How a family recipe launched a company devoted to the promise of cannabis’ ability to treat diseases.

September 22, 2019

Mara Gordon and Stewart Smith’s two dogs are the dominating force of their home. When our group of cannabis-savvy women arrive and jump out of the car — already savoring deep breaths of the fresh salt air blowing off of Bodega Bay — the couple has not yet returned home from a trip to Los Angeles.

We are welcomed inside by Aunt Zelda’s research and development coordinator, Justin Kander, and a flurry of activity as a hyper-charged pup circles round and round the space.

When Gordon and Smith arrive, the activity only increases as the smaller dog leaps from the ground into Gordon’s arms.

“This evolved from the wolf, I mean think about that. You know?,” she says, pointing to the dog. “I mean if you think about hybrids and all that in our industry, this is a hybrid of a wolf.”

I made the short drive from Berkeley to Bodega Bay with friends to speak with the founders of Aunt Zelda’s about cannabis’ promise as a true medicine. I found their home to be tastefully decorated and was surprised to see that it bore only one small token of their business — which started as an edible company — in the form of a marijuana cookie cutter in the kitchen.

While both Gordon and Smith boast an incredible knowledge of the curative applications of cannabis, it wasn’t always that way. They each have extraordinary narratives of healing themselves with medical cannabis, but it was their path to discovery that has helped and will continue to help countless others find their own relief.