No timeline was imposed. We allowed energy to move organically. We reflected one another’ s truths. We remembered that we are not broken, we are evolving.
Education matters in moments like these. Women deserve to understand how cannabis interacts with their bodies, their hormones, their medications, and their lived experiences. They deserve guidance rooted in respect rather than stigma, and information that empowers rather than overwhelms, but education alone is not enough.
What heals is the marriage of knowledge and humanity.
Healthcare rarely makes space for the layers of women’ s experiences. Appointments are brief. Symptoms are fragmented. Women leave with prescriptions or silence. What’ s often missing is community. What’ s missing is the permission to say,“ This is hard,” and be met with understanding rather than dismissal.
In Memory
With Quiet Sadness, We Say Goodbye to Jennifer Jensen
Last year, Jennifer Jensen responded to Dolores Halbin’ s February 2025 article about losing her Valentine, her husband Gene. We found Jennifer’ s letter about her own loss so moving that we published it in the March 2025 issue.
Hearing that the beautiful soul from our cannabis community, Jennifer Jensen, was killed by an alleged drunk driver in Independence on December 27 had us sobbing. Jennifer worked at From The Earth dispensary. She brightened the days for her friends, coworkers, family, and everyone she met. She gave back to her community and lifted those she encountered with her beautiful smile.
“ When I received a link to an article about Jennifer, I smiled. I couldn’ t wait to see what this shining star of a woman had done next. When I opened the article, I felt like someone had punched me in the chest. I couldn’ t breathe. I couldn’ t even breathe enough to sob,” said Dolores.“ I’ m so sorry we lost such a light.”
That circle became a quiet rebellion against disconnection. As the evening drew to a close, no one rushed to leave. Hugs lingered longer than expected. Phone numbers were exchanged. Someone softly said,“ We should do this again.” And I knew, something meaningful had already taken root.
February doesn’ t have to be about performative love. Sometimes love looks like a circle of women, soft lighting, honest conversation, and a plant that reminds us how to listen— both to our bodies and to each other. Cannabis, intention, and the courage to gather became threads that reminded us how to return home to ourselves.
As women, as patients, as caregivers, as humans— we don’ t want to be fixed.
● We want to be met.
● We want to feel supported from the inside out.
● We want to remember ourselves.
And when education meets intention, when curiosity replaces judgment, and when women are given permission to simply be, healing begins exactly where it always has. Together.
Sammie Pyle has been a nurse for over 20 years, spending much of her career as a travel nurse across the U. S., including time spent in the U. S. Virgin Islands. She currently serves as the Vice President for Missouri’ s We Are JAINE, where she also leads the Health & Wellness Committee. Sammie now resides on Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri with her husband and their four sassy wiener dogs, where she continues her mission to educate, empower, and elevate cannabis conversations in healthcare.
Notice: The information contained herein is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information based on research and experience. The content is for general informational purposes only. As always, check with your doctor first.
Jennifer( on right) with her brother Alex Jensen hugging their sister Kari.
“ Jenny and I shared a love for music and one of her favorite artists was Andre 3000 to which she even named her dog after,” Alex Jensen, her brother, said.“ One of his famous quotes is‘ I’ ve learned that I’ m most powerful when I’ m doing my art.’ The world was her canvas and Jenny left lasting paint strokes on all of us to remember her by. Her legacy should be remembered in a museum displayed for all to see.”
What I remember most from Jennifer’ s letter is the beautiful note she wrote to her daughter and how much of her beautiful soul is in those few sentences. It’ s included below as seen in our March 2025 issue.
Dear Emery, I hope you find the sun on every cloudy day. You are the most beautiful flower in a field of flowers beyond imagination. I hope you always seek the truth, no matter how far it seems to go. Never stop, not even when it feels like it’ s all for nothing. Some days may seem worth nothing, but they’ re the ones that teach us to appreciate the sun, even if it’ s hidden behind the clouds. I hope you fall in love so fiercely that it sets your heart on fire. Stay true to yourself, even when people change around you, because authenticity can never be replicated.
As your mom, I would give you the world if I could. But for now, I give you this— my heart.
With all my love, Mom [ Jennifer Jensen ] XOXO
May Jennifer’ s light continue to shine and inspire us all.
February 2026 27