Kandice Hawes is the founder and Executive Director of Orange County NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), which she established in 2003 after losing her financial aid due to a cannabis possession charge. Over the past two decades, OC NORML has grown into one of the nation’s most impactful chapters, earning the Outstanding Chapter of the Year award at the 2012 National NORML Convention.

Under Kandice’s leadership, OC NORML has hosted hundreds of meetings, fundraisers, and major events—including the Medical Cannabis Conference for Seniors in Laguna Woods and the Know Your Rights Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. Her work has earned her recognition as High Times’ Freedom Fighter of the Month (2012), one of the Orange County Register’s 100 Most Influential People (2014), and one of the OC Weekly’s 100 Most Interesting People (2015).

In 2014, she founded the Committee to Support Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative PAC, which successfully passed a voter initiative to lift the ban on medical marijuana collectives in Santa Ana. Kandice holds a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Cal State Fullerton and currently serves as the Events and Community Outreach Manager for Glass House Group, a leading vertically integrated California cannabis company.