As we lean into Pride season, it’s the perfect time to feature some of the leading cannabis activists, enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs in the LGBTQ+ community. Drag Race former contestant and Trans woman Laganja Estranja, who will be dropping her new Trans clothing collection this month, is both cannabis advocate and an entrepreneur in the fashion space.
Cannabis Advocacy
Laganja was first inroduced to the world as the “Queen of Green” on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2014. She was outspoken about her cannabis use (which was quite controversial at the time) and is a loud and proud advocate for the plant.
“My initial reaction back in 2014 was very mixed,” said Laganja in an interview with Cannabis & Tech Today. “I had people who really cherished the work that I was doing and felt that I was really shining a different light on the stoner community. But I also had many people who felt like I was a drug addict who was glorifying something that was dangerous. So, I got it all.
“But being from Texas, I’m used to this. I’m used to these ideas that people have, and that’s exactly why I chose to be Laganja Estranja was to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, and show people what it looks like to be a successful stoner in today’s state.”
On June 15, 2021, Laganja Estranja announced to the world that she had come out as Trans. This preceded the most recent season of Drag Race Season 14 where the majority of the contestants also came out as Trans and joined the sisterhood.
Just in Time for June
In celebration of Estranja’s coming out as an out and proud Trans woman, and in support of the Trans community at large, Estranja will be debuting her one-of-a-kind capsule collection in time for Pride and on the anniversary of her coming out.
“Last year on June 15th, 2021, I shared my truth about my gender identity with the world,” said Laganja.
“Two weeks prior, I had the hard task of telling my parents and the even harder task of letting them know Entertainment Weekly would soon be dropping the news. As a family, we were truly overwhelmed by the response, not just from our close friends but also the world!
“I decided to launch my very own Trans Pride fashion this year on my website. But this year to celebrate my one year anniversary of coming out, I really wanted to focus specifically on Trans Pride. Never in a million years did I think we would reach this point where others, whether Trans or not, would want to wear clothing like this. But as we could see this year on RuPaul’s Drag Race — which had more trans contestants than ever — the community is embracing the T in LGBTQAI+.”
“Laganja is a great collaborator for merch. She sends me ideas and I’m able to spin something up that we both love,” said Laganja’s fashion collaborator Michelle Moross.
“Despite not being a pastel person, I really like the way the Trans collection came out; it’s light and cheerful for summer. I took care to select a variety of gender-affirming styles that would cover the spectrum from feminine to masculine and everything in between.”
