Cannabusiness Publicity Costs Entrepreneur Her Job

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Cannabis entrepreneurs who still hold jobs outside of the industry should proceed with caution. Many businesses do not want their employees moonlighting in the marijuana industry, and a Denver-based events planner has learned this the hard way.

Amy Dannemiller, who hosts monthly dinner parties in Denver where guests are invited to bring their own marijuana, was interviewed for the CNBC documentary “Marijuana in America: Colorado Pot Rush.” A segment of the broadcast was also shown on NBC Nightly News, and in the segment, Dannemiller is seen hosting a marijuana dinner party and smoking a vaporizer.

, Cannabusiness Publicity Costs Entrepreneur Her JobDannemiller then told interviewer Harry Smith that it is “important to say ‘I use marijuana, and that’s OK.'”

According to The Denver Post, Dannemiller was asked to resign by her employer after the segment ran on TV. The Post declined to name the employer, but described the company as an “East Coast-based national corporation.” Dannemiller, 37, was senior event manager of the company’s western division, and had a staff of 80.

“I violated the drug policy on national television, and that’s completely reasonable,” Dannemiller said.

Dannemiller had been profiled by the Post in an earlier story, however she used the pseudonym “Amy West” in the story. Dannemiller said she used the pseudonym for her cannabis business, and her legal name for her events planning business.

Dannemiller’s local dinner group, called Edible Events, organizes events with high-end edibles and hors d’oeuvres.