Megan’s Organic Market’s Megan Souza wanted to make sure her dispensary offered a motherly touch. Taking a look at her online and print ads and you see a common theme: a 1950s housewife smoking a joint, her mind literally and metaphorically blown with rainbow, confetti and cannabis leaves, and butterflies shooting out of her head. With her vintage motif, Souza doesn’t just sell cannabis products, she celebrates cannabis. It’s an epiphany more than an escape – and it’s something that anyone can enjoy. Yes, even the straight-laced suburban housewife – from a generation when cannabis use was publicly frowned upon – could enjoy it. In fact, most of her business clientele are aged 55 and up.

Walking into Megan’s Organic Market (or “MOM” for short) in San Luis Obispo’s SoHi district (South Higuera and High St.) feels like entering a market more than a dispensary. Several products are scattered throughout the open floor of SLO’s first legal cannabis dispensary. This was done by design. Souza and partner Eric Powers wanted to convey to customers and the community that cannabis is both approachable and wholesome. Inside MOM, there is no trace of cannabis stigma – the kind of stigma they fought against for 10 years before finally opening their doors in 2020. In fact, it’s almost like a candy store with their broad selection of chocolates, gummies and mints. Of course, they sell flower, prerolls, vaporizers, tinctures, topicals and concentrates. All products are seamlessly integrated into a storefront that defies stereotypes and exceeds expectations.

The best way to understand SLO’s newest cultural phenomenon is to understand Megan Souza. Born on her grandparents’ dairy farm and working in her parents’ retail store in Pismo and Grover Beach, Souza was instilled with a strong hard-work ethic early on. With degrees from UCLA and UC Santa Cruz, Souza co-founded four businesses in the cannabis and hemp industry, including Megan’s CBD Market in Morro Bay, MOM Prop. 215 cannabis retail delivery service, and Red Truck Cannabis Co. which holds state licenses for cannabis cultivation in SLO County.

Souza got her start in cannabis from farming it as a side business out of her Cayucos farm. She sold wholesale to other dispensaries mostly located in Southern California. Souza made the transition to turning cannabis into a full-time opportunity when she got involved in influencing regulations and participating in local government. For Souza, starting the MOM brand was about coming out of the shadows as a cannabis user and operator while normalizing cannabis use for people who need it for medicinal purposes. And being in retail delivery service gave Souza a more intimate perspective of the people who use medical cannabis – getting to know patients’ families, their pets, medical conditions, and appreciating the positive and direct impact cannabis has on them.

In her spare time, Souza fosters kittens as a SLO County Animal Services volunteer. Every month, volunteers with MOM clean a two-mile stretch of Highway 1 in Morro Bay. MOM contributes $2,000 per month to support various organizations including ECOSLO, CAPSLO, Food Bank Coalition of SLO, SLO Parks and Recreation and Leadership SLO. And MOM hires only locals in SLO County with a minimum goal of 50% of all employees being residents of the City of SLO. Employees receive a starting wage that is 40% above the median income for similar positions in other industries within the county.

Souza has met her goal in making cannabis wholesome and, in the process, she has made shopping at MOM’s a wholesome experience in itself.

Megan’s Organic Market is located at 280 Higuera St. in SLO.Check out their online store at www.megansslo.com.

dispensary Megan's Organic Market