyond its boundaries.
“Oklahoma has an opportunity that no other state has.” I felt waves as Thunder talked, “when I walk into Philly, it’s a million to $2 million to become a grow out and dispensary, just out the gate.”
“So, coming to Oklahoma, creating what we created here is an opportunity.”
Either the room became silent, or my attention was completely engulfed.
“It didn’t have anything to do with social equity. It didn’t have anything to do with any of that. It had to do with the fact that I had a good business mind. My partner had a good business mind and we wanted to do it. Right!
“When I’m representing Oklahoma and I’m doing things, I hear a lot of nasty stuff about Oklahoma. Some of that may be true but Oklahoma gets a lot of things right. Because we have the freedom to create, as business people. What we get wrong is we don’t have the education and the packaging. The packaging is looking better. So I’m really excited about that.Thunder explained how important it is for brands to have good packaging, marketing, and a presence of their own before they go to dispensaries. Many smaller operations tend to set this important factor aside when they plan their “go-to-market’ strategy.
Many dispensaries have decided to not worry with those brands that do not market themselves in some way. Even flower. A saturated market favors those with better and more holistic plans when it comes to an overall product’s success.
Thunder added in regards to Proud Mary Cannabis’ inventory, “I get people to come in here all the time and they want us to sell stuff and they literally print it off their labels at home. I can’t sell that product. You might have great weed, you might have great pre-rolls, you may have great vapes, but we don’t carry them. I’m not selling it if you can’t invest in what it looks like.”
You couldn’t get past the love that Thunder radiated for the industry, the people in it, and especially Oklahoma.
“You gotta get out of Oklahoma every so often. Take a breath and appreciate what Oklahoma has to offer. Yeah. There, there’s not a perfect state. I mean, I’ve gone to New York, I’ve done LA, Colorado.”
“You can make your own perfection, you know what I’m saying?”
Somehow I did know exactly what she meant. Without even explaining or going deep in the weeds, I knew. I hear and see so many stories of both hardship and success in this industry. That perfection is generally found between both.
I noticed as we drove up to Proud Mary Cannabis that there was an array of selection when it came to commerce. Stores like Starbucks, a dog grooming spa, a Mediterranean cafe, the historic Blue Note, even a Danks dispensary right next door.
“Everybody was like, I can’t believe that you’re opening up a dispensary right next door to Danks. Thunder giggled, “I said, yeah, listen, we got a Starbucks here.” She paused for a second or two, “we know they’ve done their due diligence. Cookies was supposed to open across the street and they had a lease and they’ve been leasing that for two years and they never opened.
Um, and then we have the Blue Note, which is a historical bar and it has a four 20 patio. So we felt like if we really brought great weed to this area, instead of a 7-eleven style dispensary, our boutique dispensary would fit right in.”
We were greeted by a taller gentleman. His presence provoked respect. He smiled and was introduced.
“This is James.” Thunder introduced her partner in business and in life. It gave me the opportunity to introduce mine as well. Katie and James were introduced and we all discussed how beneficial it is to work with your partner.
James commented on our conversation from earlier, “When people talk about the fact that there’s so many dispensaries in Oklahoma and you know, you can’t win because there’s too much competition. I disagree. You got Walgreens and you got CVS right across the street. You have grocery stores right there. You have Chick-Fil-A. You have other people trying to make chicken sandwiches. They don’t know what they’re doing.” James had a fire growing. I noticed his passion as Thunder took the wheel. “Chick-fil-A has proven customer service and quality matters. All of that matters. You can move yourself ahead with that. I think that’s the same with Proud Mary.”
I couldn’t help but be mesmerized with the upward path of success that Thunder Walker had somehow discovered the gateway to entrance. I wanted to know how she has been able to continually ride this path propelled by positivity and perseverance in what seemed to be a plateau-less scale to growth.
“You reinvent yourself.” The waves traveled with her voice as she responded, “ you reinvent yourself, you know?”
“On social media, I have some credit repair people that follow me. For informative purposes. We laugh back and forth sometimes. I say to them that your credit score can bounce back. It’s just a snapshot. It’s the same thing with life. We can’t say that this is the end and give up on life. For those that say that, I want you to look at your credit score. It may be a 600, it may be a 700, it may be a 800, but in two weeks, less than two weeks, it can be all the way back down to 400. So if you can get from 400 to 800 and back again, then all you gotta do is try to apply that to your life. Credit scores.”
“It’s not just about how I’m gonna pay people back. It’s how I’m gonna live. I’ve had 400, 500 credit scores before when I was really, really trying to make it. I’ve had 800 credit scores before. I’m not gonna live and die by what somebody else tells me I am.”
“So when you look at how they judge you about where you live, cuz that affects your credit score. I 
mean, think of car insurance. If you’re living in the wrong zip code, you’re paying more money, all of those things, but they don’t know who you really are. It’s all statistics, right? So, if you can, stand in the mirror and say to yourself who you are. Start the day out and do those affirmations. It really, really works.”
“So are you gonna believe how that credit score is gonna fluctuate? Are you gonna believe how someone who has never met you, is gonna tell you how your business is gonna run? It’s only crazy. It’s only a bad idea because they think it doesn’t work. But as soon as it works, such as bottled water, it is what it is. That’s how I believe. That’s how I approach everything.”
“So when someone comes to me and they say, Hey thunder, I want to do this. Will you help me? I’m like, yeah, I will help you. I will support you. I, we can brainstorm together. I’ve helped people open up schools, hair salons, all of that. I don’t need to know how to do hair. I don’t need to know how to write an education plan. You need to know that part. I just need to know the business side. If I can help you set up the business side, you run with your skill. It’s the same thing with life.”
“I’ve already been depressed. Check the box. I’ve already been, I mean, there’s a whole bunch of victim stuff. I don’t even wanna go into that. What else can I be? I control it. So do you. Everybody controls it. Just decide that’s what you’re gonna do.”
I was able to interpret the mission behind what Thunder Walker was trying to accomplish. I felt the need to know what compels her to move forward. She quickly referred to pediatric cannabis.
“To help parents get their kids their medicine card. Oklahoma is easier than most states. Like in Michigan, even if your child is autistic, it is not legal. They’re trying to get that. I spoke on pediatric cannabis. I was on stage for 10 or 15 minutes. I asked if anyone has any questions? No one would raise their hand. But as soon as I stepped off the stage, people came over and wanted to talk to me, and actually asked for my autograph.I was shocked. I said, well, why didn’t you guys ask the questions. They’re still scared. They’re still in the closet.
“We’re dealing with a whole generation of children that I’ve never seen before. Whereas, there’s a
generation of kids actually committing suicide at eight and nine years old. A generation of children with epilepsy and autism, nonverbal and some with executive functioning disorders and all these different things. They have spent basically two years dealing with covid and not socializing with other kids. We’re gonna have to have some answers for that. We just are, as parents, we need some answers for that.”
“There needs to be a law put in place where we can have growers that are compensated for pediatric cannabis specifically.”
“We gotta figure this part out. Because what happens is a parent becomes a compound pharmacist. They go home and they’re trying to cut up this gummy to figure out how to give it to a child. Any other medicine, even toothpaste. You have your children’s toothpaste, you have your children’s Tylenol, you have your children’s cough syrup. Everything is already measured. Parents don’t have to figure it out. So if we’re gonna have the license for a patient that is under 18, we have to figure out the medicine side.”
“The second part of the future that I want to make sure of, as a mother, you are not penalized in any way because you work in or consume cannabis.There has to be some protection. You know how many times that I’ve been called a drug dealer?”
Thunder fights for a cause that would be beneficial in a multitude of ways while banishing the overstepping of judgment that continues to occur against women and mothers in this cannabis industry.
The taxpayer dollar savings alone from bypassing gateways to access of excessive measures and nonsensical utilization of our child protective services would be worth the signature from the powers that be.
“This is a big deal.” Thunder continued, “when I started out in this industry people literally called Child Protective Services. When someone calls CPS they have to visit to confirm the report. So you’re wasting all this taxpayer money when there’s children that really need help. So we have to come up with some legislation, even in Oklahoma.”
“Men don’t need that type of legislation because they simply don’t experience what we experience. So we have to have that legislation so people can understand. So those are the two things. Those are the platforms. As far as pediatric cannabis that I’m standing on, nobody really wants to talk about it. I can actually, people will come to me and they’ll say, you know, thunder, we want you to speak at our conference. And I’m like, well, I wanna talk about pediatric cannabis. No, they don’t wanna hear about that.Well, I wanna talk about protecting women in legislation. They don’t wanna hear about that. They wanna talk about cannabis real estate, which is fine. I’ll talk about cannabis real estate, but somewhere in there, I’m gonna throw the rest of this stuff in because we have to get our shit together. So that’s just how I am. I just, I just see things that are lacking. Sign me up.
As we finished our experience with Thunder Walker, I thought of her first remarks. The ones about the quilt. She’s right. Each state is like a patch. There just happens to be this very strong, binding, and ever-evolving green thread that binds the entire ecosystem to blanket us all in the end.
The experience is about the journey along that path.
