Cannabis Economy

Jeff Rhoades, Senior Policy Advisor of the Oregon Governor's Office, joins us to discuss the future of regulations in Oregon. Rhoades hopes that the cannabis industry will eventually be set up like the wine industry, and also anticipates that we will see a relaxing of federal regulations in the near future. Rhoades also touches upon equity in the cannabis industry: "We have populations here in Oregon, like other states, that have been disproportionately affected by the drug war and so, we want to make certain that those individuals aren't barred from entering into this business by virtue of some past conviction that the behavior would be legalized at this time."

As the chairwoman of the Small Business Committee, U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez is unsurprisingly passionate about cannabis business rights, such as safe banking. Because public opinion of cannabis is progressing, it is important to help businesses grow in order to positively impact local communities and local economies. In particular, Velazquez emphasizes that those who have been most impacted by the war on drugs must be given access to the capital and resources they need in order to enter the cannabis space. She firmly believes that "the potential is unbelievable, but we have to do this right." Luckily, with public sentiment on our side, the future seems quite promising.

Tjalling Erkelens, CEO of Bedrocan, joins us in our July digital workshop to discuss clinical trials and global cannabis distribution. Erkelens believes that some type of harmonization among European regulations is necessary for the global cannabis economy to continue maturing; having different regulations from country to country makes it very difficult to create a unified industry. Erkelens also notes that when medical cannabis companies begin to dabble in adult use, they often do a poor job of continuing to prioritize the patients. Regardless of the direction in which the global cannabis economy eventually moves, we must make sure that we never forget the needs of medical patients.

While most of us have heard of the STATES Act and the SAFE Banking Act, fewer of us have heard of the Veterans Administration Research Act, of which U.S. Congresswoman Deb Haaland is a sponsor. As the daughter of two service members, Haaland believes that it is essential to go out, talk to veterans, and ask them what they want; what you'll find is that, by and large, veterans want cannabis as an option for their chronic pain and PTSD. Haaland also touches upon how vastly under-represented Native Americans are not only in politics, but also in sports, film, business, and much more. Haaland reminds us that "so much of our information rests on what the media decides to cover", so if we want to change minds, it is our responsibility to personally spread the word.

Neill Franklin, of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), talks with us about policy and policing. Franklin believes that the criminal justice system is largely based on "creating evil so then we can have all these good guys to go fight it", which needs to change. Franklin walks us through the nine Peelian Principles - the guidelines under which the police force must operate - in order to explore the best and safest ways to legislate and regulate cannabis. He believes that one of the best ways to prevent crime is simply by giving people the proper tools and the right information.

Shanita Penny, of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, shares with us that the MCBA is currently pushing for as much equitable cannabis legislation as possible. For Penny, equity means "ensuring that we address the social justice and criminal justice reform aspects, that we make sure small businesses and minority-owned businesses have a place in this industry, and that we also create patient access that is real and true." Penny notes that by removing certain barriers to entry, we are then improving communities that have been most affected by the war on drugs. She reminds us that, as long as we're making enough noise, a legislative loss may actually be progress in disguise.

Steve Hawkins, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), discusses his hopes and predictions for upcoming cannabis policy in the United States. In particular, Hawkins believes that states should have the right to legalize cannabis in their own way without federal intrusion, as much more is possible at the state level. As well, Hawkins sees the legal cannabis industry as a fantastic way to create a large number of middle-class jobs - it's already on its way toward generating a million jobs for the economy. Because the war on drugs resulted in millions of cannabis convictions, expungements need to occur in similarly large numbers: "You don't make a dent with 25 thousand expungements. You make a dent with 750 thousand expungements."

Grover Norquist, Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform, describes the inconsistencies of taxes imposed by the federal government. For Norquist, this is more than just a cannabis issue; this is an issue of federalism and states' rights: "You wouldn't want the federal government to go in and use federal tax policy to interfere with federalism on education policy." Norquist believes that when the STATES Act passes, it will help to solve the federalism question for tax policy and banking policy.

Dr. Ryan Vandrey, of Johns Hopkins University, joins us to discuss the best routes of administration for different conditions. For example, when treating chronic pain, oral administration is preferable, as it yields a more sustained drug effect. However, with a symptom like nausea, inhalation would likely be the preferred route of administration, as eating or drinking may aggravate the nausea. As well, Vandrey talks about the flawed methods of testing THC levels in blood: "If we take somebody who uses cannabis frequently and they don't use for 24 hours, they have as much THC in their blood as the person who's eating a 50-milligram edible and is highly impaired. So, blood THC levels are incredibly complicated. What you have is a high likelihood of erroneous assumptions based on blood THC levels."

For U.S. Congressman Dwight Evans, cannabis reform is a matter of both medical justice and criminal justice. Evans realized not only that cannabis can save patients' lives, but also that the war on drugs was undeniably a major reason for the massive prison population in Pennsylvania. Since then, Evans has developed a firm belief that we must seriously reevaluate the plant. He has learned that having meaningful conversations about reform and justice with people who come from diverse backgrounds is the first step in "ensuring that the communities that have been left out under our watch" will not get left out ever again.

Josh Hendrix, President of U.S. Hemp Roundtable, predicts that, in the next two to three years, hemp will finally begin to infiltrate the market. When that happens, there will be a race to efficiency on the agricultural side, which should lead to both consistent types of hemp as well as varieties of hemp - ultimately, this will create a commodity market. Because the rules of the 2018 Farm Bill have been unclear for farmers and manufacturers, Hendrix carefully explains the process: "You can't just go out and plant hemp. You can't find some seed in your barn that somebody left years ago and go out and plant it. Can't grow it in your backyard. If your state is participating in the Hemp Program, the USDA Hemp Program, they have to go get approved. Once they're approved, you will have to fill out a form, go through their licensing process, make sure that you actually have a farm – that you have a plan."

For U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist, medical cannabis is personal: years ago, his older sister died of brain cancer, and unfortunately, medical cannabis was not available in Florida that time. That experience has informed Crist's belief that everyone should have the right to use cannabis as a healer. Crist also notes that people throughout the U.S. are already on board regarding cannabis, and that his biggest priority is getting federal legislation up to speed with that same accepting attitude. Luckily, Crist is optimistic, as he has found cannabis reform to be a very bipartisan issue in Congress.

Dr. Ethan Russo, Research Director of the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI), discusses ways to create a better, safer cannabis. Russo points out the dissonance that exists between public opinion and regulators - while 80-90% of the public already believes that cannabis is a medicine, the medical community must conduct clinical trials in order to prove that cannabis is a medicine. Russo also dismisses the idea that cannabis is an understudied substance: "Cannabis is actually very likely the most studied drug in the history of mankind, because there have been decades of research on it, mainly focused on its harms." Now, he says, we must collect the same amount of research on cannabis's therapeutic uses.

U.S. Congressman Mark Amodei joins us to discuss cannabis legislation and policy in Nevada, including banking. Amodei fervently believes that legal cannabis businesses should be able to deposit their earnings and use all of the financial tools that are available to other types of businesses - this is an issue of public safety as well as reducing the illicit market. The Safe Banking Act will most likely pass the House, according to Amodei, and, although the bill is not perfect, he thinks that it is worth fighting for. Amodei also supports the STATES Act, but is prioritizing banking for the time being.

Bruce Linton, former CEO of Canopy Growth, joins us on stage at the Cannabis Business Summit to discuss life after Canopy and what his goals are for the future. Linton also explains his decision to take Canopy public - ultimately, going public gave the corporation much more credibility. Besides Canopy Growth, Linton discusses the benefits of hemp production, the challenges faced by bankers, and the government's ideal role with regulated cannabis.

Lori Ajax, Chief of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control, joins us to give a big picture update of what has been happening in California over the past 6 months. For example, as of late, it has been a priority to transfer those in the elicit market over to the legal market. Besides these recent developments, Ajax discusses the importance of engaging stakeholders and the community in terms of law-making and creating regulations - this is one of the most important lessons she has learned.

Kevin Murphy, CEO of Acreage Holdings, discusses with us his beginnings in the cannabis industry as well as the importance of medical cannabis, especially for children and veterans. Murphy notes that every successful business has had to ask for help along the way - after all, good partnerships lead to good economics. He also believes that the speed of the industry's growth and job creation will directly depend on when the STATES Act gets passed.

Catherine Sandvos, of the Office of Medicinal Cannabis in the Netherlands, joins us to discuss the history and current state of Dutch cannabis regulations. Sandvos is pleased that other countries seem to be setting up their own regulations and production processes, as it relieves the Netherlands of the responsibility to provide for all of Europe. As well, Sandvos notes that the international cannabis landscape used to be very separated by country, but that, now, countries are coming together to help one another and exchange information. With more and more countries contributing and taking the lead, the European regulatory landscape will only continue to exponentially mature and improve.

Another great conversation with Don Fertman as he shares stories about his past struggles with alcohol addiction, providing a framework to talk about cannabis, addiction, and moderation: “I got myself together and got myself to work, but now I felt like even more of a failure. My self-loathing, my self-hatred, my sense of disgust with myself and my drinking, and that fear of impending doom, this constant feeling of like being in a car crash in slow motion, and I know I'm going to my destruction, and I see it happening, and I'm in it, but I'm powerless, I can't do anything about it, it's just happening because I can't stop it, that was all in my brain that day.”

Kayvan Khalatbari joins us and shares how Denver progressed in leading cannabis legalization: "we knew that we had a lot misperceptions and stigmas to overcome and it behooved us before the city and the state were regulating us very strictly, to self regulate, and to put on a good face for the industry. We knew that there were certainly a lot of folks that perpetuated those stigmas and stereotypes we had to overcome, but there also a lot of great operators that maybe weren't willing to step out in front of camera, step out in front of communities and be a face for the industry."