— Executive Interview —
Marie Saloum
As a first-generation American, GreenPharms CEO Marie Saloum brings heart, hustle, and a fresh vision to cannabis entrepreneurship.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Marie Saloum was no stranger to the world of recreational cannabis. Even before California voters legalized adult use in 2016, the plant was available everywhere. Her interest in medical applications came later, after her husband was injured in a vehicle-rollover accident.
“They threw him a lot of medication, and you could tell he was getting a little bit addicted,” she said.
Cannabis helped alleviate his pain and wean him away from pharmaceuticals. It’s a common refrain, but Saloum’s gratitude became a quest to help others find similar, life-changing relief. In 2010, her resolve coalesced around launching Marijuana Doctor, a platform connecting Arizona residents with education and a resource for patients seeking medical cannabis cards. She still owns the business.
In 2013, Saloum launched GreenPharms dispensary in Mesa, Arizona. Today, with locations in Mesa and Flagstaff, GreenPharms is one of the few dispensaries in the state not owned by a large multistate operator. Saloum said she plans to keep the stores self-funded and family-owned for a simple reason: “Some people do want to shop at Walmart, but others might want to shop at something that feels less commercial.”
Blessed with high energy and abundant ambition, Saloum wants to redefine the possibilities for dispensary operations. In October 2024, she debuted a new store concept at the Mesa location: a supermarket-inspired interior that allows shoppers to dive into a grab-and-go retail experience. Instead of traditional display cases and products sequestered behind sales counters, the dispensary’s new open layout incorporates shopping carts and baskets and encourages customers to explore at their leisure. The shop’s design is a first in the Arizona market.
The transition wasn’t easy.
Because the concept differed radically from anything regulators had seen before, Saloum spent two years just getting the Arizona Department of Health Services and the City of Mesa to approve the design. Then, she had to expand the store’s physical dimensions to accommodate additional aisles and shelves. Saloum admits she had no idea whether consumers would embrace the idea but, so far, the change has proved successful.
In addition to overseeing two dispensaries, a cultivation operation, and the medical-card platform, Saloum also owns several brands including Cigaweeds, which produces discreet pre-roll packs that mimic the look and feel of traditional cigarettes.
And, because clearly she didn’t have enough entrepreneurial activities to occupy her time, she also founded and operates Trap Culture, an Arizona events producer that since 2018 has blended cannabis and community at live musical performances, pool parties, and food festivals.
Despite a seemingly Midas touch in business, Saloum remains humble and devoted to her customers, staff, and community. She leads with her heart, drawing on personal experiences, a passion for patients, and a genuine drive to make a difference in the lives of those around her.
As a first-generation American, how does your background inform your business practices?
On my father’s side, my grandma had thirteen children and had to raise all of my uncles and my dad by herself. She still became a teacher and then eventually became the governor of the island my father is from: the Galapagos.
My grandma from my mom’s side is from Mexico. She had eight girls, and after her husband disappeared she did what she had to do to have her girls succeed. They struggled and they had bad days, but all of the girls, all of my uncles, everybody is healthy and happy today.
My mom is not someone to mess with. She is very much a mama bear. I’m very similar in that sense. And my dad taught me how to love and not be materialistic, because those things don’t matter. He taught me that the real thing is people loving you, too. I think I got a little bit of everybody in that sense.
Was there anything about the rollout that you wish you had done differently?
We worked with the space that the city of Mesa allowed us. As much square footage as we had, that’s what we worked with.
I would like more space to display more brands. We’ve maxed out on how many brands we can showcase, and I’m trying to figure out how to bring on more, because the more the merrier for me. I want to showcase every Arizona brand I can and put the focus on these local Arizona companies.
What’s your take on the role of consumer education?
I always say that if you can educate one person, they might just go and educate two more people and so forth. Our job is never done in that sense. [Cannabis is] still fairly new, even if it’s been around for over a decade now in the state. I love seeing people ask questions and then be like, “Oh, that makes sense. Now what about this?”
I recently met a lady at the market who didn’t even know we have medical or recreational cannabis here. That tells you a lot about how many people still are out there that we can teach. I think it’s everybody’s job. If you really care about the movement and want more people to understand what we do and why, it’s everybody’s job to help with that.
There’s still a lot of things that we as an industry could teach the public to help us progress. Build understanding for people that don’t know anything about cannabis, how it’s used, and how it’s different from what they were taught. Let people ask questions and have the answers ready for them, because that’s the only way we are going to see people switch over to cannabis.
What’s your most effective marketing practice?
It’s a little bit of everything: having a good reputation, people having good experiences at your store, and so on. Referrals are the best marketing you can get, and they’re free. That’s the biggest thing. As long as people are happy, they’re the ones that are going to make your brand because they will post about it. They will bring people to your event.
I’ve found the most value in treating people right.
How do you create a working environment that keeps your employees happy?
We currently have about 165 employees, and I have people who are still with us from the clinic days. So some people were hired in 2011 or so and are still with us now in 2025.
I think what helps is that I don’t see myself as any different from any of them. One thing I always say is “if I can scrub a toilet, you can scrub a toilet.” I don’t see myself as above them and I try to understand them, especially because everyone is different. Every employee needs something different. Some of them need encouragement, some need structure.
I think what I do well is figuring out what each person needs and then figuring out how to be the best version of me for them.
How do you make sure the best version of you shows up for work each day?
It’s all day by day, and some are easier than others. I am a regular person, and there’s only so much I can do in a day. I’m trying to understand that more. I always make sure I give attention to everything. I may not always be able to give 100-percent attention, but if you need me, I will be there in a second.
I try my best to balance work and family, and it’s hard because work leaks into my home. My partner in crime is my husband and if I don’t see him all day, I’ll ask him how his day was. Yes, because he’s my husband, but also because I need to know what happened that day with the business. It’s a balance that is ever-changing.
What keeps you going when work gets tough?
Recently, I’ve been able to use my creativity and bring new products to the market. It’s exciting. Seeing Trap Culture be as accepted as it is, expanding Cigaweeds, all of that really excites me.
With the deli-style dispensary, I’m just a people person and I feed off people’s happiness. So when I see somebody like something, I want to do more of that. I think that’s what really keeps me going. Not everything works. That wouldn’t be normal; I understand that. But seeing people get happy with certain things, that’s the motivation that makes me want to keep trying and doing different things.
Ultimately, what drives you to make an impact?
Everything I do comes from seeing a need. There’s always a purpose for everything that we’ve created. Trap Culture was built out of the necessity of normalizing individuals who medicate but also want the joy of a good time outside of their home. It’s much needed in our community.
The Cigaweeds concept came from my husband, Arvin, who smoked cigarettes and wanted to get off them. We thought, with cigarettes, it’s the movement that people get used to. After you eat, you want to go have a cigarette. It’s something about that movement. So we made these joints to look like they’re actually cigarettes.
The clinics are where it all started for us. I love helping patients get off pills, and that’s why I started this all. I’ve seen the need in my own family, and there’s still much love in doing that for others.
Looking to the future, what do you want your legacy to be?
From budtenders to customers to other owners, when you hear that people like you, you know that they’re there because they want to be your friend. That matters more than anything to me.
When you die, people won’t think “oh, she had this, she owned that, she had this beautiful house or jewelry” or whatever, they’ll remember if you were a good person. That’s what I want at the end of the day. I want people to remember me like that—not for what I had, but that. That comes from how I was raised.
