Cannabis Economy

Troy Dayton, ArcView & Ryan Hurley, Rose Law Group Ryan Hurley joins us and discusses the renewed focus on the medical market in AZ in the wake of adult-use not passing this past election day. Ryan shares that he came to the industry as a patient, which turned him into an activist, as it’s wont to do. Speaking of activists, Troy Dayton then joins us beginning the conversation on Arizona. His bottom line is that if we were not outspent in Arizona we would have won. He then points though to the eight wins featuring cannabis businesses stepping up to get behind each of the winning initiatives. Troy goes on to discuss focusing on harmony as opposed to discord in dialogue.

Greta Carter, G Car Companies & George Jage, MJBiz Con Greta Carter joins us and takes us through her storied career in big banking. She discusses the fact that the historic economic downturn provided her with an opportunity to reinvent herself, which led her to an entirely new industry. She became an activist in the space help protect patients but she needed to find a way to pay the bills, so she used her republican background to marry commerce with cannabis….and finally Greta shares her philosophy, "If you’re not part of the game you can’t change it." But first, George Jage joins us from the Marijuana business conference and expo. Joseph Aboud is the guy with the suits, and George, it turns out is the guy with the trade shows. He shares with us where we are as far as cannabis in relation to comparative industries and trade shows.

Tim Smits joins us and at the top admits to being a suit. Furthermore, Tim shares that none of his friends would believe that he would be in the cannabis industry based on the way that he was raised. He takes us back to initially doing menial work for his fathers business getting paid less and doing more. He essentially gives a mini-masters class on business administration. Tim goes on to share how his upbringing as an entrepreneur perfectly shaped him for his career in cannabis where everything costs more and takes longer than you think. But Adam Bierman first joins us and readily admits he’s also a suit. He takes us through his philosophy and how and why he’s ok with the fact that he’s considered an industry contrarian.

MCBA Spotlight: Amanda Reiman, DPA & Kyla Hill, Hemp Butter It’s Amanda Reiman time once again and with the win, Amanda joins us to discuss what we the people can do to participate in the language of how Prop 64 gets written into law. Amanda shares that localities will be dictating where state licenses can be had. One thought is for folks to discuss with local elected officials that no cannabis in a locality means no cannabis tax revenue in that locality. We then discuss that individuals have the opportunity to go to town halls and public hearings to meet and greet public officials and to give direct feedback. So essentially, act now or forever cede your peace. Kyla Hill then joins us and gives us her unique perspective on people, product and inner-peace. 

Tim Cullen joins us and takes us through the very early days in Colorado leading up to today. He candidly discusses the banking and taxation issues that persist for cannabis producers, processors and retailers. But David Brown of Lift first joins us to discuss the Task Force recommendations to the Canadian government for a federally regulated adult use cannabis economy. The recommendations soundly showcased that it’s a question of how not if. The Task Force recommends home grow, retail, consumption, limiting prosecutions and allowing for true and unencumbered capitalism with craft cannabis companies producing along side large scale players.

Nate Bradley joins us for a conversation on all things CCIA and by extension, Prop 64. He discusses founding the Association and it’s nascent days. Nate takes us through the fact that just a year prior to it’s passage, the CCIA board voted to endorse Prop 64 and how for the ensuing twelve months, Nate didn’t stop working to get Prop 64 passed. We also dive into Nate’s history in law enforcement and how as a former member of those who protect and serve, he has a unique vantage point on potential solutions for community peacekeeping. But Steph Sherer first joins us to discuss ASA’s petition filed with the DOJ demanding that the DEA correct misinformation about cannabis. 

what’s happening on the ground in MI. He explains that the law is changing and in the long-term that will be a good thing. He and his colleagues are suffering through what should be short-term raids in the time being. As you’ll hear though, the timeline is certainly up for interpretation. Dr. David Schubert then joins us to discuss his work with cannabis and Alzheimer’s and what led him to a molecular biology approach to how the brain works and his overall work in neuroscience. Dave dealt with the initial misconception that the brain could be easily understood and he explains that for the most part, we still don’t understand it. That said, David does have some answers…which he shares. Prof Schubert also sheds light on the way that way that drug discovery works…or doesn’t.

Keith Stroup returns to share his thoughts on cannabis legalization in the wake of the election. We get Keith’s take on the state of affairs in each of the state that held votes in November. We dive in on Arkansas specifically and spend some time discussing that conservative southern state and what that means for the southern states which surround it. We talk about what happened to Montana’s old law before this new vote. And Keith shares that North Dakota shared him more than any other state. Based on his 40+ years of activism, he takes us through why he’ essentially bullish on the new administration not getting in the way of the cannabis movement and industry. But Betty Aldworth first joins us with an update from SSDP.

We begin in the classroom at the Museum of Natural History with molecular biologist Dr. Robert DeSalle discussing biogeography. This serves as an appetizer for our sit down in the professors office when we discuss how all of that affects cannabis. In the office, we discuss his work on both fruit flies and caviar to discover the scope of work that remains on cannabis. Both in class and in office, we discuss Krakatoa to better understand how the 1883 eruption can inform the cannabis plant and industry. A note- Robert has an active office, so doors do open and close. Episode 199 with Mowgli Holmes is cited often and works a great companion episode to this one. 

Nevada State Senator Tick Segerblom discusses the vote and ensuing adult use program in the state. We review the now fully functional medical program including the concept of reciprocation and how that key principal might affect the global cannabis market. Tick also shares his thoughts the recent history of populism. New York State Senator Diane Savino then joins us to provide a history of legal cannabis in New York. She shares how the medical program came to be, where we are now and where we’re going with the prospective changes to the program. She also shares how she and some of her colleagues have changed the way legislation happens in New York.

Ethan returns to discuss what the incoming Presidential administration can do regarding Drug Policy. And we also cover what you can do in the face of that prospective action from the incoming administration. We go on to cover his thoughts on the prospective AG, what action DPA has in store as well as what action you can take.  We finish with some advice, where rather than focus on opinion or analysis, Ethan suggests that you "know what you’re talking about." We kick off the show with a flashback to Episode 67 to give you a sense of some background on the person behind the policy.

Recorded on the Friday after election day, John Hudak returns for a far reaching conversation on policy and cannabis history. He first honestly and thoughtfully discusses polling and prognostication from this cycle showcasing all that was involved in the election outcome. We then dive into governance. We discover the concept of American civic duty going beyond simply voting. We realize the fact that the ultimate accountability of our elected officials rests in the hands of we the people. We run through the Nov. 8th cannabis wins and the meaning of those wins. And we finish by discussing Marijuana: A Short History, John’s book available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the Brookings Press Website.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee joins us to discuss her thoughts on Prop 64 passing as well as and more importantly what folks can do now to affect the change which they seek on the proposition as it gets written into law. We broaden the conversation to cover how she deals with phone calls and action from her constituents. And finally we cover representative lee’s thoughts on the recent overt uncovering of racial communication as well as the subtle institutional and structural racism which has always been present. Corey Barnette then joins us to paint a clearer picture of the DC legal cannabis market. Did you know for instance that there were no restrictions on qualifying conditions in DC?

Is you’re favorite strain actually you’re favorite strain? Mowgli Holmes is on a quest to find out. If you ask him if he’s mapping the cannabis genome, he’ll say yes- but it’s much more than that, he’s mapping thousands of genomes and trying to understand how they’re related to each other. Mowgli's interested in realizing not only what the plant does to the people but what people have done to the plant. But first, per his forearm tattoo, cannabis warrior Etienne Fontan is fresh of a win in a battle with the federal government. He joins us to explain how the latest tussle went down. Etienne also discusses the new reality in California now that Prop 64 has passed and how you can make your voice affect the change you wish to see.

Steph Sherer joins us to discuss the history of Americans For Safe Access. Going way back, Steph wasn’t a recreational proponent of cannabis, but came to the plant as medicine in SoCal. Following success with cannabis as medicine, Steph moved to NorCal and became an activist in the space ultimately launching americans for safe access culminating in ASA serving the federal government.  Steph takes us through how you can affect change on ballot initiatives if they passed but you don’t love the specific language in the initiatives. Roughly 66% of the work still needs to be done. But Jaime Lewis first joins us to give an update on what she’s got going on in both Colorado…and officially Massachusetts. 

David Bell, Professor of Marketing at Wharton sits down to discuss the basics of marketing from an extremely high-level. After discovering a bit of his background, we go through a number of industries with similarities to cannabis to discuss what can be learned from folks that have been through a few half lives. Professor Bell takes us through his best advice to cannabis companies new and experienced. But Kelsey Osborne first joins us to share her experience. Facing her seizing child, she provided her daughter with cannabis. As we’ve interviewed many parents like Heather Jackson from Realm of Caring and Paige Figi regarding Charlotte- this wouldn’t be a big deal- but it happened in Idaho. So Kelsey is now headed to court.

We present an indubitable cornucopia of view points from  the Lift Expo Recap. We’ve been loading up with pre US election run-up so this has certainly been an episode in waiting. David Brown first joins us an an introduction. Hugo Alves then joins us and discusses his point of view of cannabis in Canada from his legal perspective. His thought, and the thought that emanates generally from our neighbors to the north is that federal recreational use cannabis will be on the books in early 2018. We round out the conversation with Hugo discussing what constitutionality means in Canada- and what to expect from the interaction of federal and provincial law as it relates to retail. Jodie Emery then closes with her perspectives on where the industry is and where it’s going.

As this episode goes up, tomorrow is election day. We figured there’s no better person to sum up what’s about to happen regarding cannabis ballot initiatives than THE Steve Fox. We begin with a little personal history from way back in episode 34 and then dive in to Steve’s take on how this year is different than 2012. The interview was recorded October 17th- it preceded Sheldon Adelson’s investment in Arizona and Nevada- so we discuss the timing of the investment coming less than a month before election day. We wonder aloud about the effectiveness of this late investment. Steve gives us his take on how it’s gonna go and why and how he uses the word marijuana vs. cannabis…and just what’s on the docket for him moving into 2017.

John Hudak returns to give us a comprehensive breakdown of what to expect from election day 2016. This episode goes up 5 days prior to Nov. 8th so we discuss House, Senate and Gubernatorial races as well as the  outlook in North Carolina, Montana, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona specifically to name a few. We don’t discuss John’s book “Marijuana, A Short History” available at Brookings, Amazon and Barnes & Noble now, but stay tuned, we will next time. But for this time, we begin with a piece of John’s first interview in episode 163 this summer on de vs. rescheduling to showcase his power of prognostication…and intellect. 

Michael Bowman joins us to discuss hemp. We discuss a little history going back to our founding farmers. And we have THE conversation about the plant’s non-recreational offerings of food, fiber, fuel and "f"arma to name a few. Michael discusses the fact that he’s a farmer by birth so he understands just how this crop could help the farmers of America. And we discuss just what hemp’s role could be in the greater american economy and society if we in fact let it save the world. But Bethany Moore our friend from the NCIA first joins us to discuss her two new books of poetry. She certainly covers the base issues of humanity. And as you’ll learn she’s an appropriate guest for an episode that goes up on Halloween.