Cannabis Economy

Betty Aldworth joins us by phone and shares the extent of the growing Cannabis market: "In a new state, there are going to be countless opportunities to influence. I think that if you are based in Missouri and you aren't already having a conversation about how you get placed on a working group or a task force, how you participate in the regulatory process in building up these laws, you are already behind the ball. These groups are being formed now."

Paul Rieckhoff joins us and shares the potential for the Cannabis industry to be a massive job opportunity for veterans: "Think about the economic impact here, and think about the economic impact for veterans. Because veterans are four times more likely to be small business owners, they're extremely entrepreneurial, and we think this is going to be the green revolution, the green industry is going to be a source of jobs."

Our host Seth Adler was recently asked to be a guest on MJ Today and the Green Rush. He was also asked to be a panelist at the Cannabis Media Summit. Each was an opportunity for him to take a seat on ‘the other side of the microphone.’ And so we’ve compiled each appearance here in one episode.

Bob Hoban joins us and shares possible ways forward: "Now, you go forward with the excise tax. That's an example of how the federal government might swallow this legalization notion better. Because, all of a sudden, the dollars that would disappear because the 280E exception, under tax law, prohibits companies from taking the vast majority of expense deductions." 

Samantha Walsh and Wendy Mosher join us and share the importance of all the moving parts in cannabis product manufacturing and agriculture: "It's not in the scale of processing. We need all these pieces to come together and we're getting there, but being able to process, ship it across state lines and get it approved in animal feed, all of those pieces need to come together and they're so close." 

Kelly Thornton and Cory Sharp join us and share a number of ways hemp can be used in manufacturing and construction: "Straw is going to mold if it gets wet. Critters can get into straw. With hemp, the hydraulic lime is the key to making a concrete alternative which is extremely fire resistant. It's an alkaline material so it's anti-mold and anti-mildew."

Rick Trojan and Morris Beegle on independent agriculture "Farming, manufacturing are subsidized with all sorts of incentives. We don't need that with hemp. Other countries, China? They're killing it on the fiber side. 90% of what Canada grows, we eat. So the market's there, we're just don't have the infrastructure yet. But it's coming."

Nancy Whiteman joins us and shares the transformation of the public view of cannabis as a business: "For the first time people are started to really get a sense of cannabis- not just as sort of a mom and pop- but legitimately large business by any measure."

Tim Cullen joins us and shares the influence of expanding beyond an exclusively verticle integration model: "When you come into the store, there's never less than 15 to 18 strains on the shelf and it's because of that wholesale market that we can do that."

Kristi Knoblich from Kiva Confections joins us and shares the difficulties of preparing for further regulation on the industry: "Even for a company like us that has been preparing for eight years, we still couldn't prepare for everything, because there are so many parts of this that are out of your control and it really takes a village. It doesn't really matter how prepared we are. If our customers are not prepared, if the packaging companies are not prepared, if things get delayed, there's just any number of issues that can come up." 

Steve Hawkins joins us and shares what it will take to end cannabis prohibition, "The strategy has been and continues to be inside the Beltway lobbying- walking the halls of Congress- combined with action in the states. There needs to be a chorus of voices that gets louder and louder as more states pass adult-use."

Ben Larson joins us and shares thoughts on public perception: "What we have been finding in the US especially- is that pushing the adult use market is breaking down the stigma- allowing more research, allowing more money to come into the industry."

David Hua joins us and shares how regulations have changed medical cannabis: "Getting a medical card or recommendation wasn't too difficult in Prop 215, and was great as you got your recommendation, you could use it at any medical shop. But starting in 2018 if you had a recommendation, it didn't give you many benefits. You had to go to the state to get an official card in order to get taxes or the state taxes exempt."

Debby Goldsberry joins us and shares her concerns over new regulations on the California Cannabis Industry: "This is prohibition 2.0. It's a regulated market that's designed to keep most people out of the regulated market, and put cannabis into the hands of fewer and fewer people. I think there has been a lot of lobbying done at the legislature here in California by big business trying to keep cannabis in their hands."

Julianna Carella returns and shares how Treaibles is handling FDA regulations: "It's more important to keep the product on the shelf because now we have a situation where animals are relying on it, and last thing we want is for regulators to be confused about it and then pull the product."

Chuck Smith joins us and shares the potential of the States Act and its effect on the industry: "I think for the country to say, 'Look, these are legitimate business people. They're creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and creating a billion dollars worth of tax revenue. We need to treat them like any other industry.' That's what the States Act is all about. Now, we're going to do everything we can to support it."

The Phaxia on investment opportunity: "This is a fantastic period of time for investing in the space. Canada has not waited. They have war chests on their balance sheet of cash, not really much more they can build out in their market, so they're eyeing other opportunities. The US is a huge opportunity set for them. They're coming."

Dadi Segal from Panaxia explains the processes and equipment that go into producing pharmaceutical cannabis: "Regular analytical systems allow you to see cannabinoids to the milligram level. This machine allows you to see to the nanogram levels, now that allows you to do two things. One of them is detect the levels of cannabinoids in the blood stream, and it's very important for us once we go for clinical trials. For us as a pharmaceutical company, a clinical trial can never be subjective. It has to take the measurements of the cannabinoids in the blood stream, and check pharmacokinetics."

John Fowler helps us to manage expectations and think positively on the future of the Legal Cannabis Market: "We had an election over the summer, and our new Premier decided that it was better to allow small or medium-sized businesses access to the market. What does that mean? We're not going to have stores until April. In the short term, it doesn't look great. But in the long run, that means for the next 100 years after April, we get that private retail and I think that's pretty exciting."

Bruce Linton shares his thoughts on destigmatizing Cannabis from a medical perspective: "I would suggest that the doctors of yesteryear, who were living with the product in their presence might have a more valid perspective on its potential usefulness than the people who have been governing medicine in the absence of cannabis, who don't want to know. I find that they may be one of the last holdouts, but they're going to be unsuccessful when the evidence presents them with an argument that says, "You're wrong."