YANA Wellness, a women-owned and operated cannabis brand with a licensed dispensary in Washington, DC, officially makes history as the first hemp-derived THC beverage line in all Total Wine retail locations across Virginia. Their e-commerce platform also reaches consumers with their plant-based alternative drinks nationwide. This marks a major milestone not only for YANA as a small, women-owned business, but for all women pioneering plant-based wellness products for nationwide distribution.

The Founder and CEO of YANA, Ariana Fleishman, has made a blueprint for minority small business owners to create accessible, compliant and community-driven products. Fleishman utilizes her social media platforms to educate consumers and business owners alike.

“YANA stands for You Are Not Alone, and it is also the nickname my mom gave me as a kid. I’ve always wanted to create a community around this mission. Mental health issues are at an all-time with everything going on in the world today. I truly believe you can’t change the world until you change your own community,” Fleishman says. “Adderall and alcohol—these are so normalized in today’s society. My doctor would prescribe me Adderall for the workday to combat my ADHD. Then at night, bars and restaurants only have alcohol on the menu, which completely impairs my memory and makes me feel so sick the next day. Why is this lifestyle still so normalized? Why do we have to be so quiet when we choose to consume plants over poison?”

“Cannabis and Mushrooms are already clinically proven to be an effective medicine and provide so many life-changing benefits when purchased from lab-tested and credible sources,” she continues. “But still, the norm is to take highly addictive drugs prescribed by doctors and to drink alcohol to socialize with friends. My goal is to change this stigma by providing plant-based alternatives in mainstream settings.”

Breaking Down Prohibition Barriers and Entering the Mainstream Market

With cannabis still under federal prohibition, Fleishman purposely developed a variety of plant-based alternative blends so that at least one of their drinks on the product line would meet all jurisdictional regulations in every state. This was her strategy for expanding the brand and the plant-based alternatives culture into new markets while cannabis legalization is still uncertain nationwide.

Consumers can now find YANA drinks on restaurant menus in the DMV area and can explore the benefits of cannabinoids, functional mushrooms and adaptogens without fear of the negative stigma. YANA’s Rizzi Mushroom Elixir is a consumer favorite that contains no THC or CBD—just a federally legal blend of nootropic and adaptogenic mushrooms. Rizzi Elixir is featured at premiere social clubs in DC, like Ciel Rooftop at Marriott’s Downtown Hotel and Spark Social, DC’s first non-alcoholic social club for the LGBTQ+ community. These mainstream venues showcase how plant-based alternative drinks can be part of a holistic social wellness lifestyle—and it’s only the beginning. Virginia can now legally sell hemp-derived THC drinks in bars and restaurants with a hemp license as well. Learn more about their full product line and check out where you can buy YANA drinks near you here.

Women Leading the Future of Cannabis

YANA’s success story symbolizes the perseverance of women who have navigated the cannabis industry’s challenging transition from prohibition to legitimacy. Fleishman and her team have emerged from the “gray market” era in DC after five years in the industry to now operating a fully legal, women-run cannabis dispensary. The Chief Strategy Officer of YANA Wellness Brands, Hannah Clarke, a longtime cannabis lobbyist and consultant, emphasizes the significance of their achievements: “Women are not just participating in the industry anymore—we’re building it,” Clarke says. “This is about changing perceptions, policy and the path forward for future generations of women in cannabis.”

YANA prioritizes education, research and inclusion, integrating science, advocacy and entrepreneurship opportunities for their team of young women entering the workforce. Through wellness program collaborations with clinical psychologist Dr.Vivid and university internship programs with American University and the University of Maryland, YANA Wellness offers students the rare opportunity to study the psychological effects of cannabis and mushrooms to properly sell and promote these alternative medicines to conscious consumers.

“I’ve been interested in psychology for a while, but I never imagined I’d find an internship that focuses on the psychological effects of cannabis and mushrooms, at least not so early in my career,” said Lucrezia Brody, a YANA psychology intern and student at American University. “The research we conduct isn’t just filed away—it directly informs our patients and wellness consultants to help improve our community.”

Expanding While Stimulating the Local Economy

YANA is operated by a small team of 10 women, but their strategic partnerships with local, family-owned businesses in Virginia are how YANA is scaling effectively and stimulating the local economy. Fleishman knows that the cannabis market is already dominated by MSOs (multi-state operators) in healthcare, largely owned by publicly traded companies and pharmaceutical businesses, so she has devoted herself to working with local small businesses in all parts of the supply chain.

Pure Shenandoah is a family-owned hemp manufacturing business that provides high-quality cannabis extractions, and Brothers Craft Brewery is a family-owned brewery that YANA uses for canning their drinks. “It was very important to me to stimulate the local economy that I grew up in and keep my mission of building community through plant medicine alternatives,” Fleishman states.

YANA also just signed with Specialty Beverage, a family-owned beverage distribution company known for its large-scale deliveries to mainstream businesses. This partnership increases the accessibility of hemp-derived THC beverages to reach retail locations and restaurant menus that want to provide plant-based alternatives to alcohol.

The Evolution of YANA

In 2019, Ariana Fleishman, also known as “Ari Tokes” on social media, founded YANA Wellness as Cannabis Creatives Collectives for the DC metropolitan area to connect with others through curated social experiences. As the laws changed in DC, YANA evolved into a Holistic Wellness Center and Licensed Cannabis Dispensary.

Fleishman simultaneously spent two years developing the YANA drink line while opening the retail location so she could reach people nationwide with a variety of plant-based alternative blends. Through their social media platforms, YANA continues to advocate for responsible, inclusive and research-backed cannabis culture nationwide. Stay tuned in on their social media for updates on community events, cannabis news, and the culture here.

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