“I really want to champion women and create a safe and welcoming environment for them,” Donna Norman begins. “I had three generations of women shopping together the other day, all talking about their issues—sleep, pain, anxiety—and all finding something here that would help them, and I thought, ‘That’s what I created this for.’”
Paradoxically, while advocating for women, Norman has faced an uphill battle as a woman in an industry that makes it harder for them to secure capital or funding and often requires them to jump through more hoops than men. And she’s still navigating “the crazy legal waters” required to run her Great Barrington business.
Still, she couldn’t be prouder of where she is now, selling a product she’s passionate about, helping people when other things aren’t helping, employing a team of 10 to 15 employees, and building her foot traffic each month. “I feel like we’ve done a lot in the five years we’ve been here,” she says, smiling.
Last November, Norman co-hosted her first private cannabis-infused dinner for 28 people at a local coffee shop with David Yusefzadeh, a Boston-based Michelin-star chef who recently brought his “Eat Sacrilicious” dinners to the Berkshires. Just last week, she learned that Calyx was voted best dispensary by the Southern Berkshires Shopper’s Guide. And, as an active supporter of Berkshire Busk, Norman and her team participate in the Saturday ‘vendor village’ on Railroad Street throughout the summer to educate the community about how her premium products can “elevate every artistic experience.” Jagged or not, there’s a lot of buzz right now.
Navigating uncharted territory—and finding her destination
Norman’s own cannabis journey started 11 years ago as she turned 50. When her husband asked how she wanted to celebrate this milestone birthday, she instantly replied, “I want to smoke a joint!”—something they both hadn’t done since starting their careers. So the couple booked a trip to Colorado, where cannabis had been legalized. Norman explains, “Walking into the first dispensary, I noticed many new products like soda and other consumption methods that were different from my college days. I had so many questions about whether this natural plant could help me with menopause, but I didn’t feel comfortable asking because the dispensaries were primarily staffed by men.”
Recognizing the need for women to be involved in the industry, she began her research and discovered a national organization called Women Grow. “I became a member of the New York City and Boston chapters and started participating in events with other women pursuing cannabis opportunities,” Norman says.
By this time, marijuana had been legalized in Massachusetts, where Norman and her husband owned a home. She discussed the possibility of leaving her 26-year corporate career with Tinicum (a private equity firm in Manhattan) to open a dispensary, and then shared her idea with her best friend, who expressed interest in becoming her business partner. Their primary objective was to help alleviate people’s pain. “I believed in my ability to have a positive impact in this industry, based on my passion for the benefits of the plant and the power of knowledge, but I didn’t anticipate the challenges I’d face,” Norman admits.
Knowing that securing a signed lease was a prerequisite for applying for a cannabis license, she monitored local government activities to identify towns interested in hosting dispensaries and used tax maps to explore and locate suitable real estate. “The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) stated that minorities, women, and veterans would get priority, and the application process would take approximately 90 days,” Norman explains. “Unfortunately, my application (submitted on December 31, 2018) remained unopened for a year as I paid rent for an empty store on Main Street in Great Barrington. The town wouldn’t even let me put up a ‘coming soon’ sign.”
Despite all her efforts, including requesting letters from local politicians and the Great Barrington Selectboard, the CCC classified her as a ‘general applicant’ (not a woman-owned company) because she wasn’t certified—an important requirement no one had pointed out. So she took the certification course at the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) in Springfield, “but they didn’t know what to do with my application since I was the first cannabis applicant, and I needed an open business for a site visit.” (They did admit at one point, “We’re flying the plane as we’re building it.”)
After numerous emails and voice messages, Norman was able to facilitate a conversation between the CCC and SDO, which ultimately led to the implementation of a new certification process. “I successfully opened my doors on November 16, 2020—the only 100 percent women-owned and operated dispensary in Berkshire County and one of five in the state!” This tremendous moral victory was, however, slightly diminished by the fact that, after investing so much in her showroom, she was only allowed six customers indoors at a time due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
A historic—and serendipitous—discovery
After passing on the storefront now occupied by Miller’s Pub, based on its restricted use, she rented the first floor of her current location from the Caligari family. Soon after, she purchased the entire building to secure her business, and she couldn’t be happier in it. The synchronicity of her choice was not revealed until later.
“My building has such history, which I only discovered after The Berkshire Edge ran a ‘Now and Then’ story. I was shocked to see a photo of my building from the late 1800s and discover that it was a drug store called FT Whiting selling many medicines with cannabis as a main ingredient. Talk about full circle,” Norman laughs. Even more shocking, she found an old advertisement for the store that featured flowers—cementing Calyx (the female part of the cannabis plant, a coveted commodity) as the focal point of her branding and vision statement. “The calyxes are located at the base of the flower and hold everything together, just like a woman! Each one contains several essential parts of the plant, including the pistils (reproductive organs of the plant) and trichomes (resin glands that produce cannabinoids).”
Once Norman realized the acronym for Calyx Berkshire Dispensary was CBD, there was no turning back. She hired local artist Joel Haynes to paint the lettering and immediately fell in love with the 3D effect he created. Then she put him to work creating three additional projects: the giant Calyx mural inside the shop, the 20-foot mural in the alleyway, and the full-building “House of Flower” mural for the community. “We couldn’t put our name in the alleyway, so he painted flowers instead, adding a queen bee toward the end and the suggestion to ‘Step inside and smell the flower,'” she says, grinning.
Working on the storefront proved more challenging for Haynes than other murals, as it required using a boom lift to capture his intricate layering of colors and patterns to form the overall design. But despite numerous setbacks, the mural was eventually completed. “Our storefront is one of the most beautiful shops around, thanks to his hard work, and the hard work by Green Branch Urban Farm (another woman-owned business in Great Barrington) to bring my vision to life with a flower-filled building,” Norman raves, noting her tagline—“Calyx Berkshire… Not Your Typical Flower Shop.”
“Cannabis is a conversation, not a transaction”
For Norman, staying informed in an industry that’s constantly evolving is imperative. “I’m very honest, cautious, and responsible,” she says. “This is medicine. In the 1890s and early 1900s, medicinal and herbal cannabis were part of everyone’s pharmacology, but the current New York and Connecticut markets were just horrible. I wanted to educate people and do things the right way.”
Doing that starts with due diligence. “I’m tasked with having to try all of the products, which is the fun part,” Norman shares, “and there are lots of things we turn down out of responsibility for our customers and community.” It also means hiring the right people. She looks for baristas and people with customer service experience, noting, “You can teach people to sell, but you can’t change their values.” In addition to paying her team well, she covers 75 percent of their health care insurance and offers them samples and generous discounts.
Creating the right environment was equally important to her. “I worked closely with interior designer William Caligari to create a warm, safe, and inviting space for all,” Norman emphasizes. “From the moment you are greeted inside the lobby, I want it to be a positive experience—no TV screens or iPads, just happy humans excited to chat about all things cannabis.”
Education is a priority. To that end, Norman sends out monthly newsletters and engages business partners throughout the community. She has run several free educational programs, offered a COFFEE + CANNABIS series at a local coffee shop, partnered with Greenhouse Yoga for breast cancer patients, and presented mocktails as part of The Red Lion Inn’s Women’s Wellness Weekend. “I was so excited they included me in that event,” she beams. “I was able to show women how a little packet of unflavored powder could help them feel more social, give them a boost of energy, or help them sleep—without the hangover—and nine out of 12 women came into the shop the next day!”
“Being involved in my Berkshire community is also important,” Norman says, highlighting her two years on the Chamber of Commerce and current service on the Southern Berkshire Community Development Corporation (SBCDC), focusing on small business development and workforce housing. “My business has aligned with Elizabeth Freeman Center, supporting women by ’rounding up at the register’ and participating in their events.”
“Stay canna curious”
While acknowledging that cannabis has been highly politicized and stigmatized, Norman encourages people to lean in and do their own research—and keep an open mind. “This plant has so many medicinal properties,” she attests. “Most people don’t even know our bodies have an endocannabinoid system (ECS), a vital molecular system that helps maintain homeostasis in our body. I’ve seen firsthand how it can help with pain, inflammation, anxiety, and more. Since opening, I’ve lost two of my favorite people to glioblastoma and leukemia. I’m grateful I was able to help ease their pain a bit.”
The recent uptick in cultural works relating to menopause—notably films like “The (M) Factor” with Halle Barry and books such as “Dare I Say It?” by Naomi Watts—is contributing to growing awareness and open conversation. The potential power of cannabis to help women during menopause is especially important to Norman. “Women’s health has been on the back burner for a long time, but women are finding relief with cannabis from hot flashes, inflammation, sleep, pain, and anxiety using edibles, tinctures, and topicals,” she affirms. “A whole new world awaits. We’ve only just begun to learn about how to incorporate cannabis into wellness and lifestyle choices.”
