When Influencers Go Rogue: The Impact of Racist Outbursts in Cannabis Culture

^{Filed Under: Cannabis Culture, Industry Ethics}

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One afternoon, Florence Mirsky — founder, influencer, and self-styled weed mogul — stood in a Beverly Hills valet lot and made racist remarks over a dispute with two men working the valet. The video hit Instagram, the outrage flared, but weeks later, her chocolate-covered weed treats are still on shelves, her brand is still alive, and no one with power in this industry has done a damn thing. That’s not just a disgrace. It’s a mirror.

Florence Mirsky built her image on the soft-focus aesthetics of influencer weed culture — pastel packaging, party shots, luxury weed tourism. She wasn’t some underground legacy operator. She was the type of personality the cannabis industry loves to elevate: marketable, palatable, and painfully whitewashed.

Then came the video. It surfaced in late January 2025, showing Mirsky berating valet workers outside a Beverly Hills establishment, making inflammatory accusations and reached toward the phone in an apparent attempt to stop filming. “Trump is doing good things,” she sneered on camera. The internet responded swiftly. Her name trended. Clips circulated. Reposts exploded. And then — nothing. No real consequences.

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disclaimer: The following video contains explicit language and offensive content. Pot Culture Magazine does not condone or endorse the statements made but presents this as evidence of the incident in question.

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She posted an apology to Instagram, the classic influencer play. In it, Mirsky blamed “past trauma” and said the man recording her had made sexual advances. She acknowledged making racist remarks, promised growth, and retreated from public view. It was a neat package of public remorse with a side of deflection. No public effort to make amends. No action. No receipts. Just spin.

But here’s where the problem deepens — the industry let her get away with it. Not everyone, though. Some industry figures have spoken out.

“No place for racists in the cannabis community.” — Roger Volodarsky, CEO & Co-Founder of Puffco

“I’m disgusted by what I saw. That behavior is not representative of anything I stand for.” — Scott Storch, Music Producer & Former Partner of Florence Mirsky

Despite these statements, no major dispensary chains have issued statements regarding the incident.

As of publication, no major dispensary chains have issued statements regarding the incident. No brands or collaborators have taken a clear public stance. Retailers stayed silent. Her influencer peers, many of whom built platforms on inclusion and performative allyship, said nothing.

That’s not apathy. That’s complicity.

This community has long propped up influencer culture that co-opts the look and feel of diversity while shutting out the people who built it. The cannabis industry was born in Black and brown communities, criminalized in those same spaces, and now gentrified by moneyed entrepreneurs who care more about margins than meaning.

So when someone like Mirsky — a white woman with clout and capital — gets caught spouting racist bile, it doesn’t just hurt her image. It hurts the culture. It poisons the public’s perception of who leads this space. And it undermines the real, powerful work being done by Black-owned, Latinx-owned, women-owned, and legacy-based cannabis operations who are still fighting for basic equity.

And let’s be clear: Pot Culture Magazine has always championed women in weed. But this isn’t about gender. It’s about accountability. If your brand is built on community, you don’t get to piss on it when things get heated and then blame your trauma. You sure as hell don’t get to stay in business unscathed.

The industry talks big about influencer accountability. Now’s the time to prove it.

Call it out. Pull the product. Say something. Because silence in moments like this doesn’t just look weak — it is.

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