Karin Chester is the vice president of MoCannTrade and CEO of Midwest Canna Expos, two groups dedicated to creating opportunities for cannabis professionals to connect while advocating and educating across Missouri.
Chester was voted the Best Marijuana Advocate in the Missouri cannabis industry by Greenway’s readers. A medical marijuana patient herself, Chester displays an unparalleled passion for helping establish a safe community in Missouri for individuals who use cannabis as medicine.
Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 35, Chester started a journey through heavy pharmaceuticals to cannabis advocacy that belied her history as a volunteer fundraising coordinator for Narcotics Anonymous and as a Hillsboro band booster mom.
At one point, Chester was taking 46 pills a day. In 2014, she started using marijuana “to help with the side effects from the meds,” eventually landing her autoimmune diseases in remission.
She joined the Greater St. Louis NORML chapter, got on board with the 2016 and 2018 campaigns, and even photographed a series of patients in need of medical marijuana. After putting together a trade show that raised $25,000 for the New Approach Missouri campaign, Chester decided to start her own company, Midwest Canna Expos, to advocate for the industry while capitalizing on lessons learned from her past activism and business ventures.
PHOTO/Chris Smith – Greenway Magazine
Between the campaigns, association meetups, and event organization, Chester has put hundreds of thousands of miles on her car and doesn’t show any sign of stopping.
“I’m a big-picture person; that’s my superpower. I started thinking about if we have medical, there will likely be an adult-use bill in 3-5 years,” she said. “Every state that has had medical and then legalized adult-use has lost quality medically. I want to hold Missouri to a higher standard. It is really important that the people making money off of cannabis have a responsibility to help provide medicine to patients who can’t afford it.”
She’s put her money where her mouth is, having planned a summer fundraiser in Kansas City for Ayden’s Alliance, an organization that helps families afford costs related to need and use of medical marijuana.
“That’s what motivates me and that’s what gets me up in the morning,” she said. “Being a business owner is a heavy responsibility – motherhood is the only thing that comes close. I don’t worry about my paycheck, I worry if I can pay my staff.”
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