There’s a different kind of leadership emerging in cannabis right now. Not the loudest voice in the room or the company chasing the biggest valuation, but the people doing the behind-the-scenes work that actually moves the industry forward. The advocates. The educators. The people that are fighting for patients while everyone else is fighting for market share.
That’s exactly where Healing Fear Consulting and Kayla Fearing fit into Minnesota cannabis. Her work sits at the intersection of advocacy, education, and patient care, helping shape an industry that still has a long way to go when it comes to putting people first.
Building Healing Fear Consulting From Advocacy and Experience
For Kayla, cannabis wasn’t something she discovered overnight. She grew up around cannabis culture and advocacy, which laid the foundation for the work she does today. But it wasn’t until she moved to Michigan in 2020 that things really clicked into place.
Seeing Michigan’s legal cannabis industry firsthand opened her eyes to what patient-focused cannabis care could actually look like. More specifically, she fell in love with the patient consulting side of the industry, helping people navigate cannabis as medicine instead of treating it like just another product on a shelf.
That experience ultimately led her to launch Healing Fear Consulting in 2021. Since then, she’s continued growing the business by working with local brands, clinics, nonprofits, and patients throughout Minnesota’s evolving cannabis landscape.
What stands out most about Kayla’s approach is that the mission has stayed consistent from day one: advocate for patients, educate the community, and create a cannabis industry that works for the people who rely on it most.
Fighting for Patients Beyond Business
In an industry where a lot of people talk about “changing lives,” Kayla has actually helped change legislation.
One of the most impactful moments in her career came in 2024 when she helped write, lobby for, and ultimately pass Minnesota’s Caregiver Law. For her, it wasn’t just a professional accomplishment, it was proof that advocacy work inside cannabis can create real-world change for patients and caregivers across the state.
That kind of work reflects the bigger role Healing Fear plays within the cannabis community. The business actively supports patients and growers while continuing to educate people about cannabinoids, patient rights, and the importance of accessible cannabis medicine.
Kayla strongly believes that community and collaboration are essential to the future of the industry. Cannabis doesn’t survive without the interconnected relationships between growers, suppliers, patients, and advocates. And if Minnesota’s market is going to succeed long term, those groups need to learn how to work together instead of operating in silos.
It’s a perspective that feels especially important right now as Minnesota cannabis continues finding its footing.
Staying Patient Focused in a Rapidly Changing Industry
Like most people working in cannabis, Kayla knows the industry will continue evolving fast. Regulations shift. Markets mature. Priorities change.
But instead of chasing every trend, she’s focused on staying informed, continuing her education, and preparing for what she hopes becomes a more patient-centered cannabis industry in Minnesota once some of the current growing pains are worked out.
Looking ahead, she already has additional cannabis legislation ideas she hopes to lobby for in the future. She’s also working toward becoming a healthcare consultant for a legal Minnesota dispensary while continuing to expand Healing Fear Consulting’s impact.
That balance between advocacy, education, and adaptability has become a huge part of her leadership style.
Her advice for anyone entering a leadership role in cannabis? Develop thick skin and endurance. Learn how to pivot because change is inevitable in this industry.
She’s also learned one lesson that anyone in cannabis business can relate to quickly: document everything. In her words, “We’re all a business. If it’s not documented, it never happened.”
Putting Patients and Growers First
At its core, Healing Fear Consulting was built for the patient first and the grower second. Those two groups remain the foundation of everything Kayla does.
She believes the cannabis industry loses its way when businesses focus more on shareholders than the people who actually make the plant community possible. Without trust, communication, growers, and patients, none of this exists in the first place.
And honestly, that mindset is part of what makes her work stand out. While a lot of the cannabis industry is racing toward commercialization, Kayla continues focusing on the human side of cannabis, the people seeking relief, the growers dedicating themselves to the plant, and the community connections that keep the culture alive.
As Minnesota cannabis continues evolving, voices like Kayla’s will likely play an important role in shaping what kind of industry this ultimately becomes.
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The Minnesota Grower’s Ball
MN Growers Ball was established in Feb of 2024, and was then first hosted on June 21, 2024. The inaugural event was held at the Historic Wabasha Street Caves in Saint Paul, MN. The purpose of MN Growers Ball was to give Minnesota Home Growers an event where they could feel SAFE to gift, trade, and network their personal homegrown cannabis products.
This event was 21+ and has a 1920’s Prohibition Area Formal dress theme. We host a home grown competition, musical entertainment, historic cave tours, food trucks, glass blowers, and an outside “sesh” area.
We have hosted over 600 attendees in the last two years. June 2026 will be our third year hosting, and the first year that the City of Saint Paul has granted a Cannabis Events Permit, and we're hoping to successfully secure the OCM Event License in the coming weeks as well.
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