Ditching Opiates: How Cannabis Changed My Life and Business

Summary

Living The Red Life: Episode Summary

Episode Title: Ditching Opiates: How Cannabis Changed My Life and Business
Host: Rudy Mawer
Release Date: August 11, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of Living The Red Life, host Rudy Mawer delves into a transformative journey of resilience and entrepreneurship with special guest Brianna Banks, co-founder of Wake and Bakery. The conversation navigates Brianna's personal struggles, her innovative business model blending cannabis with traditional bakery offerings, and the broader implications of cannabis legalization on health and commerce.

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Brianna's Personal Journey and the Birth of Wake and Bakery

Brianna Banks opens up about a pivotal moment in her life that catalyzed her venture into the cannabis-infused food industry.

Brianna Banks [00:00]: "So in 2019, I tore my spine while I was running. I used to run like five miles every other day. It was my vice to life. And I hurt my back really bad. And they had put me on all these opiates and I have, at the time, my kid was 2 and 10, maybe 2 and 9, and I couldn't take them. So I started to smoke weed."

Facing severe back pain and the challenges of opioid dependency while raising young children, Brianna sought an alternative path to manage her pain and maintain her role as a mother. This led to the conception of Wake and Bakery, a unique establishment offering cannabis-infused beverages and baked goods.

Brianna Banks [04:20]: "I started putting in my coffee, and then I started baking muffins with it. And I was like, other moms would want to do this shit too, so let's see what I can do. And that's how I started it."

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Building a Safe and Inclusive Space

Central to Brianna's vision is creating a welcoming environment for all individuals, transcending age, profession, and background.

Brianna Banks [00:30]: "I am building a safe space for everybody to come to. No. 21, to whatever age that might be, doctor to the janitor."

This inclusive approach is reflected in the diverse clientele Wake and Bakery attracts, from lawyers and doctors to mothers seeking relief and relaxation.

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Navigating the Cannabis Industry: Challenges and Innovations

Brianna discusses the complexities of operating within the evolving legal landscape of cannabis, particularly the distinctions between Delta 8 and Delta 9 THC.

Brianna Banks [05:08]: "I started out with Delta 8. I'm not. That's how I started my business because that was the loop. And it's great. It does a lot of good things for a lot of good people. But I also wanted to advance and so I figured out new ways. And now Delta 9, which is the same thing as THC, which is the same thing as weed."

She highlights the regulatory hurdles, such as licensing, labeling, and compliance with varying state laws, which necessitate adaptability in branding and product offerings.

Brianna Banks [09:06]: "The Florida laws change constantly. Everywhere changes. Arizona changed a couple months ago. Texas changed a couple months ago. And they will forever be evolving until it is federally legal on a full, on a full time basis across the United States."

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Strategic Branding and Marketing

To address the challenges of fluctuating legality and public perception, Brianna emphasizes the importance of versatile and recognizable branding.

Brianna Banks [10:04]: "In the center of our logo, you actually see Wake and Bakery with like a crown. It's a crown. It's also a Wheatley box around so that eventually if we had to get rid of the cartoons... we would have the center logo and people would still recognize our logo."

Collaborating with renowned designers like Ron Hanson ensures that Wake and Bakery maintains a professional and adaptable brand identity.

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Community Impact and Customer Stories

Wake and Bakery is not just a business; it's a community hub where customers share transformative stories about how cannabis has aided them through various life challenges.

Brianna Banks [11:44]: "We have an employee who has stage three breast cancer, and she has been eating and using our products while going through chemo. And she said it's probably the best thing she's done."

These testimonials underscore the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and its role in enhancing quality of life for many individuals.

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Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Drawing from her own experiences, Brianna offers invaluable advice to those looking to enter the cannabis or food industry, especially during volatile times.

Brianna Banks [14:11]: "Keep going. I did 10 months of baking by myself from 7am until 1am while living in my basement of my business."

She emphasizes the power of positive affirmation and persistence as key drivers of success.

Brianna Banks [14:48]: "If you consistently tell yourself today is going to be a good day, it will be a good day."

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Future Plans and Expansion

Looking ahead, Brianna envisions Wake and Bakery expanding through franchising, aiming to establish a ubiquitous presence that normalizes cannabis consumption alongside traditional beverages.

Brianna Banks [17:09]: "I want to once it becomes legal completely... I could go in any space. I want once it becomes legal completely."

Plans to franchise across various states, navigating the intricacies of differing state laws, highlight her commitment to growth and accessibility.

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with reflections on the positive societal impacts of cannabis legalization, as evidenced by Wake and Bakery's thriving community and customer satisfaction. Brianna Banks emerges as a resilient and visionary leader, advocating for cannabis as a viable alternative to opioids and alcohol, fostering both personal well-being and business success.

Brianna Banks [17:44]: "It's making people happy for sure and comfortable and no pain. And, like, so way better than any alternative to it."

Living The Red Life continues to inspire entrepreneurs and individuals alike, showcasing the profound ways cannabis can transform lives and businesses.

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Connect with Brianna Banks and Wake and Bakery

For more information or to explore Wake and Bakery's offerings, visit wakeandbakery.net.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those who have yet to listen.

Transcript

[Brianna Banks]

So in 2019, I tore my spine while I was running. I used to run like five miles every other day. It was my vice to life. And I hurt my back really bad. And they had put me on all these opiates and I have, at the time, My kid was 2 and 10, maybe 2 and 9, and I couldn't take them. So I started to smoke weed. And then I was like, I don't mind if my kids know I'm smoking weed, but how else can I do this?

[Ray Gutierrez]

You're in a very authentic, vulnerable business. Talk about what you're building.

[Brianna Banks]

I. I am building a safe space for everybody to come to. No. 21, to whatever age that might be, doctor to the janitor.

[Ray Gutierrez]

You built Wake and Bakery from resilience. In a viral moment, what advice would you give to entrepreneurs starting a food or cannabis related business, especially a viral moment?

[Rudy Moore]

My name's Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life Podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill. Take the red pill. Join me in wonderland and change your life, life.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Welcome back to another episode of Living the Red Life Podcast. I am your host with Inside Success, Ray Gutierrez. We have many, many, many shows that we film here at Insight Success Studios, one of them being Women in Power. And today joins me, quite a powerful woman that is Brianna Banks, co founder of Wake and Bakery. Now, Brianna, Wake and Bakery. Is it, Is it a. Is it a bakery that I just wake up to? And there's some. Create some goods.

[Brianna Banks]

It's exactly what you think it is. It's a bakery that's infused with, like, coffee. It's coffee, tea, lemonades, baked goods, all infused with THC or cbd.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Cool. For folks that don't understand those acronyms. What is thc?

[Brianna Banks]

Weed, Marijuana.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Ah, yes. The what? Can you walk me through all the slangs of the Mary Jane, the wild mambo? No. That's the difference.

[Brianna Banks]

4, 27, 10. Weed, wake and bake, Wake and Bakery.

[Ray Gutierrez]

So I'm gonna give you some background. I grew up in Miami. Dangerous city to grow up in. I'm a late bloomer, Moved to California, discovered medication.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Changed my life. It's a reason why I can do what I do and not lose my mind. So thank you for, like, being a North Star and helping folks like me that are struggling every day, or as folks like to say, suffering. But with your medication and your modern medicine, it's really giving me another Shot at life. So thank you for that.

[Brianna Banks]

Exactly why I started.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Hell, yeah. So pound that. But let's talk about the drama. Why so many names to such an archaic, medicinal, magic grass?

[Brianna Banks]

I think forever. It was cliche. And people. You can't really do it because it's not legal. And now that it's becoming legal, I think that it's becoming less drama. And so people are now just this weed, you know, easy to use, just more cliche. I think people were scared of it back in the 60s. Great. It started. But you were illegal. You go to jail, you do all these things. If you're smoking marijuana now, eh, it's whatever. You smell it on the street every day.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah, it's kind of like, is it a sense of control? Like, those folks are too happy, they're too free, they're too creative. We have to remove that.

[Brianna Banks]

And it takes away from, like, pharmaceutical places. You know, it's a new. The reason why I started was it was a different concept. I didn't want to take all the opiates they had given me for hurting myself while I hurt my back. And so I started doing that, and that was my out. And I could function as a mother, as a woman, as. As a worker, anything by doing it. So, yeah, I think that's probably money.

[Ray Gutierrez]

There's also that. Also. Also that kind of green.

[Brianna Banks]

Yes.

[Ray Gutierrez]

But I got to ask, where. Where does your journey begin?

[Brianna Banks]

Like, so in 2019, I tore my spine while I was running. I used to run, like, five miles every other day. It was my vice to life. And I hurt my back really bad. And they had put me on all these opiates, and I have. I. At the time, My kid was 2 and 10, maybe 2 and 9, and I couldn't take them. So I started to smoke weed. And then I was like, I don't mind if my kids know I'm smoking weed, but I. How else can I do this? So then I started putting in my coffee, and then I started baking muffins with it. And I was like, other moms would want to do this shit too, so let's see what I can do. And that's how I started it.

[Ray Gutierrez]

When you started it on your own, how comforting was it when you found other moms or folks.

[Brianna Banks]

Oh, man, it's fun. There's a lot more people than you think that do it. There'll be lawyers and doctors and mothers who walk in, and they're like, can my kid come in here? And the whole point was, is that you could come in your Kid could have a regular muffin, you could get a coffee that had the, you know, weed in it. It was. It's pretty sweet actually, watching other people.

[Ray Gutierrez]

So how does one get into this kind of business if folks watch a lot of Netflix and they see a lot of dead folks that are chasing this kind of dollar? Yeah, it's not very much like that. The government's regulated it. There's all these fancy words for it. There's. There' there's delta 8, there's delta 9, there's delta negative 2, there's all sorts of all these sort of terms. And the moment they kind of gave us this, this government name, Delta 8, Delta 9. I felt like they less weaponized and more regulated. So talk about that challenge.

[Brianna Banks]

So it is a challenge getting into places. Number one, that's like the biggest deal, like letting people come into or us come into your space. I think that's probably the biggest and hardest thing. It's easy to get a. I have a hemp license, so I'm on a federal level. Sure. It's relatively easy to get that. You just have apply for it. Show them coas. I work with the Department of Agriculture. All my stuff is lab tested, so that's probably the easiest part. But getting people to know what it is. I started out with Delta 8. I'm not. That's how I started my business because that was the loop.

[Ray Gutierrez]

I'm very familiar.

[Brianna Banks]

So. And it's great. It's does a lot of good things for a lot of good people. But I also wanted to advance and so I figured out new ways. And now Delta 9, which is the same thing as THC, which is the same thing as weed. People have a misconception, but I have to stay under a certain percentage. But it's perfectly fine. I do that. People love my stuff. They function every day with it.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah. And I have my Florida medical card.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Like before it became recreational in California. I had my California medical card and it completely changed my life at that point. It was far more chill. And it was San Francisco. Like you loaded up an app and there was a doctor. Ouch, my back hurts. And bootable. There was your PDF and you walk down the street and you literally walk into an Apple Store.

[Brianna Banks]

All right.

[Ray Gutierrez]

And it's. I remember my. A thousand milligram coronavirus. That was just that it's just like you want to see art? Like get up. Oh, no. That was beyond f. I was just like, wow. Like, I was really seeing like life. I was really just seeing the metamorphosis of like, wow. I can see and feel things and really just understand different frequencies.

[Brianna Banks]

Absolutely.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah. And it was a very powerful moment, which I understand why it's getting regulated. Not a lot of people can experience that and walk away from it normal.

[Brianna Banks]

Well, and you don't. Not everybody can handle that. Like, I didn't. I can't handle that much. And it's my business. I just can't do it. I can smoke a lot, but I can't eat a lot. So it definitely is something you have to learn about. And you yourself have to be like, oh, 25 is too much for me. 100's great for me. I wrote like three years of projections on my business one time. I mean, it just depends on what you want to do.

[Ray Gutierrez]

And not to say the thousand was in a head. It was over a couple days.

[Brianna Banks]

Okay.

[Ray Gutierrez]

I cut it up into little chunks. Let's not get nuts here.

[Brianna Banks]

That's way too much.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah, yeah. I was like, drink responsibly, folks.

[Brianna Banks]

Exactly.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Which leads to my great segue. Like, this is the anti alcohol party substance.

[Brianna Banks]

Absolutely.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Like, I remember experimenting with Delta 8 and getting into that business saying, we need to create the drink. We need to replace alcohol with this substance. Because it's all the good stuff without the bad.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Especially the terrible stuff like driving under the influence and all that. Terrible stuff. And folks that are suffering with, you know, dementia and all sorts of other. Exactly.

[Brianna Banks]

You name it.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Correct.

[Brianna Banks]

It's definitely an alternative. The whole point we have like mojitos that are just. That are just infused with THC instead of alcohol. I mean, no one's ever died from THC that I know of, that any research has known, you know, anything like that. So for me, it's completely an alternative to doing whatever you do on a Friday night.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Oh, yeah.

[Brianna Banks]

You know, instead maybe you're playing cornhole and, you know, bowling, but you're high and laughing and having a good time.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Or solving a 20 year problem that just hit you. It's like, wow.

[Brianna Banks]

Going through trauma.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah. It's just like. That, to me was essentially the removal of the shadow, or as Dexter likes to call it, the dark passenger. Where it's like. Not to say that I'm a serial killer only on Thursdays. Thursday, today it's Tuesday. We're good, we're good. No killing today. But it's the removal of the dark passenger, the depression and that, that was my ultimate, you know, pain point. Like, how do I remove this blocker? There's a person that I used to be or Want to become.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

How do I remove it without, you know, going to therapy? Even though there's nothing wrong with therapy, but I don't want to be this prescribed, medicinal, over the counter, infused anything. All right, so weed was obviously a good alternative for me.

[Brianna Banks]

I agree.

[Ray Gutierrez]

So thank you for that. You're open up a brick and mortar, but it's challenging. You're not. It's like opening up a flower shop with actual, you know, orchids and dandelions. This is a different kind of flower. Talk about some of the challenges of opening up a brick and mortar.

[Brianna Banks]

For instance, the one in Florida that just opened like two weeks ago.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Sure.

[Brianna Banks]

The Florida laws change constantly. Everywhere changes. Arizona changed a couple months ago. Texas changed a couple months ago. And they will forever be evolving until it is federally legal on a full, on a full time basis across the United States. But you have to rebrand. I have to rebrand my brand and get people to know my brand again. But that's a huge challenge. You have new rules and regulations as far as labeling and what, what color it can be in and what color can your food be? And you have to follow all these rules so that they're not kid friendly.

[Ray Gutierrez]

But at the same time, all sorts of stuff. Yeah.

[Brianna Banks]

Trying to make your brand normalize it and make it not cliche, like I said, but yet still have to follow all these rules. And, and it's kind of hard to do that.

[Ray Gutierrez]

So when you're designing your logos, your labels, your, your, your packaging, are you thinking about that first as opposed to let's make it art? Like, what are you thinking about?

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah, I mean, the first logo is actually designed by Ron Hanson. He's the guy who made the yellow submarine for the vetoes.

[Ray Gutierrez]

No way.

[Brianna Banks]

So he helped us. We had a bunch of them.

[Ray Gutierrez]

That was quite the dm. Yo, what up?

[Brianna Banks]

Sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know. But he helped us go through them because we knew that we would start with something and eventually the rules could change. So in the center of our logo, you actually see Wake and Bakery with like a crown. It's a crown. It's also a Wheatley box around so that eventually if we had to get rid of the cartoons, which is what I think is kind of coming around, or our, our guys are like cartoons. We would have the center logo and people would still recognize our logo. So working through that, that's the way we can do it with the branding. We started with something that we knew could possibly change, which it is in some states. But we knew that we could take it out and people would still know what our brand was.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Right.

[Brianna Banks]

So that's what we did.

[Ray Gutierrez]

It's got to be exciting and exhilarating. Right?

[Brianna Banks]

I love it.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Right.

[Brianna Banks]

It's great. People love it. I love hearing about it. I walk into stores and so, you know, people don't know who I am and. Or I. We had a festival last week, and they're just talking about how they love the food. And you should try this. And you have this. Like, we have electric lemonade that people love. Like, it's fun listening to other people and. And people like calling us and saying, hey, this helped me out so much with this. Or like you said, I worked through this instead of using therapy. Or someone had Parkinson's one time and came in and said, my or their dad did and said, hey, this is one thing that has helped my dad out so much. We have an employee who has stage three breast cancer, and she has been eating and using our products while going through chemo. And she said it's probably the best thing she's done.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Wow. Yeah. The results are, like, instantaneous. Sometimes even Google it. You can even find it.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

I'm always on the subreddit, always doing my research, and it's always fun to see the miracle happen in transition within. Within moments.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

It's very, very powerful stuff. So let's talk about being a woman in power. I know that's quite a bizarre segue, but we are filming an episode. We are very proud of the shows that we film here. Legacy makers, Women in power, the network that Rudy has built, Inside Success. What are we going to learn about you today on your episode that we're literally about to film right after this with me, I'm going to host the interview, and we're going to film it.

[Brianna Banks]

That I really have started from nothing and that I am one persistent bee. That I literally have it tattooed on my hand. That is my word. If you had to pick a word for yourself, that is my word. I push myself sometimes beyond what I think my limit is, and it has made me stronger and a better person and made the business better, too.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Wow. You're in a very authentic, vulnerable business. Like, I see you, you see me. When the moment we recognize each other, it's like, I'm all about what you sell, and I'm sure you're all about me buying what you sell.

[Brianna Banks]

True.

[Ray Gutierrez]

At a platonic level and at a spiritual level, which is what the kind of stor run into at the festivals. What. What is that like for you? Educating the masses about the community, the tribe building, which is very similar to what entrepreneurs do when they build their tribes. Talk about what you're building.

[Brianna Banks]

I am building a safe space for everybody to come to. No. 21 to whatever age that might be, doctor to the janitor. I truly believe every person is just a human being. There is no race, there is no color. There should not be any of that at all. My brand, my staff, how we train our staff, the culture we bring, the things we do for our community, keep us involved in it. Knowing, making our space feel like a home for everybody. Our acronym is literally home. Like we give you opportunities and we're mindful and we have education so that you feel welcoming in our space. Always. That's exactly what I want to do for my brand. I want to keep it growing. I want people to feel like it's a space they can be in all the time.

[Ray Gutierrez]

I'm going to bring up a couple of questions from your actual story script that we're going to use to film your episode. It says here you built wake and bakery from resilience in a viral moment. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs starting a food or cannabis related business? Especially a viral moment?

[Brianna Banks]

Keep going. I did 10 months of baking by myself from 7am until 1am wow. While living in my basement of my business.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Wow.

[Brianna Banks]

And I'm sure you're having probably. I wanted to stop a million times, but my kids kept me going and I did not want to ever have anybody in control of my financial life or, or my freedom.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Sure.

[Brianna Banks]

And if you just keep going. And somebody once told me one time that is just as easy to think about the negative as it is to think about the positive.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Oh, yeah.

[Brianna Banks]

So if you consistently tell yourself today is going to be a good day, it will be a good day. Now, maybe not every day, but if you tell yourself it's going to be a good day, let me be in a good mood, most likely you're going to have a good day.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Absolutely.

[Brianna Banks]

And I just kept doing that. I just kept saying, one more day. I got this one more day. Someday soon it's going to switch. And it did. Eventually.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Positive affirmation goes a long way.

[Brianna Banks]

100%.

[Ray Gutierrez]

If you can't do it for yourself, find someone that can help you do it for you.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Even if it's prayer. Like it's not just getting stoned every morning. And then, you know, it's, it's, that's only half the battle. It's faith.

[Brianna Banks]

It's, it's all believe Me. This didn't all come by just because Believe in the universe or whatever. God. God got me where I'm at.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Right on it.

[Brianna Banks]

Even not just me.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah. That's why you're a powerful woman. That's where we're dedicating an episode to you. I'm really eager to learn more about you. How can people find you?

[Brianna Banks]

Me personally or wakery.net is like very easy. You can find. I mean, if you literally Google wake and bakery, there's articles, you name it. We've been in quite a few things.

[Ray Gutierrez]

It Sundays you're in 10 different locations.

[Brianna Banks]

Right now we have 14.

[Ray Gutierrez]

14. So we're already outdated here. Can you kind of list them all out?

[Brianna Banks]

Yes. Majority of them are in Chicago, but so towns in Chicago, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Oak Park, Homewood, downtown Chicago, or like what?

[Ray Gutierrez]

So you're a celebrity there.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

You're a celebrity to be.

[Brianna Banks]

Sometimes I get recognized because I've been in articles and, you know, quite a few articles. So we are in Raleigh, North Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee. We're here in Fort Myers. We're in Miami. Madison, Wisconsin. Tempe, Arizona is coming or is still on hold. We're winning two more in Illinois. We're trying to branch out to other states and pretty soon we're going to franchise.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Wow.

[Brianna Banks]

I know, I know. It's a little iffy. I've tried to do partnerships and they didn't work out too well for me. So I am going to be franchise franchising.

[Ray Gutierrez]

I guess I got to put you in contact with a good mentor of mine, Greg. He helped franchise Taco Bell.

[Brianna Banks]

Oh, wow.

[Ray Gutierrez]

It's kind of small. Big deal. Yeah, small big deal.

[Brianna Banks]

Just a small, big deal. Wow.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Just name drop in there. No, he's an amazing person. Oh, my God. What's up for you next? Like, you've opened up all these locations. It's obviously you're fighting the good fight.

[Brianna Banks]

Yeah.

[Ray Gutierrez]

How do you know, like, what's next for you? Knowing that there's still this big block.

[Brianna Banks]

Of blocks once that big block of the federal government making it legal. I think that if I can open up enough stores, eventually I'll be the new, you know, the other coffee shop that everybody knows with some perfect Little Mermaid looking logo. I think that'll be the new, new one because people will already be here and you'll be able to have marijuana in your coffee without it being like you can literally, like no problems at all. I'll be able to get in anywhere. I could go in any space. I want once it becomes legal completely.

[Ray Gutierrez]

Yeah. The cities that are legal in their cities haven't burnt down. Nothing's really changed.

[Brianna Banks]

No.

[Ray Gutierrez]

In fact, murders haven't gone.

[Brianna Banks]

We've never had any fights. We never have anybody, like, angry. Sure, we've had someone come in and no, I don't know. But maybe once in six years, something has happened. But to be honest, no one's ever angry when they come in this space. Like, it's making people happy for sure and comfortable and no pain. And, like, so way better than any alternative to it.

[Ray Gutierrez]

This concludes yet another amazing episode of Living the Red Life podcast, featuring Brianna Banks, our woman in power. Thanks for inside success. I am Ray Gutierrez.