Brittney Griner Cancels Speech At Marijuana Event After Discovering Threatening Message In Her Hotel Room

Brittney Griner—a U.S. professional basketball player who was previously incarcerated in Russia over possession of marijuana—has pulled out of an appearance at a cannabis event after discovering what she felt was a threatening message in her hotel room.

Griner was slated to speak at the Women Grow Leadership Summit in Maryland on Monday, but the cannabis advocacy organization tells Marijuana Moment she would no longer be participating after finding a note on duct tape in her room that read “Gay Baby Jail.”

Griner is openly gay and, as noted, was incarcerated over marijuana possession. But it’s not clear whether the message in her room was intended for her.

Conference attendees had hoped to hear from Griner about the nature of her incarceration in Russia, which helped fuel international debate about cannabis prohibition laws domestically and abroad.

Meanwhile, the event also featured a video message from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), who spoke about the state’s experience enacting marijuana legalization with an eye toward social equity.

“Women Grow and our community are under attack in an effort to disrupt, intimidate, and silence us,” Women Grow CEO Chanda Macias said. “This is not just a threat against one person—it is a threat against all of us. This is unacceptable.”

“Brittney Griner arrived to be with us but felt unsafe because of threatening objects and words left inside her hotel room. For her safety, she chose to return home,” she said.

“The Gaylord [hotel] has assured us that the conference and its guests are safe; they have represented that the threat at issue was a meme joke left by a prior guest and unfortunately missed by cleaning staff,” she said. “Regardless of whether this was a targeted attack or an unfortunate coincidence, the entire Women Grow community and I wholeheartedly support Brittney’s decision and stand with her at this time.”

“Attacking women for coming together to lead and create change will not stop us. We are actively working with the venue and authorities to investigate how this happened and hold those responsible accountable. The safety of every woman at this conference remains our top priority.  Women Grow was founded on the belief that women should be able to lead without fear or intimidation. Our commitment to empowering women in cannabis is stronger than ever. We will not be silenced. We will continue on.”

According to Know Your Meme, “Gay Baby Jail” is a “a humorous term used to refer to a character or person trapped in a jail cell, box or other punishment location.” It is also sometimes used to refer to situations where video games become softlocked, which is when a player becomes stuck and cannot progress due to a glitch or a design flaw.

Marijuana Moment reached out to a speakers bureau that books appearances for Griner, but a representative wasn’t familiar with the situation and could not provide comment.

There are several layers of context to digest for cannabis policy reform advocates.

For example, Russia on Monday freed an American citizen who was facing charges over alleged possession of cannabis—just as Griner was convicted of in the same country—potentially diverting another international conflict stemming from marijuana prohibition.

It was especially notable that Russian authorities announced the arrest of the 28-year-old American over cannabis last week given that it came in the midst of the Trump administration celebrating a prisoner swap that led to the release of another American, Marc Fogel, who was incarcerated in Russia over medical marijuana he used to treat pain.

The administration had negotiated Fogel’s high-profile release for possession of medical marijuana in Russia that he obtained lawfully as a registered cannabis patient in Pennsylvania.

Following an historic, multinational prisoner swap last summer, where several Americans were released, bicameral legislators sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressing their “gravest of concerns” about the continued imprisonment of Fogel.

The lawmakers also noted that Fogel’s situation is comparable to that of Griner, who also served time in a Russian prison over possession of cannabis oil that she also lawfully obtained as a medical marijuana patient in Arizona before being released as part of an earlier prisoner swap that the Biden administration negotiated.

Russia, for its part, has taken a particularly strong stance against reforming cannabis policy at the international level through the United Nations. And it condemned Canada for legalizing marijuana nationwide.

Outside of this latest controversy over Griner, at the Women Grow event, the governor of Maryland separately spoke to his state’s experience legalizing cannabis.

“Creating equitable opportunities in the cannabis industry isn’t just about business—it’s about justice,” Moore said. “Maryland is setting the standard for how we can repair the harms of the past while building a more inclusive and thriving future.”

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Image element courtesy of Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia.