Marketing manager by day, rock singer by night

Whitney Spotts is well known in Lansing for her role as the lead singer of Starfarm, an ’80s pop cover band that has played more local parties than she can remember. Lesser-known: Her offstage gig as marketing assistant to the brand director for PG Group — the local cannabis powerplayer behind Lansing medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries like Pure Options, Old 27 Wellness and Stateside Wellness.

Spotts, who at one point was the arts and culture editor for City Pulse, got involved in the cannabis industry after leaving behind her job as the events manager for Schuler Books — a job that saw her book guests such as Denis Leary and Joe Biden.

Even with dreadlocks and tattoos, Schuler gave Spotts a highly visible role in the store. She said her rock ‘n’ roll look just made her all the more memorable — that American society is quickly coming around to unique haircuts and visible tattoos.

“They actually made me the face of our company. I was the person that would go and talk to publishers. In my case, I feel like it worked in my favor,” Spotts said. “Young people have embraced the idea that you can modify your body and still be an intelligent, thoughtful and well-rounded person.”

Spotts’ first weed-related gig was as a budtender for Green Wave, one of the many early provisioning centers that have since closed down in recent years. Once that shop closed its doors, she learned that PG Group was hiring, filled out an application and was hired at first as a budtender and eventually was promoted to marketing assistant under the brand director.

“I always want to work in something I care about. I consider myself to be anti-capitalist but I can sell things I believe in. I believed in books and I believe in cannabis — medically and recreationally. I have a chronic pain condition and cannabis has been the most helpful medication,” Spotts added.

Spotts said one of the biggest difficulties of her job with PG Group is navigating the legal red tape when it comes to promoting marijuana. She likens it to the laws surrounding advertisements of alcohol and tobacco products, with additional limitations thanks to cannabis’ illegal status on the federal level. She often has to wrestle with moving goalposts as laws and regulations change on a yearly basis.

“With cannabis, we have an extra hurdle — it’s still illegal nationally,” Spotts said. “There’s a lot we’re not allowed to do. It’s a weird industry. For example, you can’t even use the word cannabis in an advertisement. We have to figure out how we can get the word out and educate people without getting in trouble.”

One of Spotts’ biggest hopes for the cannabis industry as it continues to blossom statewide is that prices can match the low costs of illicit markets and become more accessible to those who are looking for alternative forms of medicine.

“It’s very exciting to be on the ground floor. I look forward to the time when running a shop isn’t as expensive. The way regulations are, it’s very costly. We work really hard to keep reasonable prices, so that way anyone can participate,” Spotts said.

Spotts said her dual role as a rock singer and a brand director for a cannabis company draws surprising reactions from both sides. Fans of the band are surprised that she has a desk job. Her cannabis colleagues are surprised that she’s a musician.

“Somebody pulled out a magazine cover I was on and said ‘Is this you? What the hell?’ With the band, I like it when people find out about it by themselves. It’s always a fun surprise,” Spotts said.