Canada’s contestant for Miss Universe wore an outfit representation of the nation’s legalization of cannabis during the “National Costume” segment of the competition, Huffington Post reports. Alyssa Boston wore a green, skirted outfit with a leaf-shaped back piece, a cannabis-leaf crown, and a glittery, leaf-adorned, scepter.
According to Insider, Boston is 24 years old and works on the marketing team for an auto-part company. She also advocates for mental health, working with the Canadian Mental Health Association and through #TalkAboutME, a social media campaign she launched.
“It was inspired by Canada’s recent legalization of cannabis but most importantly to end the stigma globally in hopes to spark more research for medicinal purposes.” — Boston, via Instagram
The outfit was designed by Neftali Espinoza, a Nicaraguan designer.
During the broadcast, the announcer explained the purpose behind the ensemble represented “the legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes” – medical cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2001.
“This contestant wants to end the stigma that’s been around since 1920. If you’ve got the need, you can grab legal weed with Canada,” the announcer said during the event.
In an interview with the Windsor Press prior to the event, Boston said she was “pretty proud to actually have the knowledge” about cannabis and the platform to raise awareness.
“It’s a little different for a beauty queen to talk about cannabis,” Boston said to the Press. “It’s something that we’re very proud of here in Canada. It’s a brand new industry and there’s a lot of potential that we see in the future. I’m happy to bring awareness to it in a whole different light.”
Boston did not win the costume content and was not ultimately crowned Miss Universe.
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