NCIA Accepting Nominations for Board of Directors Candidates
NCIA is now accepting nominations for eligible candidates to run for its board of directors through April 21, 2017.
As the cannabis industry’s only national trade association, the National Cannabis Industry Association is a nonprofit organization run for and by its members, so we hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to get involved in NCIA’s annual board of directors election cycle.
Any representative of an NCIA Sustaining member business may run for a seat on the board through any other NCIA member’s nomination. Representatives of Basic or Sponsoring level member businesses who are interested in serving on the Board are encouraged to contact us at info@thecannabisindustry.org or (888) 683-5650 to convert to a Sustaining level membership before seeking nomination. More information on NCIA’s membership tiers can be found on NCIA’s website.
Log into our member portal and complete this form to nominate a board candidate through April 21, 2017.
Important notes about the board election:
Only current NCIA members may nominate a candidates for the board.
Any member may make a nomination but only Sustaining Members are eligible to run for a seat on the board.
Nominations for candidates must come from a representative of a member business other than the one represented by the nominee.
If you are a member of NCIA and don’t have access to your login information, please contact us at info@thecannabisindustry.org and we’ll reset your login credentials.
NCIA’s board is made up of 22 elected directors and the executive director. Elected members serve two-year terms, and elections are staggered, with 11 seats open each year. Board members are responsible for overseeing the association’s overall strategy and budget, and as ambassadors of NCIA, they represent more than 1,200 member businesses.
NCIA’s weighted-voting system means that each member business can cast one ballot, voting for up to 11 candidates. Each ballot is then weighted according to the voter’s membership tier, so that a Sponsoring member’s vote carries twice the weight of a Basic member’s vote, and a Sustaining member’s vote is weighted at five times that of a Basic member.
After the close of the nominations period, NCIA will provide all member businesses a Voter Guide, including information about all qualifying board nominees. A secure online election ballot will be open to all current NCIA members starting Thursday, April 27 until 11:59 p.m. ESTMonday, May 22.
Please participate. Only you can ensure your voice is heard, so speak up to nominate a qualified board candidate to help steer NCIA’s direction in 2017 and beyond.
Board Member Requirements: All board members shall maintain a current Sustaining membership during their term, in addition to contributing no less than $10,000 annually to NCIA, its Political Action Committee (PAC), or other funds as determined by the executive director. Board members may be exempt from the additional financial requirement if they raise the equivalent revenue through recruitment of new members as defined by the executive director within one calendar year.
For questions regarding NCIA’s Board election, please contact Meredith Bower Holt, Director of Membership & Development, at Meredith@TheCannabisIndustry.org.
The Life of a Cannabis Grower – 10 years from the first plant
When asked to write for the NCIA blog, I first thought I’m not sure if anyone really wants to read my ramblings via an open blog format. So I thought about where most of my cannabis conversations start and end. More often than not, I am asked how I started out, what it has been like, and where I think the industry, Solstice, and myself are headed. Recently I celebrated 10 years cultivating the cannabis plant and I figured this format is as good as any to rehash (pun intended) the last decade of my life.
In 2006 at the ripe age of 21, I took my first step into the cannabis cultivation world for two reasons; an act of civil disobedience, and so that my friends and I could have the best cannabis around. I was given a few seeds and a light from a close friend and in a rather paranoid fashion I began my journey in a small closet in my one-bedroom apartment in Seattle. I read everything I could get my hands on and constantly experimented with the plant. Faster than I had imagined, I was through several harvests and quickly converting my bedroom into a grow room. As the size of my grow increased, so grew my paranoia and I determined I could no longer risk my future by illegally growing cannabis.
Within days of deciding to stop growing I was introduced to the realities of medical cannabis and that I could cultivate legally with a doctor’s recommendation. Receiving my first recommendation was a massive catalyst of learning and consciousness. As a person who dealt with chronic pain for most of his life and as a respite care provider, my world was forever improved. I realized that I personally could massively benefit from the medical values of the plant and as a care provider I could help to provide these values to others. Upon that realization I jumped head first into the pool and rented my first grow house.
All the while I was growing medical cannabis for others and myself, I never planned on doing it forever. During this time I was going to college to obtain degrees in education and I never saw “Elementary Teacher’s Marijuana Grow House Discovered by Seattle Police Department” as being a good headline or one that would help me further my career as an educator. It was planned that I would stop growing at the scale I was when I finished college, but it turned out that the universe had different plans for me. My world changed forever when Seattle Public Schools went on a hiring freeze and I was told it would be years before I could get a job in Seattle.
At that point I was lost and if it were not for a good friend, Trek Hollnagel, who I had taught to grow, opened my eyes to the reality of a career in the new world of the cannabis industry. To say the least in those early days we had little to no clue what we were doing. We went from moving to California, to deciding to “revolutionize” medical cannabis in Washington by starting four companies from dispensaries to merchant services. Of course we attempted to do all of these at once. After a few years of being pulled in 1,000 directions I decided to bow out and begin a new adventure. It was then in early 2011 I founded Solstice with Will Denman and hoped to only be pulled in 100 directions by focusing on cultivation.
Will and I started Solstice with the goal of helping to legitimize and normalize medical cannabis by being a public cannabis cultivator that was transparent about what we did and why, with everyone from law enforcement to patients. Simply put, we wanted to take the plant from what marijuana was to what cannabis can be. This was a rather crazy concept at that point in Washington’s history, but we took Steve DeAngelo’s charge of “out of the shadows and into the light” to heart. When the first Times article came out about how we were building the state’s first fully permitted cultivation facility, my paranoia was elevated to say the least.
Fortunately, instead of being cast out of society and thrown in prison we were embraced and celebrated. This gave us a platform to further our goal of helping to legitimize/normalize and we were welcomed in by legislators and regulators to craft what the world of regulated cannabis was going to look like. It was then that we successfully helped to write and pass our first ordinance for cannabis at the city level. From there under the Solstice flag we have helped to craft countless pieces of legislation and regulation from the neighborhood micro level in the SoDo District to the international stage at the United Nations and everything in between. Though we spend a lot of our time working on policy (I’m currently on a plane to DC to lobby Congress with NCIA!) we actually grow a good amount of cannabis.
At Solstice we have done so much with the plant and a have stellar team that has grown the business beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy, we’ve gone from starting the company in the downstairs of my house to building multiple state of the art facilities and working with sun-grown partner farms with canopy exceeding acres and acres of cultivation in both the medical and adult uses systems. We are also very proud to have the distinction of being the first cannabis brand in the first fully legal state. Along the way, we have grown cannabis that has won countless awards, stopped children from having seizures, at a high point employing 75 people, and had a lot of fun along the way.
Looking back ten years to that day I propagated those first seeds in my closet, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I have been so incredibly fortunate to get to learn so much, grow a business, manage to succeed while failing a lot, make life-long friends, and some say, change the world. Going from not planning to do this for that long to not even being able to comprehend doing something else with my life; it’s been quite a ride. In truth for me, cannabis is my life’s work.
For more information about my story, please check out the Solstice Company Story video:
In order to cast a vote, you will need to log into NCIA’s secure member ballot using your member company login. Only ONE ballot can be submitted per member company.
Please be sure to download and review our complete Voter Guide (PDF) before casting your vote.
Board of Directors Candidate – Etienne Fontan
by Etienne Fontan, Director of Berkeley Patients Group
In the early days of Berkeley Patients Group (BPG), we had visions of a mature, responsible industry that would provide affordable, high quality medicine to everyone who needs access. We envisioned a future where truth and science trumped fear and lies. We dreamed of an industry with quality and testing standards and favorable banking regulations. And we did everything in our power to push this agenda forward with courage, integrity, and the patients at the center of everything we do.
Look how far we have come.
Today, many of our early visions have come to fruition. Through our hard work and relentless drive, we live in world that is far more tolerant to cannabis than ever. We live in world where more than half of America lives in a state with some form of legal cannabis. But there is still an incredible amount of difficult work to be done.
Throughout my tenure at BPG, I have worked tirelessly to innovate and question our own thinking and overall direction. I have been instrumental in constantly redefining (and occasionally disrupting) the industry. These efforts have driven positive change for our business and our industry alike.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
— President John F. Kennedy
After 23 years in this industry, my focus continues to be on our very bright future. We are in a time of great progress and rapid development; visionary leadership at the helm of the NCIA is integral to further legitimizing and solidifying our nascent industry.
When you cast your vote by May 16th, please cast your vote for innovation, progress, and integrity. I look forward to continuing to serve all of you.
In order to cast a vote, you will need to log into NCIA’s secure member ballot using your member company login. Only ONE ballot can be submitted per member company.
Please be sure to download and review our complete Voter Guide (PDF) before casting your vote.
Board of Directors Candidate – Aaron Justis
As someone who’s been active in the cannabis movement for nearly two decades, and a member of the NCIA board of directors since 2014, I’m thrilled by the progress we’ve made in the last two years towards ending cannabis prohibition and creating a properly regulated economy around this most beneficial plant. But it’s not enough. My driving motivation, now as when I first became a member of this culture, remains helping to create a world where no adult faces punishment for cannabis, and the plant is safely and readily accessible to all who want or need it.
In my role as president of Buds & Roses, a vertically integrated medical cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, I’ve experienced firsthand the political, legal, and commercial challenges facing cannabis growers, product manufacturers, and retailers, while navigating one of the most difficult and shifting regulatory environments in the country. Despite these and other business challenges, I’ve nonetheless made a personal commitment to devote at least half of my working life to supporting cannabis as a political cause, including by attending NCIA board meetings and working directly with our members, tirelessly lobbying public officials, speaking at events and conferences, serving as a trusted source for the media, and holding leadership positions in local, state, and national organizations that promote sensible industry regulation. including the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA), and the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA).
Looking forward to the next two years, my main focus will be working to shape inclusive and effective cannabis regulations in Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California, as this is not only my home base, but also the largest legal market in the country. I’ll also strive to ensure that The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act—California’s new set of “seed-to-sale” regulations—is implemented in a way that supports a robust and broad-based industry that actively serves the needs of patients.
Also, this November, it’s likely that California voters will have a chance to approve full legalization of cannabis, assuming the Adult Use of Marijuana Act makes the ballot. As in many other areas of public policy—from automobile emission standards to consumer protection laws—the massive size and influence of California as the nation’s largest state and the world’s eighth largest economy ensures that the system implemented here will serve as a starting point for many future legalization/regulation efforts across the country, so it’s vital that any system we create and implement here works for growers, manufacturers, and retailers of all sizes, as well as consumers and patients.
While more broadly, with the presidential election rapidly approaching, the future of federal cannabis policy—as it relates to everything from enforcement to scheduling to tax reform (including 280E and banking)—looms large as both an exciting opportunity for progress and a potentially serious challenge, depending on who wins the presidency, and how our industry responds.
To continue our incredible progress, and not suffer a setback, I believe it’s vital that we’re represented by leadership with a long track record of promoting cannabis legalization as a public policy issue, or we risk coming across as just another industry lobbying in its own financial self-interest.
If I win re-election to the NCIA board, I promise to use all of my experience and resources to continue our breathtaking progress, and that I won’t stop advocating for this cause until all 50 states (and the rest of the planet) have ended their unconscionable War on Cannabis. If you have any questions or concerns, or just want to hear more about my goals and strategies, please contact me via budsandrosesla.com.
In order to cast a vote, you will need to log into NCIA’s secure member ballot using your member company login. Only ONE ballot can be submitted per member company.
NCIA prides itself on the democratic system we employ to select our Board of Directors, who are tasked with overseeing the organization’s budget and strategic plan, as well as acting as ambassadors for the association. Board members also support NCIA and the NCIA-PAC through financial contributions and member recruitment.
NCIA’s Board of Directors is made up of 22 elected positions and the executive director, who reports to the entire board. Elected members serve two-year terms and elections are staggered with 11 of the 22 seats open this year. A list of current board members is available online.
The online ballot will open to all NCIA members on Saturday, April 30, and online voting will be open until until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, May 16.
NCIA utilizes a weighted voting system. Each member business can cast one ballot, voting for up to 11 candidates. Each ballot is then weighted according to membership status. A Sponsoring Member’s vote carries twice the weight of a Basic member’s vote and a Sustaining Member is weighted at five times that of a Basic member.
If you are not yet a member of your industry’s trade association but want to participate in the election as either a voter or a candidate, contact NCIA’s Laurence Gration at laurence@thecannabisindustry.org or (303) 223-4247. We are also happy to answer any questions you have about the election or upgrade your membership so your vote will carry more influence.
**NOTE: Board candidates may not nominate themselves or have someone else from the same member business nominate them. If you or someone at your company would like to run for the board, please contact a colleague at another NCIA member business to request a nomination. **
More information about the board election, including a voter guide with candidate information, will be made available to our membership by e-mail in the weeks ahead.
NCIA Board Election Ends Friday, May 16
The 2014 NCIA Board of Directors election opened on April 30. Voting will continue until midnight Eastern Time on Friday, May 16. The online voting form is only accessible by securely logging into the NCIA website via a member-business account.
Following a change to NCIA bylaws earlier this year, all NCIA member businesses, regardless of membership level, are eligible to vote in the board election. Votes will be weighted accorded to membership level. The votes of Basic Members will be weighted at face value; Sponsoring Members’ votes will carry twice the weight of Basic Member votes; and Sustaining Members’ votes will carry five times the weight of Basic Member votes.
There are currently 20 elected board members seated on NCIA’s board, in addition to the executive director. Of the 20 elected positions, eleven seats are up for election in 2014, and there are 24 nominated candidates.
Don’t miss your chance to weigh in on the future leadership of your industry’s trade association!
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Cody Bass
By Cody Bass, Tahoe Wellness Collective (CA)
Our industry is reaching a point that we must be organized and represented as a unified industry with real guidance. National Cannabis Industry Association is what I see will ensure that for this great industry. I would bring a perspective to the board that is deep rooted with knowledge that comes from dedicating my life of thirty-three years to this plant. I have worked in every angle of this industry and understand the business just as much as the plant. Serving on the board I would bring a perspective that will help in shaping this great industry by sharing the knowledge I have gained for cannabis throughout my life. I have an extensive background in the cultivation of cannabis from large outdoors cultivation to small and large indoor operations. I have opened multiple dispensaries in different municipalities from the ground up. We as an industry are faced with setting standards around quality, integrity, and policy. I would have valuable insight to the board in developing those standards. The National Cannabis Industry Association is the voice for what I have dedicated my life to. I would be honored to give my time and energy to this great association by serving on the board.
Tim Cullen believes in NCIA. This belief has been supported with active membership since 2011. His work with the legislative process resulted in the first legalized cannabis sales in the United States. Tim understands the social and economic benefits of legal cannabis. This includes the individuals who are no longer being prosecuted for cannabis possession to the tax benefits being enjoyed by the State of Colorado and the City of Denver. He is an example of how the cannabis Industry can work with state and local officials to create an environment where both enjoy the benefits of carefully crafted legislation that establishes the legal framework for continued success of cannabis business. Colorado has provided a model to the country that Tim understands. His leadership on the NCIA board will serve as a platform to share the aspects of success as well as areas of concern that have come about as Colorado became the first state in the union to fully legalize adult use. Tim understands the important role that NCIA has played and will continue to support the principle of power in numbers by helping to recruit new members to the organization. Tim represents the professional business aspects of the cannabis industry by the supporting local and national efforts to expand the growth of the legal cannabis markets.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – John Davis (Incumbent)
By John Davis, Northwest Patient Resource Center (WA)
John Davis is running for a board position for the NCIA and would appreciate your vote. John’s Seattle-based organization is Northwest Patient Resource Center, which John founded and currently serves as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer.
John has served as a board member of NCIA for two years and has a successful track record of attendance and participation in events ranging from board meetings to lobby days. Northwest Patient Resource Center is a founding member of the NCIA and Washington State’s first member organization and is active in recruiting new members. John looks forward to working toward further successes for and with NCIA.
John has been working on cannabis law reform for more than 20 years. John has worked on many initiatives since 1993 including I-692 (Washington Medical Marijuana) and I-75 (Seattle lowest police priority). John is a founding member of the Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics (CCSE) and currently serves as the Executive Director. John has worked with many localities including the Seattle Mayor’s office, state and federal lawmakers, and Congressional committees and subcommittees. John has written and influenced laws since 1993. John was a member of President Vicente Fox’s global summit on cannabis reform. John is a member of Governor Jay Inslee’s Recreational MJ Guidance Workgroup. John continues to work with the Washington Liquor Control Board on adult-use cannabis implementation in Washington State. John is a current board member of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Nevada Cannabis Industry Association, and Chairs the Board for Seattle Hempfest’s production company. John has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Time Magazine, GQ, CNN, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera (Worldwide, English, and America), TF1, ITN4, ABC, NBC, CBS, Seattle Times, LA Times, Las Vegas Spokesman Review, Weekly World Report, and many others.
By Luke Ramirez, Walking Raven Retail and Medical Marijuana Center (CO)
As a board member of the NCIA I will advance the image of business people in the cannabis industry. Through activism and relentless networking with canna-business professionals of Denver, I was introduced to Aaron Smith and the NCIA three years ago. I knew that both of my companies would be joining a short time later. It was an easy decision after observing the organization’s commitment to professionalism and positive media image; they reflected the ideals my companies follow.
I have leveraged my company’s platform to further cannabis advocacy for business professionals, and I’ll use the board seat as further leverage to help our industry gain respect with mainstream businesses and government officials. Last year, my business, Cannabusiness School and Consulting, worked with the NCIA team, traveling to their symposiums in Chicago and Las Vegas, recording the symposium speakers and making their presentations available in an online format for those who could not attend. (http://cannabusinessschoolandconsulting.com/nevada/ and http://cannabusinessschoolandconsulting.com/midwest-symposium-ncia/)
My time spent traveling to cannabis events nationwide gives me the perspective of what our industry needs on a national level; not just the needs of my peers locally. I have been a contributor to charities such as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Harm Reduction Action Center; I’ve also contributed to groups such as Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol (Amendment 64). These activities are an effort to elevate the perception of the cannabis professional. My track record shows that I’m committed to elevating the image of the cannabis community, willing to volunteer my time and resources.
The reputation I’ve earned in our community as a dispensary owner comes from my ability to build relationships and get involved with multiple trade groups, both locally with groups such as the Marijuana Industry Group and nationally with the National Cannabis Industry Association. I am very much a team player, and interested in the image and longevity of our industry; you can count on me to make decisions based off our needs as a whole and not my business’s agenda. Don’t hesitate to ask folks in our industry!
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Erich Pearson (Incumbent)
By Erich Pearson, SPARC (CA)
Our mission at NCIA is to advance and legitimize our industry — through education, improving professionalism, advocating for sound regulations, developing new technology, leveraging each other’s strengths, and learning from mistakes.
We come from all areas of cannabis. Individually, we are sometimes competitors. Together, as members of NCIA, we play for one united team. On this platform, we not only celebrate our individual successes, we advance the industry as a whole through our singular voice.
Serving you on the NCIA board since its founding in 2010, I understand the business from seed to sale, from operations to regulations. I bring a high level of expertise to the board – as a cultivator, dispensary operator, and legislative advisor. I represent the largest state in the union, an internationally recognized dispensary and brand, and some of the most well-engineered cultivation projects in the world.
It takes a team to accomplish great things. That’s why I’m quick to augment my skills with respected experts. I recruited the founder of Peace in Medicine, now Sebastopol Mayor Robert Jacob, to bring SPARC to the next level. We now have a unified team, offer health benefits to our employees, and are expanding to better serve San Francisco patients.
To graduate from good cannabis to great cannabis, large-scale, I brought in Dr. Robby Flannery, Ph.D. and plant biologist. Dr. Robby built and leads our R&D team to optimize crop production via physiological and ecological research in collaboration with UC Davis, and with input from experts at University of Chicago and Cornell. Dr. Robby lends his expertise to the greater herbal community serving on the cannabis nomenclature working group and the cannabis committee of AHPA, the American Herbal Products Association.
And the team keeps growing. We’ve built global alliances by hosting tours at our facility – guests include the Board of the League of California Cities and legislators from Germany. We’ve joined forces with regulatory movers like DPA, MPP, and ASA. And through NCIA, my biggest team is you.
Thank you for doing the great work that’s gotten us this far. It’s been a pleasure serving you.
A key mission of NCIA is ensuring equal access to banking. Cannabis providers must be afforded the same banking and financial services as any other legitimate business. NCIA has never had a board member with a background in banking and payment processing. I hope to assist NCIA in its efforts by applying my 14 years of banking and payment processing experience as a Certified Payment Professional. We face increasing governmental scrutiny and regulation as well as increased security and compliance requirements; I will strive to bring clarity to the myriad of rules and proposed legislation that has been thrust on our emerging industry.
Guardian Data Systems is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing and services. As a Sustaining Member of NCIA we center our business on assisting our clients to achieve their financial goals through the use of our leading payment processing tools and our financial relationships in the industry. We are also an advocate for our business in the industry and seek to help influence its direction by taking an active part in the legislation and laws that are being developed to shape our industry. Our team, some of whom have over 30 years in the banking and payment industry, actively monitors the merchant acquiring industry and provides leadership through education, advocacy, and the exchange of real information.
Payment professionals need to have unique knowledge of the cannabis industry as well as the challenges and laws shaping its future. They must identify pitfalls and unscrupulous providers, operations keeping business owners safe from prosecution or fines, products and solutions that help maximize their business potential, as well as risk, regulatory, compliance and security matters.
Guardian Data Systems is committed to the cannabis industry and to delivering the truth in this tumultuous growth period of the industry. A key question that we should be asking is “What can we do to protect our members and their businesses?” Guardian Data Systems hopes to help answer those questions as part of the NCIA board.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Jaime Lewis (Incumbent)
By Jaime Lewis, Good Chemistry (CO)
As a business woman and industry advocate, I have been involved in the medical marijuana industry for almost a decade and know first-hand the boundaries, obstacles, and false preconceptions that the industry faces. Gaining support, respect, and legitimacy for our industry takes a unified front to educate and advocate—which is why NCIA’s mission is so important to the future of the industry and my company. I ask for your support to continue to bring my knowledge, experience, and commitment to this process as a board member representing Good Chemistry.
Good Chemistry, a marijuana cultivator and dispensary located in Denver, has been a sustaining member of NCIA for over three years. I am a current board member representing Mountain Medicine – a marijuana-infused product company I founded – which is now an operating company of Good Chemistry.
As a board member of NCIA, I have been a strong supporter of NCIA’s Political Action Committee, which is critical to ensuring our voice is heard in Washington. I was also one of only five NCIA members involved in the association’s funding and hiring of Capitol Counsel — a high-level DC tax policy lobbying firm — to reform the federal tax burden our industry faces. As a passionate industry advocate, I frequently serve as an NCIA speaker to promote the benefits of our industry, participate in industry lobbying visits, and have given a presentation on the industry’s banking access issues at a Capitol Hill Staff Briefing in 2012.
As a board member representing Good Chemistry, I will continue to contribute my diverse perspective and lessons learned from my experience:
Founder and owner of a marijuana-infused product company that supplies Good Chemistry and over twenty other dispensaries
Chief Operating Officer of Good Chemistry, a medical and adult-use marijuana cultivator and dispensary
Key founder and Chair of the Cannabis Business Alliance, the policy voice for the marijuana industry in Colorado
Stakeholder in developing medical marijuana regulations in some states that have approved its use for medical purposes where Good Chemistry plans to expand
Spokesperson and advocate on behalf of the medical marijuana industry
Community relationship-builder to promote corporate citizenship
I pledge to work hard to improve the perception of the industry and to overcome the barriers that will make it a credible, sustainable contributor to the economy. Thanks in advance for your support.
I’m running for the board of NCIA because I’ve spent my entire career working to bring about an end to cannabis prohibition and to help shepherd a new cannabis industry based on reason, compassion, and sound business practices. For over ten years I worked as an advocate for change on this issue. Starting as a college student when I helped found Students for Sensible Drug Policy, I dedicated my work to this cause, going on to serve as Associate Director of NORML and later as executive director of SSDP.
Unlike many who were motivated to get involved in the cannabis industry strictly by the prospect of making money, I chose to move from advocacy to industry because I saw the influence that private enterprise was having on changing public perception about cannabis and cannabis distribution. When cannabis businesses are well run, they change stereotypes of what cannabis and cannabis distribution can and should look like.
My motivation for forming 4Front Advisors was to enable as many dedicated professionals as possible to open retail facilities that their communities could be proud of. We’ve worked tirelessly to develop best practices and standards that are unmatched in the industry today in furtherance of this goal.
In my work at 4Front Advisors I’ve had the opportunity to assist clients in numerous states around the country, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. As such, I have a breadth of understanding of the issues and challenges that cannabis business owners face in different regulatory environments that goes beyond your average cannabis industry entrepreneur.
Having served as a Congressional lobbyist, non-profit executive, and now leader of a major cannabis industry consulting firm, I hope to bring the skills that I have acquired to NCIA to help further the organization’s goals. As a board member, I plan to work closely with NCIA staff and board, many of whom I have known and worked closely with for years, to advocate changes to banking, taxes, state cannabis laws, and eventually an end to prohibition. I would be honored to have your vote.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Dr. Steven M. Katz
By The Honorable Dr. Steven M. Katz, Budding Enterprise Fund (NY)
Forty years of experience in the business world, science, veterinary medicine, politics, and the legislature, coupled with the confidence of full national legalization, had brought me to the point where I know I can make a significant contribution as a board member of NCIA. As a New York State Assemblyman I am shepherding my bill to legalize medical marijuana through the state legislature.
I am one of the first elected officials to publicly announced his commitment to the marijuana industry and have shown it by investing broadly within this space. As a legislator in one of the nation’s largest states, I have become a leading spokesman for the many medical benefits of cannabis and for national adult-use legalization.
As a veterinarian, I founded the Bronx Veterinary Center in 1995, becoming the largest veterinary hospital in the Bronx and one of the largest pit bull practices in the nation.
I have been passionate about the legalization of marijuana for the past 42 years. I view the industry as one of the great private sector job-creators over the next 20 years. I’m summoning all of my experience, passion, and dedication to help formulate policy and develop standards for our industry. I shall continue to be one of the outspoken leaders of our movement. My legislative experience and activism will help move each state over to the legal marijuana side of town.
Becoming a board member of the NCIA would be the culmination of 42 years of passionate belief in the full legalization of this remarkable plant.
I alone uniquely represent the conservative voice nationally for the cannabis industry.
I will continue to hammer on a national basis the themes of our industry following the Great American Entrepreneurial Tradition, the private sector jobs we’re creating, and the revenue we’re generating. I will continue to voice nationally the incredible medical properties this amazing plant possesses.
Having joined NCIA in its first year of operation, I have always sought to build and advance the organization. I personally know and respect a majority of its membership, and I am aligned with our common interests for a strong, thriving, and respected cannabis industry. I am seeking your vote for a seat on the NCIA board to raise my involvement in the organization to a new, more powerful level. By sitting on the board, I can better promote cannabis reform and influence how the industry can grow and where it’s headed.
Growing up in Rockford, IL, the third most dangerous city in America, I saw firsthand the negative effects of prohibition and the drug war. I made connections early on between prohibition and many of the dysfunctions in our society. These connections are what put a fire in my belly for change, and it has never gone away.
I believe that with my love for this industry and the patients it supports, my talent as a motivator and promoter with a substantial presence and following on social media, my experience as a lobbyist, and my connections to the entertainment industry, I can help NCIA build its network of power-brokers, celebrities, and other influential stakeholders.
I come to NCIA as an experienced medical cannabis dispensary operator with a successful and proven model. If elected, I will be the only board member to represent Los Angeles, the single largest municipality to regulate medical cannabis and the largest cannabis market in the world. I played a key role in the adoption of those regulations, but I have also worked under the imposition of a ban on distribution, and under “limited immunity,” and I want to bring all of that knowledge and insight to the NCIA board.
I am extremely hard working, focused, and persistent, and will bring these qualities to the NCIA board if elected. I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope to get the chance to work with the great membership of the NCIA board.
I am running for a National Cannabis Industry Association board position because I want to join the campaign to legalize marijuana nationally for two reasons: it is negligent of our legislators to prohibit cannabis from being available to any and all patients that a doctor feels could benefit from treatment with cannabis and, in the most direct terms I can express, I believe that if alcohol is legal than marijuana being illegal is excruciatingly illogical. Without reiterating all of the science that we currently know about cannabis, simply stated it treats illness less expensively and more effectively than many of the high-priced, big pharma drugs on the market today, and all evidence to date points to the conclusion that alcohol, a legal drug that can be purchased in any corner liquor store in America with both state and federal government enjoying the tax revenue, is more physically and psychologically damaging than marijuana. For one to be legal and not the other is hypocritical, illogical and ridiculous.
I am a clean-cut, successful, professional businessman who has responsibly used marijuana recreationally, survived the alleged gateway affects and mind-scrambling and de-motivating influence marijuana is suggested by prohibition advocates to have. I would like to face legislators eye to eye and counter those assertions by exhibiting myself as living proof that marijuana is not the evil weed many of those in my generation grew up being programmed to believe. It is not a matter of IF cannabis will be legal in all 50 states but WHEN. Many people have an aversion to change but change in the legalization of cannabis is eminent. The burden of WHEN is being carried by NCIA and will be successful due to its volunteers’ contributions and efforts. The majority of Americans agree that marijuana should at least be legal for medical use if not completely decriminalized. America is ready for legalization and luckily we have an organization like NCIA to push that agenda. I want to be part of that fight and that is why I am running for the NCIA board.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Dr. Lakisha Jenkins
By Dr. Lakisha Jenkins, California Cannabis Industry Association (CA)
It is both an honor and humbling experience to be nominated for the NCIA Board of Directors. I am excited about the potential of the opportunity to extend my dedication and passion in the area advocating for responsible business practices and corporate accountability within the cannabis industry to a national level. If elected for this position, I will bring to the Board both direct practice and competent experience with executive level management and fundraising. I would bring to the position my corporate expertise in a variety of settings, across different institutions, cultures, and business industries. I currently serve as President of the Board of Directors for the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), which is the state affiliate of NCIA and the trade organization representing both the cannabis and industrial hemp industries in California at the local and state levels. In addition to service with CCIA, I also serve on the Health, Hunger and Wellness Coalition Board for the City of Patterson and the Board of the Alameda County 4H – an extension of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources division. Currently, I hold a Doctorate in Naturopathy and am a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild. My passion for natural health and alternative healing therapies started while researching alternative treatment options as my eldest child, Kiona, battled with brain cancer. I have served as President of the Kiona T Jenkins Foundation for Natural Health since its inception in 2003. I believe that my background, education, and my experiences in administration, leadership, and fundraising have prepared me to be an effective member of the Board of Directors and a strong advocate for NCIA’s diverse base of professional and business members. I am immensely grateful for this nomination and eager to serve if elected. I am asking for your vote and support in this leadership position and challenge.
I became a founding board member of the NCIA because I believe that the development of a responsible, politically engaged, and profitable legal cannabis industry will be the single biggest factor leading to a day when not a single adult is punished for this plant. Through my work at The ArcView Group I do everything I can to promote the NCIA by giving NCIA stage time to pitch our 180+ investors at every meeting, inviting NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith to introduce any political figures that come to speak at our events, and by inviting NCIA staff onto our market research report webinars. We offer a significant discount to NCIA members for membership in the ArcView Investor Network and for purchase of the the 2nd Edition of the State of the Legal Marijuana Markets report. We are also collaborating with NCIA on a jobs report. I also include NCIA’s logo in my auto-signature and mention them often when talking to media. I focus my attention as a board member mainly on fundraising and member development efforts since that is a special way that I can help. I don’t think I’ve ever missed a meeting or a phone call. I stand for not just building a new industry, but building a new kind of industry built on a social mission of health, wellness, responsibility, and freedom. We are part of one of the most incredible social, political, and economic stories of our time. With that comes great responsibility to make sure we write the history books in a way that continues to bring tremendous value to the world. I hope I can count on you for your vote.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Gabriel Greenstein (Incumbent)
By Gabriel Greenstein, TetraLabs (CA)
As the incumbent Vice Chairman of the National Cannabis Industry Association, I have had the honor of helping to build the NCIA into the single most relevant and important trade group working in the cannabis space. NCIA has become the national voice of our industry, representing stakeholders and pioneers across the country. I feel blessed and grateful to have been a part of it.
As a founding member of NCIA I have built a strong track record of participation, helpful contributions, and responsible leadership. I’ve spent years working closely alongside Aaron Smith to help expand membership and promote and plan events.
During my time as an NCIA member I have attended and sponsored dozens of meetings and events all across the country, and have been involved in our national lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.
If my fellow members would do me the honor of reelecting me to our board, I promise to continue to help lead efforts to increase our membership, revenues, political power, and national footprint.
I’m honored to be nominated for another term on the NCIA Board and I am seeking reelection. Since day one of NCIA’s founding, I have provided stability and leadership to the NCIA membership. It has been my honor to do so, and I look forward to continuing to serve. I am a founding and current member of NCIA’s Board of Directors, serving as Chairman of the Board from 2012-13. My company, Berkeley Patients Group (BPG), is also a founding member of the NCIA and continues to be an active member-business, sponsoring events, participating in lobby days, and recruiting new members.
As pioneers of the cannabis industry, BPG and I bring decades of experience to the NCIA Board. We are well positioned to continue helping build NCIA into a powerful force in Washington, D.C. We know first-hand the struggles it takes to operate and maintain a successful dispensary under great duress while simultaneously working to improve and grow the business. Last year, our local U.S. Attorney initiated forfeiture proceedings to seize the property housing our dispensary. Within hours, NCIA came to our defense and helped us tell our story, to both media and elected officials. I experienced first-hand how vital NCIA is for our industry.
I hope to maintain my board seat in order to assist the many new entrants in our burgeoning industry. I am committed to supporting the growth of our industry, and I need your help to continue this work. BPG has been a consistent participant and sponsor of numerous NCIA events, helping to build NCIA and the industry as a whole. BPG will continue to assist in broadening the NCIA membership base through event sponsorships and direct recruitment. I appreciate your ongoing support and ask for your vote in the upcoming NCIA Board election.
As we are all aware, there has been a significant phase-shift in the public’s opinion of both medicinal and recreational cannabis. New states are adopting marijuana programs at a very swift pace. For NCIA to enjoy long-term success, it will require the stewardship and insight that can only be provided by individuals who possess multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional expertise.
To this end, through my current industry ventures, I have developed relationships and have garnered experience that would serve to benefit both the NCIA and its individual members. I have had a direct and active role in the design and construction of cannabis-specific facilities and have developed, grown, processed, distributed, and ultimately provisioned cannabis and myriad cannabis-infused products.
As Board Chair of the Marijuana Industry Group, I spent countless hours crafting industry positions that have been translated into rules and regulations that often serve as the template for new legislation in states beyond Colorado. I have been seated on a number of governor-appointed workgroups in Colorado which have addressed many of the issues associated with the legalization of adult-use cannabis including: testing protocols, lab standards, child-proof packaging, marketing and advertising, and potency limits (which we effectively quashed).
NCIA’s efforts at the federal level have always focused on issues, such as banking, that affect us all no matter our geography. I contend that this mission not be changed. However, I do believe that as marijuana commerce matures, expands, and evolves, federal oversight will become a reality and, in turn, if we are to thrive, it will necessitate a broader, active industry voice in legislative and policy development. It would be my duty as a board member of NCIA to grow our member and donor bases to provide the funds needed to keep our foot in the door and then to help provide the political and operational insight to ensure that reasonable regulations be promulgated and an environment conducive to our collective success is nurtured.
For me the National Cannabis Industry Association is an important part of the movement to legalize the growth, possession, and use of the cannabis plant. I want to live in a world where adults can make the choice for themselves of whether or not to interact with this natural product, be it for personal consumption of the flower in a manner similar to medicinal herbs or alcoholic beverages, or be it for industrial purposes such as sustainable fuels, or fiber for production of useful items such as rope, clothing, paper, and building materials.
My many years of personal experience in the marijuana legalization movement led me to support the cannabis industry as it developed. For a couple of years now I have been involved with the NCIA at some level, and last year my new company to provide financial services, Dietrich Union, became an NCIA member. Over this time I have seen the NCIA expand and evolve, and from here I want to help this organization to be more successful. The way that I define success for the NCIA is how well it serves its member businesses and the consumers who willingly support them with their dollars exchanged through investments and purchases.
As Bill Clinton famously stated in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.” At this point I believe the cannabis industry is the best way forward in the effort to legalize cannabis in the United States. If cannabis is legalized in the U.S., then I am certain that a number of other countries throughout the world will also legalize it.
I am running for the NCIA Board of Directors because as a committed fighter for personal liberties and for the success of our efforts I want to help the NCIA to succeed, at the same time as I want to help it to remain true to its roots in the marijuana and hemp legalization movements. Please consider voting for me for the NCIA Board of Directors so that I may bring it my commitment to furthering the contribution that the NCIA makes to this new industry.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Scott Van Rixel (Incumbent)
By Scott Van Rixel, Bhang Chocolate (NV)
I have been very proud to have served on the NCIA board during this last term. I am seeking re-election because NCIA truly stands up for the rights of business in the cannabis sector. Whether it is taxation, banking, or simply business equality issues, NCIA has worked to bring them to the forefront of those in legislative positions who can make a difference.
I feel that a continued seat on the board will allow me to be part of the positive change for our industry. As one of the three edible manufacturers on the board, I feel that I bring a unique insight to the needs of our category. I feel that if our sector is not represented at the table, our specific needs may go overlooked. My experience in this industry, as well as that of mainstream America, makes me a valuable resource to the board and the membership at large. My attendance of board meetings and contributions to those meetings have been an extremely high priority over the last term. While I don’t always agree with all of my peers on the board, I feel that our contributions have found a better and higher ground for the direction of it. I am not afraid to speak my heart and negotiate with my mind.
My business has been a proud sponsor of several events and has always been happy to help with additional funding. We also proudly support NCIA through the inclusion of the NCIA logo on our packaging. I have also been a strong vocal advocate for NCIA membership and never miss a chance to introduce new businesses to NCIA. I feel if my fellow board members were asked, they would express their appreciation for my past term and would be supportive of an additional one. I ask you my fellow board members and the voting general membership for your support in my reelection. Thank you, and I will serve you proudly again if given the opportunity.
Mr. Siegel aims to help legitimize the cannabis industry through providing cutting-edge technology that brings transparency, accountability, and security to cannabis operations. The Department of Justice, in the fall of 2013, in summary stated that they would not interfere with state-approved cannabis activity should the state “build a strong and effective regulatory and enforcement system,” a key piece of which is a robust and accurate cannabis inventory and sales tracking system. The quality of Mr. Siegel’s cannabis traceability system for the State of Washington has catapulted both the technology and the conversation into the national spotlight—with both supporters and detractors of cannabis legalization expressing support for such a solution. In fact, demonstrations of the traceability system to U.S. congressmen and other high-level government personnel have garnered additional political support and catalyzed progress for the industry as a whole. (The 2/14/2014 Department of Treasury guidance regarding banking services to cannabis businesses was issued shortly after one such demonstration.)
Mr. Siegel’s technology is at the forefront of cannabis transparency, and he is seeking a seat on the NCIA board to bring his unique position and experience to serve the industry. BioTrackTHC’s position as the only company providing cannabis tracking services to both the private and public sectors and Mr. Siegel’s extensive experience in politics will continue to open many opportunities to further the industry’s forward motion. We wish to bring these new inroads to NCIA and to further the inroads NCIA already has.
The federal government is looking for ways to allow for financial institutions to do business with cannabis businesses while minimizing the risk of money laundering. BioTrackTHC has a solution. State governments need assurance that if they legalize cannabis in some form, they will have expert advice as to how to structure their market properly and in compliance with the DOJ’s guidance. BioTrackTHC is already providing that. Cannabis operators are looking for ways to show that they are responsible, tax-paying business leaders. BioTrackTHC can make that a reality.
I have been a part of the medical marijuana industry for over eight years. I am a co-founder and co-owner of Denver Relief and Denver Relief Consulting. Those businesses also have equity in Cannabis Talks and Extract Outfitters, all of which are members of NCIA. My relationship with NCIA goes back to the very beginning in early 2011, as Denver Relief is a founding member. Denver Relief also requires all the Colorado licensed vendors that we do business with to be members of NCIA.
For the past two years I have had the honor of serving NCIA as the Vice Chair and currently reside as Chair. During that time, I have brought more members to NCIA than any other individual or company. This numbers into the dozens. Between my business partners and myself, our member referrals are approaching fifty.
I have attended almost every NCIA event in Denver and have traveled to Nevada, Massachusetts, Oregon, California, Washington, and Washington D.C., all in the name of our organization. I have lobbied Congress on three separate occasions and represented NCIA and Colorado at congressional briefings with our elected officials on Capitol Hill.
My momentum is just getting started with NCIA. Much progress has been made in the past two years but much more needs to be done. I have focused much of my own time on the banking issues we face as an industry. I’ve worked hard to educate members of Congress about the difficulties we face as small business owners. I’ve urged our colleagues to join our ranks and help grow our organization so we can continue to make big steps in ending cannabis prohibition as we know it. With your vote, I can continue to work hard for all of us in the hopes that our cannabis businesses will one day be treated like any other regular business in the United States.
I am running for a National Cannabis Industry Association board position to support the legalization of marijuana. I have seen and heard testimony from many sources as to the medical effectiveness of cannabis. With such overwhelming support for legalization seen across the country, and my desire to ease the suffering of persons in need through proven methods, I feel it is imperative I join forces with like-minded individuals to do my part.
I am very familiar with the working of a non-profit from an administrative and financial aspect, and as a cannabusiness owner, I have experienced every hypocrisy that comes with it. The cannabis industry needs reform that provides legitimate cannabis businesses the same rights as any other legitimate, responsible business, and a strong National Cannabis Industry Association has a huge role in rational reform. NCIA members are the roots that provide the strength to carry out its mission, which is the reason I want a seat on the board: to expand our voice, our impact and our potential to make great changes.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Jan Cole (Incumbent)
By Jan Cole, The Farm (CO)
I am proud to have supported NCIA since its inception and to have served as an active member its Board of Directors. My goal is to continue to support our organization and offer what I can to the industry as we continue to grow. Thank you for considering my candidacy for re-election.
I am seeking a seat on the NCIA board because I want to strengthen the representation of cultivation-centric enterprises on the board. I would bring a strong commitment to electing of standards for cultivation and testing re: yields, quality, genetics, and labeling. My additional platforms would be construction standards, ecological standards in terms of “green” building, waste disposal, and energy consumption. I would push to see the industries’ cultivation services providers adopt a code of ethics and commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. I feel I would be a valuable asset to the board of NCIA as I have twenty-two years of experience with commercial cannabis, cannabis seed, hemp, and hemp seed production on a broad international level. I have a personal commitment to excellence and MedCanna is committed to providing the highest level of services to our clients in an ethical and socially and environmentally conscious way. I am passionate about the fact that those of us who have been a part of bringing the current change in legality about continue to have a loud voice in the future legal landscape of our industry.
When asked to write for the NCIA blog, I first thought I’m not sure if anyone really wants to read my ramblings via an open blog format. So I thought about where most of my cannabis conversations start and end. More often than not, I am asked how I started out, what it has been like, and where I think the industry, Solstice, and myself are headed. Recently I celebrated 10 years cultivating the cannabis plant and I figured this format is as good as any to rehash (pun intended) the last decade of my life.
In the early days of 
As someone who’s been active in the cannabis movement for nearly two decades, and a member of the NCIA board of directors since 2014, I’m thrilled by the progress we’ve made in the last two years towards ending cannabis prohibition and creating a properly regulated economy around this most beneficial plant. But it’s not enough. My driving motivation, now as when I first became a member of this culture, remains helping to create a world where no adult faces punishment for cannabis, and the plant is safely and readily accessible to all who want or need it.