Giving Tree Dispensary: Women First

Lilach Mazor Power, owner of Giving Tree Dispensary in Phoenix, enthusiastically blurts out, “Fuck menopause!” as it goes to the core of the dispensary’s philosophy. “We’re helping the focus and mood of women who are going through menopause. It’s a celebration of being a rebel — that’s what we want women to experience.”

Moving to Arizona from her native Israel a decade and a half ago, Power’s interest in cannabis came about organically as her initial concern was providing an alternative model of healthcare just in time for the Grand Canyon State’s movement toward legalizing medical marijuana was taking root.

“My husband is an emergency room doctor, so I heard about a lot of chronic issues,” she says. “I wanted to offer a holistic approach for people who are looking for solutions, combining eastern and western traditions.” 

Giving Tree opened in 2013, three years after Arizona passed its medical marijuana initiative, Proposition 203. Originally a “wellness center” — massage, reiki, yoga — the business also featured cannabis on its menu. But it wasn’t until 2017 that Giving Tree made the fateful decision to focus exclusively on cannabis. And what a game-changing move that proved to be.

To listen to Power talk about cannabis and its healing attributes is to understand that she’s someone who knows exactly what she’s talking about, not always a given in the industry.

“I grew up in Israel, which was more open about cannabis than here [the US],” Power says. “All of this relevant research happened back in the 1960s; so, Israelis know all about the medical properties of cannabis.”

Giving Tree Dispensary is a vertically integrated operation with indoor cultivation and extraction taking place at another location about a mile away from the dispensary. “We have nine flower rooms, and harvest a room every single week,” Power says. “Production comes to 40 pounds per week.”

Giving Tree’s three product lines are currently available at several other dispensaries around Arizona as well as their own store, the first of which is Kindred Cannabis, a capsule CO2-extracted oil offered in 11 varieties with 5, 10, 20 or 50 milligrams. All also come in daytime “Mind” or nighttime “Body” options and different ratios of THC and CBD and are available in 65 outlets across the state. 

“Indica is an ingredient found in the nighttime [Body] option to help people sleep,” Power says. “The daytime is sativa that helps with energy and focus and enhances creativity throughout the day. Mind is a full-spectrum oil, not a distillate, so you get the full cannabinoid profile and all the terpenes that are in a sativa or indica plant.”

Katatonic, named for the company’s lab director Katarina Park, is another proprietary product line. A THCA isolate, this cannabinoid, Power says, produces “a very clear-headed high” and is available as Diamonds (THCA crystals) or Terps on the Rocks (THCA crystals with drops of terpenes). Also sold are THCA pre-rolls, flower from strains such as the popular indica-heavy Death Star sprinkled with THCA crystals.

The most recently launched product line, already garnering the most attention, is Revelry. Revelry was specifically created to help ease conditions associated with menopause and it was developed with the company’s marketing executive Stef Swiergol. A full-spectrum oil in a capsule with equal parts THC, CBD, CBN and CBG, the launch has been a certifiable hit. “We’ve found that Revelry can minimize hot flashes and help with anxiety and mood swings. Women describe it as ‘putting your pink glasses on’ and the world just looks a little bit better.”

The revolutionary Revelry comes in a Day capsule, with equal portions of 2.5 milligrams each of the four constituent cannabinoids, and a Night capsule with 20 milligrams of THC and CBD combined. Power says reports indicate that Revelry also helps with sleep issues and is currently available in 17 stores throughout Arizona. 

“As a woman-owned business, I always knew I wanted to make something that women would find inviting,” Power says. “Our team goes through rigorous training to help people on their cannabis journey—we’re not into the in-and-out, no-customer-service approach. We want to connect with our customers. I want my mom to be able to go into the store and not feel weird about it. I’m a mom, and I want to help women to be better moms without having to take pills or drink wine every night.”

What about other product offerings Giving Tree is serving up to its customers? The dispensary is growing about ten strains, the most popular being Death Star, which is 1% CBD and 28% THC. Others are Golden Lemon, Granola Funk, White Widow, White Dream, and AC/DC. These are used for extractions as well as pre-rolls and flower.  

When voters passed Proposition 207 last year, finally legalizing 21-and-over recreational cannabis use in Arizona, the game, once again, changed dramatically. Adults can now purchase up to one ounce of cannabis at a time, and the race is on for the state’s dispensaries to compete for the multi-million-dollar recreational cannabis Arizona market. Giving Tree was ready.

“We got approval to switch to adult use at end of January 2021, so we’ve been seeing anyone over the age of 21 since then,” Power says. “Our business has now flipped to about 70% adult use and 30% medical.” 

Power also disclosed that Giving Tree has ambitions well beyond Arizona’s borders and is already in a partnership with the Dorado dispensary chain in Puerto Rico, with two outlets in San Juan and two more about to open in Isabella and Aguadilla on the U.S. territory. Power says she got shares in Dorado for relaying to them her knowledge and expertise in the cannabis business prior to their launch on the beautiful Caribbean island.

And Giving Tree isn’t quite done expanding. In fact, the dispensary’s proposed next move may return Power to her native Israel as she’s crafting a similar partnership to the one she has in Puerto Rico with a kibbutz near Tel Aviv, which, in turn, is hoping to jump in on Israel’s burgeoning cannabis business.

This story was originally published in the print edition of Cannabis Now.