Safe Vaping And Inhalation Ingredient Regulations

Tune in to this podcast’s 200th episode to learn more about safe vaping and inhalation ingredient regulations with Dr. Jeffrey Raber, The WERC Shop. Dr. Raber received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Southern California with an emphasis on developing new synthetic methodologies useful in pharmaceutical drug discovery and manufacturing efforts. Dr. Raber was named to the USA Today 1997 All-USA College Academic Team for his research accomplishments. Dr. Raber entered cannabis in 2010 and has published 5 peer-reviewed articles on cannabis topics.

The Werc Shop was founded in 2010 as a sustainable chemistry company first focused on cannabis. Initial services began by offering analytical testing to the California medicinal market. The company evolved its service offering to begin providing private label contract manufacturing services at the end of 2013 and subsequently expanded its presence to additional states, mostly on the West Coast.

NCIA published a policy paper last year about safe vaping after the public disaster of the vaping crisis. Everyone is alarmed and the ingredients we are putting into our lungs are indeed super important. So we talk more about safe vaping, and the inhalation ingredient regulations that are needed. We also dive into the specific states and what they’re doing at the state level on establishing new regulations.

Caroline Phillips – National Cannabis Festival

Caroline Phillips is the founder and Executive Producer of the National Cannabis Festival and principal of The High Street, a marketing and events company based in Washington, D.C. Caroline focuses her work on conceptualizing, strategizing and executing live event and marketing experiences that leverage business and advocacy to champion social good. Caroline founded National Cannabis Festival to celebrate progress on cannabis legalization through music, art, education, and exhibitions. Now in its third year, NCF is the largest ticketed cannabis-themed event on the east coast. Caroline lives in Washington, D.C. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University, completed post-graduate studies at Howard University and received her Master’s degree from Georgetown University. You can learn more about National Cannabis Festival at https://nationalcannabisfestival.com/

Jessica F Gonzalez – M4MM

Jessica F. Gonzalez currently serves as a Cannabis and Intellectual Property attorney at Bressler Amery & Ross, a multidisciplinary law firm with over 175 attorneys and offices in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama and Washington, DC. Jessica also services as outside General Counsel for the national organization Minorities for Medical Marijuana and sits on the Policy Committee for the Minority Cannabis Business Association. Jessica also sits on the board of advisors for QA Canna, a quality assurance company based in NJ. Prior to joining Bressler, Jessica was the co-founding partner at MGA Law PC, a boutique business law firm with a special focus on cannabis. As a cannabis attorney, Jessica Gonzalez helps clients navigate the legal cannabis and hemp industry in the tristate area. She has counseled start up and medium sized cannabis/CBD companies on various matters, including corporate entity set-up, state and local compliance, private offering documents and applications for state cannabis licenses. Jessica also counsels corporate and individual clients on intellectual property procurement, prosecution, protection, and enforcement for domestic and international trademarks. As a cannabis advocate, Jessica has presented on both the municipal and state level on topics such as social justice/social equity, IP protection, cannabis legislation, state and federal banking and state cannabis licensing.

DEA Hemp Comments and the Rulemaking Process in Cannabis

The rulemaking process in cannabis with Liz Mason and Tiffany Coleman.

Liz is the Director of Operations at Aurum Labs, one of the first fully certified cannabis testing labs in Colorado. Liz and her husband, Luke, started Aurum Labs back in 2014, both of their backgrounds and degrees are in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In her time at Aurum she has helped to grow the business substantially, expanding it into the nationwide hemp market and helping to increase the testing services offered by the lab. Liz is the current co-chair for the NCIA Hemp Committee and Founder of Aurum Services, the Hemp Division of Aurum Labs that caters testing services specifically to the hemp industry.

Tiffany Coleman studied Chemistry at the University of Missouri Kansas City and has over 15 years of experience with best practices in pharmaceuticals. She came to cannabis to help keep patients and consumers safe by using those best practices and work towards standardized sampling and testing in the industry. She serves as chair of the NCIA Scientific Advisory Committee and founder of Cassin Consulting to help cannabis companies establish quality systems using Six Sigma and Good Manufacturing Practices.

There’s an important call to action for our listeners to get involved in the rulemaking process. Of course, NCIA files amicus briefs and submits comments to various government agencies as needed on the topic of cannabis and sometimes this gets really specific. Our guests explain more about what we’re doing in this case regarding the DEA and hemp, as well as break down the problem and the solution.

SUBMIT COMMENTS TO THE DEA NOW

Nina Parks and Ramon Garcia – Original Equity Group

Nina Parks is the creator of cannabis brand, Gift of Doja and currently serves as Madame Chair of The San Fransisco Cannabis Oversight Committee.

Ramone Garcia is the owner of two family run cannabis businesses, cannabis delivery/distribution service, Padre Mu and Sanctuary Farms.

They are two of the co-founders of The Original Equity Group. OEG’s objective is to ensure that the Equity Program thrives in San Francisco by providing the foundation and framework needed for success. This includes ensuring our equity applicants have access to business training, good jobs, safe funding, and strategic partnerships, as well as making sure that equity incubator businesses are connected to the community through various outreach programs. OEG organizes and executes on workshops, events, and educational resources. They also recently launched the Equity Trade Certification.

To learn more about OEG visit http://www.equitysessions.com/p/who-is-sfcewg.html

Tauhid Chappell – Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists

Tauhid Chappell is an Executive Board member of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, the first and oldest association of black journalists in the U.S. Recently he worked as a social media producer at The Washington Post before joining the Philadelphia Inquirer as an engagement editor, where he analyzes reader behavior on search, social and digital platforms.

In 2008 Tauhid was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, an autoimmune deficiency disorder. Using cannabis helps manage his condition and his triggers. He also spent time working part-time as a cannabis patient advisor for the medical marijuana dispensary.

In April 2019, he founded the Color of Cannabis Conference, Philadelphia’s first cannabis conference that was led by a media nonprofit which educated media professionals and community members on all aspects of cannabis – from its history to current industry trends.

You can learn more about The CannAtlantic Conference at https://www.cannatlantic.co/

Margeaux Bruner – Minority Cannabis Business Association

Tune in to this episode to learn more about Margeaux Bruner, an experienced cannabis leader and speaker who specializes in compliance, operations, government affairs, policy, social equity, and issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is the Director of Compliance & Diversity Inclusion across all business entities for Mid-American Growers/Red White & Bloom, where she supports the legal, compliance, and government affairs team by assisting with onsite cannabis operational compliance.

Bruner has been tirelessly devoted to government and public policy, while standing up for social justice. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Minority Cannabis Business Association, and the National Cannabis Industry Association’s State Regulations Committee.

As the former Political Director for the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, Bruner assuaged and liaised policy on behalf of the membership that was comprised of cannabis licensees and ancillary business. The Michigan Attorney General, Dana Nessel, selected her to serve on its Marijuana Policy Workgroup, which worked to ensure that the laws were clarified and improved when necessary for implementing marijuana law in Michigan fairly, equally, and appropriately. She previously held an appointment from former Governor Rick Snyder as a Commissioner on the Impaired Driving Safety Committee representing qualified and registered patients. During the 2018 Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign, Bruner served as a Designated Speaker and Strategist on behalf of the Marijuana Policy Project.

Adapting During COVID-19

Tune in to learn more about Adapting During COVID-19 with Dave Roberson, Kukuza, and Javier Hernandez of Humbleroot. Dave Roberson was on the show in June 2019, and a lot has changed since then.

Dave Roberson is the CEO of Kukuza Associates, a business advisory firm that solely focuses on the finance and accounting needs of cannabis companies. Its rapid assessment evaluates cannabis companies’ finance readiness and agility; and recently, the online tool helped launch one mobile dispensary’s revenue growth which doubled during the pandemic. Kukuza means “growth” and “potential” in Swahili, capturing how the firm propels clients ahead and guides them to greatness.

Also on the show is Javier Hernandez from Humbleroot, which offers same-day cannabis delivery throughout the greater Sacramento area and beyond. The company was established in 2015 to break the stereotypes of the marijuana industry. They believed medication could be delivered in a responsible and respectful fashion that could be recognized, locally, and nationwide, and laid the foundation and generated a pathway for future delivery services, by co-creating the California Cannabis Courier Association and advocating legislation.

We talk about some of the challenges they’ve seen their clients facing these last few months during COVID-19 restrictions. We’ve heard about some of the changes being made like curbside pickup, an increase in online pre-orders for dispensary customers, etc. So we dive into what else they have been seeing as well as changes to methods in how they do business.

Chris Jackson – Sticky

Chris Jackson was previously a candidate for Pontiac City Council and State Representative (29th District). Excited to explore entrepreneurial endeavors in a new & emerging market, Chris partners with the Sticky brand of operations (a cannabis operation) that is rapidly expanding in Michigan. He is the company’s leader of Government & Legislative Affairs, Social Equity, and serves as its Community Benefits Liaison and Social Equity Lead. His efforts were recognized recently when he was selected as a member of Oakland County’s 40 under 40. Chris witnessed how cannabis prohibition directly impacted urban America and is dedicated to reversing the negative damage caused. He is a member of various state and local boards that contribute to economic power and initiatives to drive diversity and inclusion.

Aside from being nominated for the Board of Directors, Chris serves on the State Regulations Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association and co-chairs its Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee. His knowledge spans the complex intertwining of governmental and business cannabis issues, while also remaining at the forefront of the pressing interstate commerce issues in cannabis. Chris co-founded a social equity company that contributes to building ordinances, national licensee applications, while directly working with state legislators on cannabis industry policy. His expertise surrounds understanding community benefits and needs. Chris’s deep understanding of the intersection of social equity and community benefits serves to propel the movement of these two separate foundational philosophies and purposes. To learn more about Sticky visit https://www.stickyypsi.com/

Chris Ball – Ball Family Farms

Chris Ball is the Founder of Ball Family Farms, Inc., the first vertically integrated, minority-owned, Social Equity commercial cannabis facility in Los Angeles. Mr. Ball is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovative cultivator. Chris is committed to creating dynamic opportunities in the cannabis space for those who have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Ball Family Farms flower is hand-crafted from the finest raw and organic nutrients. Cultivated with meticulous attention to detail, each component of their genetics are pheno-hunted, developed, and produced in-house to the most precise standards. Ball Family Farms currently offers three premium indoor strains — Daniel LaRusso (hybrid), Bonzai (sativa) and Miyagi-Do (indica).

Ball Family Farms and Viola have partnered to raise awareness to social inequity and drive social justice efforts for communities of color throughout the country. Both companies have a passion for activism and are committed to creating generational wealth for people of color who have historically been limited to such opportunities.

To learn more about Ball Family Farms visit https://www.ballfamilyfarms.com/

David Hua – Meadow

David Hua is the CEO and Co-Founder of Meadow, a software company built from the ground up for California cannabis, and Y-Combinator’s first start-up to operate in the cannabis space. Meadow’s powerful point-of-sale and e-commerce software powers retail and delivery businesses across the state. Hua has dedicated the last 5+ years to bridging the divide between cannabis and technology. He has partnered with dispensaries and delivery services of all sizes across California, utilizing technology to scale with demand from legalization, maintain compliance with local and state regulations, and create operational efficiencies to thrive in the regulated industry. He has also collaborated with California’s cannabis community and California regulators to draft, implement, and provide stakeholder feedback of medical and Adult-Use regulations. Hua sits on the boards of the California Cannabis Industry Association, the Cannabis Distribution Association, as well as the NCIA Retail Committee. To learn more about Meadow visit https://getmeadow.com/

Community And Cannabis

Tune in to this episode to hear more about Community And Cannabis with Debby Goldsberry, CEO of Magnolia Wellness. Debby has nearly 30 years of experience as a leader in the medical and adult-use marijuana industry. Magnolia Wellness is an award-winning dispensary in Oakland, CA, and Debby also co-founded the Berkeley Patients Group (BPG) medical cannabis collective in 1999, directing its growth for over 10 years, from 1999 – 2010. Goldsberry is the author of Starting and Running a Marijuana Business (Idiot’s Guide), a well-known industry guide and was also a top-rated mentor at Gateway Incubator in Oakland, CA, and is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed. She is a former board member at California NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project and is a Professor Emeritus at Oaksterdam University.

We brought Debby on the show, partially, because her dispensary is one of several stories we heard about being impacted by civil unrest and protests. We wanted to check-in and see how everyone is doing and what they have been doing to recover as well as deal with damage to her dispensary. Typically Oakland is a very competitive spot for dispensaries, even though hers has been around a very long time. New adult-use laws in California means lots of new spots have popped up in the neighborhood who were also impacted by property damage in recent months. Outside of what she’s doing with her specific business, she’s also very involved in the community in general. We talk about what she and her team are doing as far as conversations with the city and law enforcement.

Justinian Mason – MG Island Group

Justinian Mason is a career coach and business consultant. He spent over 2 years at Vangst, one of the cannabis industry’s leading recruiting agencies and now has gone out on his own to start his own company MG Island Group. You can learn more about MG Island Group at https://www.mgislandsgrp.com/

NCIA’s Equity Scholarship Program

Tune in to this episode to learn more about NCIA’s Equity Scholarship Program with Tahir Johnson, Membership Manager and DEI Coordinator for NCIA. He is responsible for driving membership and expanding the organization’s presence on the East Coast. Tahir was born in Trenton, NJ, and has resided in the Washington, D.C. area since attending Howard University, where he majored in Marketing. First, we cover the basics of NCIA’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee, which is one of NCIA’s 13 member-driven committees. Tahir is working closely with the DEI committee, so we get an update on what’s been going on so far this year and what’s around the corner and in the works.

Next, taking it the next step to NCIA’s brand new Equity Scholarship Program which Tahir is also heading up, and we’re all very excited about this program here at the organization. Tahir talks more about that program, why we’re doing it, and how people can find out more. Also of course NCIA has stepped up our digital game even more during the pandemic and time of social distancing, and that includes educational webinars. One of these upcoming webinars on September 1st is one that Tahir is also leading and coordinating. There are some amazing experts joining him on this one. Tahir tells us more about what he’ll be covering and who will be joining him

Khadijah Adams

Khadijah Adams is the founder of Girl Get That Money, a business empowerment coaching and consultancy movement. An Entrepreneur and Investor. Khadijah’s goal is to empower women in business by providing them with the resources and tools needed to help them become successful. Whether you’re in the startup phase of your business, or you’re ready to take your business to the next level, Khadijah’s your girl! She believes that no two women are alike and that one size does not fit all. Khadijah offers a variety of empowerment coaching packages, business tools, and other services that are customized based on the needs of her clients. Her mission is to help women design and execute a plan of action that helps them gain clarity, set new goals, get focused on their vision, and define their mission.

You can learn more about Khadijah Adams here. https://www.khadijahadams.com/

James Jackson – Mark Edward Partners

James Jackson is the Global Head of Cannabis and SVP, Diversity & Inclusion Practice Lead at Mark Edward Partners. James leads the firm’s Cannabis Practice, providing risk management oversight and offering resources, in order to manage cannabis clients’ growth and scalability in today’s complex ever-changing environment. James will also be creating and building a dedicated unit with exclusive focus in managing the underserved, by providing personal and commercial risk management needs for minority, women, and LQBTQ+ owned businesses as the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Group Practice Leader. As a former VP at AON, Mr. Jackson offered a broad range of Risk Consulting solutions to middle-market, private and publicly-traded companies. His expertise spreads across a variety of industries including, minority-owned businesses, large non- profits, manufacturing, and real estate development verticals. James holds a B.A. from Howard University, where he plans to work with alumni to promote student interest in career, and holds a Cannabis Cultivation & Horticulture Certificate. Learn more about Mark Edward Partners here http://www.markedwardpartners.com/.

NCIA Leading During COVID-19

Tune in to this episode to hear more about the day-to day-work at NCIA during COVID-19 with Aaron Smith, NCIA’s CEO and co-founder.

We chat about what’s fresh and new at NCIA that we rolled out this year. First of all, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DEIC) is one of their 13 member-driven committees, and NCIA’s Membership Manager – Tahir Johnson – based in D.C. is simultaneously overseeing the EQUITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. During this super strange year of COVID-19, events are postponed, but cannabis is essential in most states where it’s legal. The cannabis industry is also stepping up to do things like donate PPE equipment or actually manufacture and produce hand sanitizer. We dive into what the cannabis industry is doing during this time and what the new day to day operations are from NCIA and other companies like it.

Prior to launching NCIA in 2010, Aaron distinguished himself as a public advocate for marijuana policy reform — first under the auspices of a California-based medical cannabis advocacy group, Safe Access Now, and more recently as the California state policy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. Aaron has successfully built coalitions with elected officials on both sides of the aisle in order to advance marijuana law reform legislation in the state capitol and among the voting public. Aaron’s opinion pieces have appeared in major newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times, and he has been a frequent commentator on national television news networks. Aaron is currently based in Denver, Colorado.

Massachusetts Power Players: Black Men Making Power Moves – Seun Adediji, Reginald Stanfield, Devin Alexander

Meet some of the black men that are breaking down barriers and changing the game in the Massachusetts cannabis industry. On this episode Reginald Stanfield broke the news that his company JustinCredible Cultivation was approved for licenses making him the first black-owned cultivation business in the state, only the second Black-owned cannabis business, as well as the first non-social equity to open their doors.

Seun Adedeji is the founder and CEO of Elev8 Cannabis. As the youngest African American man in the U.S. to own a cannabis dispensary, Seun has been on the front lines of the legalization process in multiple states. He brings significant commercial real estate experience to Elev8, as a real estate investor and landlord.

Reginald Stanfield is the CEO and head horticulturist at JustinCredible Cultivation. Born and raised a natural farmer, Reginald spent every summer on his grandparents farm in North Carolina. From the time he could walk he worked alongside his grandfather cultivating tobacco, tomatoes, corn, watermelon and other vegetative crops.

Upon graduating from Bowie State University with a B.S in Finance, Reginald quit his job as a financial manager at a medium-sized minority-owned business specializing in government contracts, to start his first business. Shortly after, he realized that his true passion was to develop and elevate others. He saw tremendous opportunity to do just that by creating a company that would go on to support, develop and brand start-up’s, thus giving them a pathway to become dominating businesses in their respective industriess.

In 2013 Reginald saw another opportunity to leverage his background in horticulture (and novice skills in botany), combined with his strong business acumen, to begin to lay the groundwork for what is now JustinCredible Cultivation. Being a true student of the game, Reginald quickly gained the knack to cultivate cannabis and over the next six years he studied and mastered the art of growing classic strains like Blueberry, White Widow, Durban Poison and even breeding his own strains.

Devin Alexander is the Co-Founder/CEO of Rolling Releaf, a Social Equity Certified Delivery Only Cannabis Business currently going through the licensing process in Massachusetts.

Check out these links to learn more about: Elev8 Cannabis, JustinCredible Cultivation & Rolling Releaf

Hope Wiseman – Mary & Main

At the age of 25, Hope Wiseman became the youngest black woman dispensary owner in the country. In September 2018, her dispensary, Mary and Main, opened their doors to Prince George’s County with the purpose of serving and educating their clients about Cannabis. Hope’s mission is to continue to kill the stigma the country has created about Cannabis within the Black community and help African Americans realize the importance of their place in the cannabis industry. You can visit https://hopewiseman.com/ to learn more about her and https://maryandmain.com/ to get find out about Mary & Main.

The Georgia Medical Cannabis Legislative Roll Out

Tune in to learn more about the Georgia medical cannabis legislative roll out with Taylor English Duma LLP’s Reggie Snyder. Taylor English Duma LLP is based in Atlanta, Georgia, but boasts a full-service firm with 175 attorneys including a geographic scope of remote lawyers situated across the country, doing business also in California, Florida, D.C. New York, Tennessee, Texas, and so on, serving over 15 industries, Reggie is an experienced trial lawyer whose litigation practice primarily focuses on contract, construction, and real estate disputes, products liability, and personal injury.

We talk about what’s happening on the ground in Georgia where Reggie is based, where medical cannabis was just recently approved. It’s really exciting to see some Southern states moving in this direction, so we discuss what’s going on with the Georgia medical cannabis legislative roll out and what Georgia’s Cannabis Commission is up to.

Government Funding For The Cannabis Business

Tune in to this episode to learn more about Government Funding For The Cannabis Business with Shane Pennington of Yetter Coleman. Yetter Coleman is a litigation boutique specializing in high-stakes business and technology litigation around the country. Shane is recognized as a “Texas Rising Star” in Appellate by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers. He was also a panelist on a recent NCIA webinar “Just Say No – Keep the DEA Out of Cannabis Research,” with NCIA’s Policy Council.

We dive into a lawsuit Shane’s firm is spearheading against the Small Business Administration because cannabis companies, who were otherwise deemed essential in many states during the COVID-19 shutdowns, are not eligible to receive these benefits. We break that down for our listeners and explain what that is, as well as why there’s a lawsuit being spearheaded in the first place.

Shawnee Williams – Illinois Equity Staffing

Shawnee Williams is the Co-Founder of Illinois Equity Staffing. She is a Recruiter & Account Executive with a background in Business Operations, Sales and Recruiting. She has a MS in Business and years hands-on experience in cannabis. Illinois Equity Staffing played an active role in the Illinois cannabis community as it was the first state in the nation to approve adult use with Social Equity directly written into the legislation. The company specializes in Recruiting, Staffing, Onboarding and Benefits Administration, Training, Payroll, Tax management, Compliance, and Equity. You can learn more about Illinois Equity Staffing here https://www.illinoisequitystaffing.com/

Parallels Between The Wine And Cannabis Industry

Tune in to this episode to learn more about parallels between the wine and cannabis industry with COO of Fumé, Elissa Hambrecht. Founded in 2017, Fumé Brands is a vertically integrated cannabis company, operating four businesses from cultivation through retail. With active cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution channels, Fumé Brands recently launched its first consumer brand LAKEGRADE, and plans to launch other thoughtfully crafted cannabis products and experiences in the future. Nestled in the side of the mountains, Fumé’s plants are grown by a master cannabis cultivator with three decades of experience. The land has active hot springs on-site that we’re all jealous they get to soak in after a long day on the farm.

Elissa was previously in the wine industry which a lot of folks say shares a lot of parallels to the cannabis industry. Especially with her being located in the Napa Valley which is very much known for great wine, we discuss what wisdom Elissa brings from the wine industry that can be applied to the cannabis industry, as well the similarities between those industries and how they work. The science behind cannabis over the years has been great as we unravel the facts of cannabinoids and terpenes and how they impact us. We like to envision a world where we can reverse engineer exactly what we want. We want to relax but don’t want to fall asleep, we want anti-inflammatory properties but don’t want the munchies, for example. We talk about Elissa’s thoughts on that being the future of cannabis innovation and more.

Full Integration While Expanding Your Product Line

Learn more about full integration while expanding your product line with Michael Bostarr, Director of Strategy and Implementation of SPARC. Michael is a passionate organizer who produced Blunt Talks San Francisco, and helped bring to life Meadow’s first-ever camping retreat – Meadowlands. He is former Chief of Staff at Kin Slips and Michael is now the Director of Strategy and Implementation at SPARC. He is a vocal advocate for cannabis and can often be seen at local city council meetings. SPARC, whose roots began back as early as 1998 when CA Prop 215 was passed, opened its first retail facility in 2010 on Mission Street in San Francisco.

SPARC also happens to be NCIA’s first official founding member, and their executive director Erich Pearson spent many years serving on NCIA’s board of directors. SPARC is one of the oldest dispensaries in the Bay Area and has been serving medical and now adults since 2008. Starting with just that single location until expanding to 5 locations over the last few years, now they’re looking to expand even more, which is the dream and ideal for most dispensary owners who start with a single location. We talk about what that process is looking like in California which already has plenty of regulatory headaches, plus other hurdles they are coming up against. Being vertically or fully integrated, meaning they produce or grow some of what they also sell to the customers, there are other models that allow a dispensary to sell products from another separate licensee to grow or process. But full integration while expanding your product line sounds like a lot to handle so we dive into advice Michael has for vertically integrated cannabis companies like SPARC.

Christine De La Rosa – The People’s Dispensary

Christine De La Rosa spent 20 years as a systems and database architect in tech before coming to cannabis. She is a well-respected business leader, advocate and activist.

At the top of her career she almost died from complications of undiagnosed Lupus. In 2015, she found cannabis as an alternative medicine to treat her the disease. She was inspired by her experience to help those who most need access to cannabis. Along with her co-founders she has established a multi-state dispensary footprint and has built a fiercely sought after national social equity model and enterprise now known as The People’s Dispensary.

Find our more about The People’s Dispensary at http://www.mytpd.com/our-story/

Kevin Ford, Jr. – Uplift Maryland

Kevin Ford, Jr., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Uplift Companies, a one-stop shop that has won contracts from the State of Maryland to develop and implement education and training programs for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, and to train dispensary employees.

Ford recently curated the Uplift Cannabis Diversity Symposium to help professionals and entrepreneurs transfer their current skills and knowledge into the cannabis industry, no matter their race, age, gender, or background.

Learn more about Uplift at https://www.upliftmaryland.co/

Regenerative Cannabis Cultivation

An NCIA Cannabis Cultivation Committee Roundtable

Learn more about regenerative cannabis cultivation with Tina Gordon and Michelle Carter. Bethany hands the microphone over to Jacob Policzer for this conversation on a very special episode of NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice. Jacob is with The Cannabis Conservancy and Sun + Earth Certified and is on NCIA’s Cannabis Cultivation Committee.

So what is regenerative agriculture? We’d say that it’s a holistic land management practice that goes beyond organic and focuses on building soil health by improving soil biodiversity and increasing soil organic matter. It also pertains to the human element of farming.

Sun+Earth, in addition to cultivation practices, is a human empowerment component that focuses on workers’ rights as well as community engagement – cultivating community.

Tina Gordon has been a traditional Cannabis farmer for over a decade at Moon Made Farms in Southern Humboldt County. Prior to being an amazing cannabis grower, Tina resided in San Francisco and has worked as a producer, documentary filmmaker, and musician, with an emphasis on underground and alternative subcultures. In all of her creative projects, Tina has endeavored to empower the self-expression of those who are underrepresented or marginalized. She now brings that focus to the traditional Cannabis farming community, with a desire to dignify the efforts of the pioneers who built this historic movement.

Michelle Carter hails from the other side of the country in Asheville, North Carolina, where she co-founded Living Web Farms and spent 8 years honing her organic and regenerative farming practices. Her focus is on bio-nutrient crop production, holistic management, microbial soil analysis, and biodynamic applications. Michelle is also a plant medicine certified instructor with the Appalachian School of Holistic Herbalism and a leader in the international pollinator resilience movement. Recently she has been researching hemp genetics in an effort to find more suitable strains for the Southeast and she is also the co-founder and board member of Circadian Craft Cannabis which will hopefully get a license in Illinois.

Shifts In Cannabis Stigma During COVID-19

Learn more about shifts in cannabis stigma during COVID-19 with Autumn Shelton, Chief Financial Officer of Autumn Brands. Autumn is a partner as well as CFO of Autumn Brands, a 50% woman-owned cannabis business located in sunny coastal Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, California. In her position as CFO, Autumn is a strategic decision-maker for the family farm, which started in Holland more than 100 years ago. Along with overseeing the company’s financials, she is in charge of legal compliance on the local and state levels. Autumn champions the health and wellness benefits of cannabis and is committed to cultivation free of pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

We start by talking about current affairs, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world. The silver lining is that cannabis was deemed essential in most states where it was legal during massive shutdowns. This implies that the public, and governments, see the value of cannabis. We talk about what shifts in the stigma have happened around cannabis since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Having gone through the process of launching a brand, and now Autumn is rockin’ and rollin’ and in business, we talk about the advice Autumn has for individuals who are starting this process, as well as any obstacles Autumn has come across that she can advise others on especially if you’re a woman business owner.

Cannabis Jobs During COVID-19

Learn more about Cannabis Jobs During COVID-19 with Meadow CEO and Co-Founder, David Hua. Meadow is a software company built from the ground up for California cannabis, and Y-Combinator’s first start-up to operate in the cannabis space. Meadow’s all-in-one platform allows dispensaries to sell products, manage menus and inventory, reward customers, dispatch delivery and pick-up orders, and create exceptional in-store experiences for customers. Meadow has been Headquartered in San Francisco since 2014. Hua has also collaborated with California’s cannabis community and California regulators to draft, implement, and provide stakeholder feedback of medical and Adult-Use regulations. Hua sits on the boards of the California Cannabis Industry Association, the Cannabis Distribution Association, as well as the NCIA Retail Committee.

The cannabis industry in California has had some ups and downs in the transition to adult-use laws from Prop 64, and the COVID-19 crisis is no exception. In Colorado, as in California, they almost had legal cannabis shut down alongside bars and restaurants. The announcement was reversed in about 3 hours after everyone rushed the dispensaries. We talk to David about what it looked like in California and how they as cannabis software providers reacted. Cannabis is essential but federally illegal, so they didn’t initially get access to SBA COVID-19 financial relief. Perlmutter and Blumenauer introduced a bill specifically to include cannabis. We did get SAFE Banking Language in the 2nd coronavirus relief package approved out of the House of Reps, even tho some of the senates complained about seeing the word ‘cannabis’ in the bill. David explains his thoughts on this reaction even tho the industry has been an unbelievable job creator.

The Future of Colorado Cannabis

Tune in to this episode to learn more about the future of Colorado cannabis with Jonathan Singer. Jonathan is the State Representative for District 11 in Colorado and has been based in the city of Boulder since 2012. There he serves as the Chair of Public Healthcare and Human Services Committee. He has a background in social work, including work as a peer educator at the Boulder County Safehouse, counseling, and advocacy for abused and neglected children, and has been a champion of cannabis reform here in the state of Colorado.

We start by talking about the evolution of the cannabis industry and movement in Colorado, which had a strong medical program before legalizing for adults which rolled out in 2014. Johnathan explains if he was immediately a supporter of cannabis or did he have to come around on this issue. As we look back on the last few years, Colorado was one of the first two states to legalize cannabis for adults, Jonathan rates how the state did with cannabis implementation. As well as where they succeeded, and where they fell short. We also touch what issues are next for our industry as we continue to evolve and so much more.