Chokwan “Kitty” Chopaka

Founder, Chopaka

Industry : Advocacy

Chokwan, or Kitty, grew up in Australia in a very liberal family. After graduating with a law degree, she soon managed a law firm, but burned out quickly. She spent a few years soul-searching, then her mother helped convince her to tackle the issues around cannabis. After exploring possibilities of starting a business in the US and finding it wasn’t feasible, she did get to work with an advocacy group on the humanitarian side, which led her to set up Elevated Estate as a cannabis-focused startup incubator in Thailand. This organisation aimed to play a supporting role in helping to build the cannabis/hemp industry in the kingdom, but was not sustainable due to lack of funding, constant changes of regulations and Covid, and now concentrates on her brand, Chopaka, that sells cannabis buds and gummies. She continues to advocate for cannabis in terms of business, policy, human rights and social justice, or simply responsible and safe use. She views that cannabis has enormous economic value and various beneficial uses, and wants to call upon governments to adopt more progressive views about the plant and its powers.