The State of Security in Cannabis with Scott Thomas of Genetec

Learn more about the state of security in cannabis with Scott Thomas of Genetec Inc. Scott Thomas is Genetec’s National Director of Sales for Signature Brands in the United States. Genetec Inc. is an innovative technology company with a broad solutions portfolio that encompasses security, intelligence, and operations. In this role, Scott and his team are responsible for Sales to the Retail, Financial, Hospitality, Gaming, and Cannabis vertical markets via Genetec’s network of system integration partners. Genetec was founded in 1997, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and serves customers in over 80 countries.

Today we talk about the current state of the security industry from Scott’s perspective as it relates to cannabis which includes retail stores, cultivation facilities, and so on. We dive into what we consider the lay of the land these days in the cannabis industry. Our industry is certainly evolving and we are seeing more multi-state operators, or MSO’s, emerging. We discuss trends and designs that Scott sees at it relates to MSOs who have footprints in multiple states.

Meaka Brown-Corea | Mellow Fellows

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Meaka Brown-Corea , General Manager of Mellow Fellows and founder of Babes Handmade. We are also joined this week by co-host Alexis Olive of OliveYou Media.

Growing up in a family that had many members working at the state and local levels of law enforcement, Meaka had never been a part of the Cannabis culture. After working herself as a constable, it became abundantly clear that people had been lied to, and separated from a plant that had more benefits than negatives. She left the constable business for a job at Pure Oasis Cannabis Dispensary in February of 2020 a month before the Covid Shutdown. She is now the General Manager at Mellow Fellows in Haverhill MA, a Cannabis Dispensary that is waiting for final licensing.

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Medical Patient Privacy in Cannabis

Learn more about Medical Patient Privacy in Cannabis with Elizabeth Litten of Fox Rothschild today on NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice only on Cannabis Radio.

Elizabeth G. Litten, Partner and Chief Privacy & HIPAA Compliance Officer at Fox Rothschild. Named one of New Jersey’s leading health care attorneys by Chambers USA, Elizabeth serves as national and regional counsel to a wide range of healthcare-related entities including hospital systems, health care facilities, regulated and self-funded health plans, and health care technology companies. With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, she is known nationally as a go-to source for insight on health care law and regulation.

We talk about the medical cannabis programs in various states, and they’re all unique, some are called “caregiver” programs where one must register as a patient. There’s not necessarily anonymity like you have in adult-use cannabis dispensaries. So we ask, how does a medical cannabis patient know their private medical information is being protected? we also dive into what can medical cannabis patients do to furtther protect themselves. As well as who do they ask, and what can they do to lower the risk of their private information being unprotected as medical patients. We try to find out if this is the dispensary’s responsibility, too.

Niambe McIntosh | Peter Tosh Brand

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Niambe McIntosh, Executive Director of the Peter Tosh Brand and the legendary reggae musician’s daughter. We are also joined this week by co-hosts Margeaux Bruner of Perpetual Harvest and Alexis Olive of OliveYou Media.

Niambe Mcintosh is the last child of the revolutionary musician and activist Peter Tosh. Despite being the youngest of nine, Niambe is an executive of her father’s estate and brand. In addition, she puts heavy emphasis on a health and wellness lifestyle while advocating for freedom, justice, and equity. She is a Board Member of Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana.

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Mark Slaugh | iComply

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Mark Slaugh, CEO of iComply. We are also joined this week by co-host Alexis Olive of OliveYou Media.

Mark established iComply, LLC to help cannabis businesses navigate the complexities of regulated marijuana. He provides the leadership and forward thinking that continues to set standards across the global industry.

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NCIA’s Medicine of Cannabis Policy Paper

Learn more about NCIA’s Medicine of Cannabis policy paper with Paloma Lehfeldt, Paul Muchowski, Vireo Health/Defined Research.

As one of the only physician-founded, physician-led medical cannabis companies in the world, Vireo Health collaborates with research organizations to better understand medical cannabis, its applications, and its safety. These partnerships help to reinforce and improve the scientific underpinning of the beneficial effects of cannabis and its ability to treat a range of medical conditions.

Today we’re here to talk about the Medicine of Cannabis paper. We start by talking about what our guest’s goals were for this paper, and more about the other authors including doctors of medicine, as well as veterinarians. We also go back into the past and talk about the history of cannabis being used as medicine. We dive into pre-prohibition, the war on drugs, and much more.

Advertising and Earned Media in Cannabis with Kathee Brewer

Learn more about mg Magazine and Incunabulum Inc. with Kathee Brewer. Kathee Brewer is the editorial director for Incunabulum Inc., including award-winning publications including mg Magazine and CBD Today. Kathee is an award-winning journalist, author, and Air Force veteran, and has covered everything from dog shows to airline disasters and political corruption. mg Magazine is the premier trade publication for the legal cannabis industry. Dubbed “weed’s hybrid of Forbes and Inc.,” each month mg analyzes and demystifies the people, plants, processes, and products fueling an economic engine rapidly expanding across the globe.

Cannabis has a lot of advertising restrictions, but we’re a strong industry with a lot to say. So we talk about how people in the industry who are looking for media attention go about doing that in a compliant way. We gotta stay compliant though, have some etiquette, and there’s some DOs and DONTs when it comes to pitching the media. We dive into the certain common mistakes that people might make in trying to do this. It seems like the narrative has changed and evolved over the years. Now we’re looking at canna-wives and canna-moms and a more mainstream storyline. We discuss what are our guests are seeing there and much more!

Alexis Olive | OliveYou Media

The pair discuss the latest news in cannabis business, policy, and advocacy. Alexis reflects on the Southern Atlantic Hemp and Arts Expo, which she attended to close out June 2021, in beautiful Asheville, NC. She talks about the differences in discussions at the return of in-person events in states with legal, regulated markets and those who are still working on establishing one.

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Cannabis Odor Emissions Technology with Byers Scientific

Learn more about odor emissions technology with Marc Byers, Founder and President, and Dr. William Vizuete, Chief Scientific Officer, at Byers Scientific. Odor emissions, which is purely a regulatory issue that doesn’t seem to impact the product itself, so we talk about why emissions and odor at cultivation sites are an environmental and social issue. Our guests explain more about the impact on air quality and/or community odor issues and why they matter for regulations/policy development. When working with cultivation sites to help improve their odor issues, we walk through the Byers’ approach as to how they assess emissions profiles from cultivation & processing sites. As well as how that translates into the result of more optimized, sustainable, and effective operations.

Marc Byers is the founder and President of Byers Scientific where he oversees business operations for all divisions, leads the product research and development team, and is actively involved in customer/client relationship development. Marc is the inventor of the firm’s patented vapor-phase technology as well as the designer of the firm’s advanced molecular scrubbing technology which is revolutionizing the Cannabis odor control industry.

Dr. William Vizuete, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer, and co-leads the Byers Emissions Analysis division, and is a key member of the Byers Mitigation Technologies division product research and development team. For the past six years, Dr. Vizuete has led a team of cannabis industry experts focused on site-specific research to increase overall knowledge of cannabis industry emissions, educate local communities, and improve the tools and methods that cultivators and policymakers use to evaluate the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation and processing.

Seun Adedeji | Elev8 Cannabis

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Seun Adedeji, CEO of Elev8 and a member of the NCIA Board of Directors. We are also joined this week by co-host Alexis Olive of OliveYou Media.

Seun is an immigrant who grew up on the South Side of Chicago and founded Elev8 Cannabis with the goal to empower individuals to live their best lives. Their mission is to “love, awaken, and elevate the human spirit by treating everyone like gold.”

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Product Safety In Cannabis with Carlos Perea

Tune in to this episode to learn more about product safety in cannabis with Terra Vera CEO and Co-founder, Carlos Perea. Terra Vera is an agricultural technology company offering innovative solutions to replace conventional pesticides and increase product safety and consumer confidence within the agriculture industry. Carlos is a serial entrepreneur with a focus on the intersection of technology and social impact. Carlos has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico.

We start by chatting about product safety, as we all remember back in late 2019 when mostly unregulated cannabis vaping products hit the market with vitamin E acetate. We called it the “vaping crisis” or “vape gate” at the time and NCIA published a paper about it as well. So now that’s behind us, we talk about what are we still discussing when it comes to product safety. Of course, we don’t want cannabis products to harm people because of toxins or pesticides or mold issues, for example, particularly because we see it as a wellness product, but these issues aren’t unique to cannabis. We learned something new about cannabis recently – cannabis flower is being irradiated in certain cases, and there’s no way the consumer would know this. So we discuss what irradiating cannabis does, and why should there be concerns about it.

Movement in Congress In Cannabis Policy Reform

Tune in to this episode to learn more about Movement in Congress In Cannabis Policy Reform with Michael Correia and Michelle Rutter Friberg today on NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice. Host Bethany Moore checks in with NCIA’s D.C. team about the most recent movement in Congress in cannabis policy reform.

NCIA’s Director of Government Relations, Michael Correia, and Deputy Director of Government relations, Michelle Rutter Friberg, check in with the show to discuss the reintroduction of the SAFE Banking Act in the 117th Congress, plus the reintroduction of the MORE Act. Michael and Michelle offer insight into the balance of bipartisan support for these bills, as well as the nuances of what those bills contain, and what changes may have been made in these newer versions.

Bethany also reflects on the 7 to 8 years that Michael and Michelle have been working on Capitol Hill as NCIA’s full-time lobbying team, representing the legal, regulated cannabis industry in the halls of Congress, and how their day-to-day lobbying work is slowly returning to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted how they conducted their efforts with Congressional staff.

Amy Margolis | The Initiative

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Amy Margolis, of The Initiative. We are also joined this week by co-host Alexis Olive of OliveYou Media.

Amy T. Margolis has been an attorney for more than 17 years and is the founder of the Oregon Cannabis Association, one of the largest state cannabis trade groups in the United States. She frequently advises both businesses and investors on deploying capital, multi-jurisdtictional growth, public offerings and every other stage of business and corporate development. Ms. Margolis founded The Initiative, a business accelerator established to help female founded businesses succeed, and find funding, in the cannabis space.

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Weediatrics with Erin O’Hearn

Learn more about a new documentary called ‘Weediatrics‘ with Erin O’Hearn. Erin has a passion for producing thought-provoking, compelling, and entertaining films with storytelling that delves into significant social issues. After graduating from Cornell University, she worked in the corporate communications department at HBO and went on to produce news specials and documentaries for MTV. Erin made a career transition into news reporting and worked for ABC in Philadelphia for more than 13 years.

Oakz Media/Open Water Studios is a small production company. They wanted to produce a movie that was significant on a variety of levels – socially, politically, and emotionally. Weediatrics is more than a movie, it’s a rallying cry. Even in states where medical and recreational marijuana use is legal, parents risk being charged with “severe medical neglect” for treating their extremely sick children with cannabis.

Weediatrics is a film about parents who are desperate to help their sick children and because of antiquated laws are left knowing there is a viable treatment but do not have access to it. The fact they are forced to choose between helping their child and breaking the law is a medical crime. Many states are legalizing at least for medical because of the very impactful stories that parents are bringing to lawmakers about their children. There’s a lot of bravery for these families. We dive into how they find the families featured in the documentary and if it was difficult convincing them to be on camera considering the potential legal consequences of giving their children medicinal cannabis.

Company Culture in the Cannabis Industry

Learn more about how company culture within the cannabis industry looks with Cassandra Michaud of Elev8 Cannabis. Cassandra is a marketing professional who has worked in various retail management positions, strategizing business development and sales training to drive record-breaking revenue margins. Since then, she briefly managed Elev8 Cannabis’s Oregon store, before becoming Elev8’s Operational manager; coaching store managers across all locations, while learning about the cannabis industry and the unique and varied needs of cannabis businesses.

As COO, Cassandra offers first-hand experience in each role we offer at Elev8. We discuss Cassandra’s role and some of the values she’s instilling within the company culture, and how company culture within the cannabis industry looks a little different than other industries. Back in the earlier days of cannabis companies, we heard a lot of stories about start-ups hiring friends and family rather than going through formal recruiting and hiring practices. Maybe sometimes that worked out just fine, but in other cases, it caused some issues down the road, so hiring is a huge component of the success of a cannabis company.

Tiffany Watkins | Vanguard Media Online

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Tiffany Watkins, a thirty-year cannabis advocate and founder of Vanguard Media Online. We’re also joined by co-hosts Alexis Olive and Margeaux Bruner.

Tiffany Watkins is known in the community as LadyCanna. She’s a former IT Professional, working many years as a Network Systems Engineer. She holds degrees in Computer Sciences and Network Infrastructure, as well as multiple certifications. Her grassroots campaigning and advocacy goes back 30+ years. She’s been heavily involved in patient representation, harm reduction, public policy, and overall community organizing. Her goal is always to elevate and unify the voices of the people in order to make pivotal changes. Two years ago, Tiffany founded Vanguard Media Online, a media platform and magazine that’s dedicated to women in cannabis. In addition, Tiffany sits on many boards and committees where she helps craft changes in cannabis policy, public health, and social justice.

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Omar Figueroa | Law Offices of Omar Figueroa

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Omar Figueroa, principal at the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa and co-host Alexis Olive.

Omar Figueroa has more than twenty two years of experience at the vanguard of California cannabis law and is widely respected as an industry expert. Omar is a Board Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association as well as a Director of the Cannabis Travel Association International. He is also a Founding Lifetime Member and former Director of the International Cannabis Bar Association, a Lifetime Member of the NORML Legal Committee, and recognized with the Distinguished Counsel’s Award by NORML.

Medical Cannabis Access and Insurance with Anne M. Davis, Esq.

Tune in to learn more about Medical Cannabis Access and Insurance with Anne M. Davis, Esq. of Bennabis Health. Anne has been practicing law for 20 years. For the past 12 years, she has been recognized as one of the state’s leading experts in marijuana law and policy. In that role, Davis has presented workshops and seminars nationally about marijuana law reform. Since her diagnosis with MS, she has dedicated her skills and experience to create programs and expand access for medical marijuana patients. As part of that mission, she is a Patient Advocate for Bennabis Health, the first health care company in the nation covering medical marijuana. As a community leader, Anne serves as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) working with foster children; she teaches CCD at her local church and has served as a Girl Scout leader for 11 years. Anne was recognized as a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts at their annual Gala in 2020. Working with children, keeping them safe, and giving them the best opportunities possible are some of her top priorities. We review a bit more about her background in cannabis and her personal story.

Anne published a blog with us recently about her journey with MS. Although federal legalization isn’t quite here yet, there are many cannabis patients all across the country whether in medical-only states or full-on adult use. They are replacing certain pharmaceuticals with cannabis products for their well-being. Unfortunately, health insurance isn’t quite there yet. We discuss the progress being made on that from, and how cannabis patients are getting their needs met as a benefit, especially when it is needed for medical reasons and it can become very expensive without insurance.

Dr. Bridget Williams | Green Harvest Health

Each week Khadijah Adams hosts cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies to discuss issues related to social equity and highlight their experiences, challenges and success stories as people of color in the cannabis industry. This episode, Khadijah is joined by Owner of Green Harvest Health and Green Harvest Health CBD Dr. Bridget Williams, and runs a non-profit called Cannabis Can Ohio and co-hosts Alexis Olive and Margeaux Bruner.

Dr. Bridget Williams is the owner of Green Harvest Health, a medical cannabis clinic located in Pickerington, OH. Green Harvest Health is the only medical cannabis clinic in Ohio with life and wellness coaching incorporated into the practice. Dr. Williams brings nearly 20 years of experience in family and occupational medicine from Cleveland Clinic and training in life and cannabis coaching to her practice. Her practice provides comprehensive and affordable care for the metropolitan Columbus area as well as satellite offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Cannabis Big Data with Henry Finkelstein

Cannabis Big Data with CEO & Founder Henry Finkelstein today on NCIA’s Cannabis Industry’s Voice. Henry empowers colleagues and clients by spinning data into gold with intuitive, actionable insights. After working in e-commerce, consulting, healthcare, and government contracting, Henry saw the opportunity to create a modern-day data toolkit for cannabis businesses that connect the data dots with one-click reports & dashboards that help companies earn more and stress less.

We all know the cannabis industry operates in “dog years,” so one year is like 7 years in any other industry, so a lot can happen in just a few years. We talk more about DATA and what we do with it. Data looks great on paper in a fancy report with charts and graphs, but it can be a lot of math. We dive into how do we get over that mental block that keeps us from making the most of using our data in a meaningful way to grow our businesses.

Kevin Greene | Cleveland School of Cannabis

Join NCIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee Chair Khadijah Adams, and her rotating cast of co-hosts, each week for an update on the policies, practices, and some of the chatter effecting minority ownership and executive leadership in the growing cannabis industry. Laws & regulations need to be designed and implemented with equity and fairness in mind. The NCIA’s DEIC is focused on recommendations that will create access to opportunity for those most adversely affected by cannabis prohibition. Khadijah is joined this week by her co-host Alexis Olive, of OliveYou Media, and guest Kevin Greene, Vice President of the Cleveland School of Cannabis.

The mission of the Cleveland School of Cannabis is to foster adult learning through high-quality, residential and online education that integrates personal development along with career-oriented skills and knowledge related to cannabis, science, and business, to prepare graduates for entry-level employment in the industry.

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Ever-Changing Cannabis Laws with Michael Williamson

Learn more about ever-changing cannabis laws with Michael Williamson of Pipp Horticulture.

Michael currently serves as Director of Cultivation for Pipp Horticulture and Chief Operating Officer for Catalyst BC is a legacy licensed cannabis operator and pioneer in vertical farming. Michael relocated to Denver, Colorado in 2009 and co-founded and operated Kind Love; an award-winning and vertically integrated medical cannabis company. Then in 2013, co-founded Greenhaus Industries which was then acquired by Pipp Horticulture in 2018.

Michael has been in the cannabis game for quite a while compared to many others. 2009 was like a million years ago, back when Colorado and California were many different landscapes, medical-focused, caregiver laws, and then it evolved into vertically integrated adult-use companies, and so on. So we dive into what he’s seen on how the structure of these laws and how they’re changing over the years. Requirements over the years have evolved, and technology and methods have evolved and become more sophisticated. So we’ve gone from busting out of our greenhouses to multiple tiers of plants growing in larger buildings. We talk about how that is impacting the landscape of our industry and much more.

Margeaux Bruner | Corporate Social Responsibility & Compliance

Join NCIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee Chair Khadijah Adams, and her rotating cast of co-hosts, each week for an update on the policies, practices, and some of the chatter effecting minority ownership and executive leadership in the growing cannabis industry. Laws & regulations need to be designed and implemented with equity and fairness in mind. The NCIA’s DEIC is focused on recommendations that will create access to opportunity for those most adversely affected by cannabis prohibition. Khadijah is joined this week by her co-host Alexis Olive, of OliveYou Media, and Margeaux Bruner, an experienced cannabis leader and speaker.

Margeauz specializes in compliance, operations, government affairs, policy, social equity, and issues relating to diversity, equity and inclusion. 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, Headset Cannabis Voter Project Advisory Board member, and National Cannabis Industry Association’s State Regulations Committee.

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Raising Capital For A Cannabis Business

Tune in to this episode to learn more about raising capital for a cannabis business with Cliff Whatmore and Sumit Mehta from NCIA’s Banking and Financial Services Committee.

Sumit is a cannabis strategist, an internationally recognized speaker, and the author of the MAZAKALI GreenPaper, an authoritative voice on deep industry trends in its sixth year of publication with over 70,000 readers. In addition to his role at MAZAKALI, Sumit serves on several cannabis company boards and is the Chair of the NCIA’s Banking and Financial Services committee.

Cliff Whatmore is the President of MAB Investments, AND Evolv Capital Partners Where he applies the rules of Behavioral Finance and Economics to develop novel investment strategies, and Wealth Governance Solutions. Cliff started early-stage investing in biotechs, and CPG companies; before focusing on the cannabis space in 2014. He has submitted studies on Private companies’ valuations using Behavioral pricing models. He has several successful exits over $500,000,000.00 and taken companies to the public markets. He has a strong background in food science including launching a Nutraceutical MATCHA +, a sports beverage, and is a member of the Institute of Food Technology and the Research Chefs Association.

Both are Members of NCIA’s Banking and Financial Services Committee. So being on the Banking and Finance Committee, their group is taking on various issues ranging from raising capital for your business to the SAFE Banking Act at the federal level. We start with the topic of raising capital for a cannabis business, which is still federally illegal. We walk everyone through the process here starting from having the brilliant idea while brushing your teeth to having a full-fledged business, essentially how we get from A to Z.

Debbi Spranza – Rocky Mountain Cannabis Consulting

Khadijah is joined this week by her co-host Mike Lomuto – NCIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Manager – and Debbi Spranza. Debbi Spranza, CPLP runs a boutique instructional design and development consulting firm. Instructional Design Solutions . She specializes in delivering services traditionally performed by in-house training departments and larger consulting firms. Debbi partners with clients to deliver performance and learning solutions that integrate, support and complement the client’s existing culture, business goals and curriculum.

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The Nomenclature Project With Jacob Enslein and Paul Coble

Learn more about NCIA’s Cannabis Manufacturing Committee’s nomenclature project with Jacob Enslein from AJ Cannabis Consulting, and Paul Coble at Thalo Technologies. We dive into their subcommittee, Cannabis Nomenclature, and talk about the purpose of the subcommittee. We have seen tons of value in having shared language in our industry. So we talk about the difference between terminology, jargon, and nomenclature — many of us know the basics like cannabinoid or terpene, but there’s a lot more, so we get into the purpose and expected outcome of the nomenclature project.

Jacob Enslein is a knowledgeable occupational safety and compliance expert with real-world experience in cannabis manufacturing. He graduated from Pitzer College with a mathematics degree in 2016 and has seven years of experience in cannabis manufacturing. In 2013, Jacob co-started and ran a prop 215 extraction company and designed and operated closed-loop extraction systems, and helped develop processes for distillation. Consulting since 2013, Jacob co-started AJ Cannabis Consulting LLC in 2019 and has been designing and commissioning hydrocarbon and ethanol cannabis extraction facilities around the country. Jacob is currently NCIA’s cannabis manufacturing committee organizer.

Paul Coble is an intellectual property attorney and cannabis software executive with a deep background in science and technology. He is a registered patent attorney and has litigated complex intellectual property cases across the country. After a decade of practicing law, Paul decided to enter the cannabis industry and launched a startup, Thalo Technologies, to develop software to help cannabis and hemp manufacturers better capture and interpret their lab data to make more profitable decisions. He is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Cannabis Manufacturing Committee and sitting by designation on the Policy Council.

Khurshid Khoja — Greenbridge Corporate Counsel

Join NCIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee Chair Khadijah Adams, and her rotating cast of co-hosts, each week for an update on the policies, practices, and some of the chatter effecting minority ownership and executive leadership in the growing cannabis industry. Laws & regulations need to be designed and implemented with equity and fairness in mind. The NCIA’s DEIC is focused on recommendations that will create access to opportunity for those most adversely affected by cannabis prohibition.

Khadijah is joined this week by her co-host Alexis Olive – of OliveYou Media – and Khurshid Khoja.

Khurshid Khoja is Principal of Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, a business law firm founded in 2012, which represents clientele in the cannabis industry—including social equity ventures, small businesses, as well as several publicly-traded multistate operators—on regulatory, licensing, start‐up, corporate, intellectual property, finance, and other transactional matters.

Khurshid serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association, as the Co-chair of NCIA’s Policy Council. He has previously served on the Board of the Minority Cannabis Business Association and as Co-chair of its Policy Committee, as well as serving as a founding board member of the California Cannabis Industry Association and as its General Counsel.

Among other honors, Khurshid was profiled in The National Law Journal’s first ever Cannabis Law Trailblazers’ list, was featured in The Hemp Connoisseur magazine’s “100 People You Should Know” issue, and he’s been named to the annual Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list multiple times. He was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, has twice received SSDP’s Unsung Hero Award, and Arcview Investor Network’s Outstanding Member Award. His work has been profiled in multiple editions of the Arcview Market Research report, and his earliest days in California’s pre-regulated industry are chronicled in Doug Fine’s book Too High To Fail.

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© 2021 National Cannabis Industry Association and NCIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee

Future-Proofing Hiring In The Cannabis Industry

Learn more about Future-Proofing Hiring In The Cannabis Industry with Kathy Knutson, Ph.D. and Dr. Kathryn Birmingham.

Kathy Knutson is an Independent Contractor with ImEPIK – who sits on NCIA’s Education Committee for a second term. Dr. Knutson consults internationally with food, dietary supplement, and cannabis manufacturers on recall investigations, problem-solving, training, and Food and Drug Administration compliance. She conducts hazard analysis, risk assessments, and recall investigations for the root cause and control of pathogens, specializing in the development of Environmental Monitoring Programs for ready-to-eat foods.

Dr. Kathryn Birmingham, COO of ImEPIK Dr. Birmingham ensures product and service standards for research-based interactive online training. She leads teams that research and design training solutions while tracking impact. She is a former University of Florida professor and Dean of Arts & Sciences for Florida State College with experience overseeing a Biotechnology Degree Program with food testing analytical lab and is certified as a Lead Instructor for the FDA regulated standard curriculum for the Preventive Controls Qualified Individual.

We talk about how our industry’s workforce is evolving and maturing and particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic when our industry was deemed an “essential business” in most places dispensaries and manufacturing facilities and grows stayed open but how we’re doing business has changed because of social distancing… including hiring new employees and how to onboard and train them.

We saw an increase in online everything including interviews and training went online as well. One thing I see within our industry, thankfully, and smartly, is to not only prepare for what the bare minimum requirements are in our industry but actually to be forward-thinking and proactive and future-proofing their companies by going above and beyond. We dive into their thoughts on that subject and much more on Future-Proofing The Cannabis Industry with Kathy Knutson, Ph.D., and Dr. Kathryn Birmingham today on NCIA Cannabis Industry Voice.

The Cannabis Business with Author Charlie Alovisetti

Tune in to this episode to learn more about the Cannabis Business with Author Charlie Alovisetti today on NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice. Charlie is a partner at Vicente Sederberg and chair of the firm’s Corporate Department. He is recognized by Chambers & Partners as one of the top cannabis lawyers in the United States and is the co-author of The Cannabis Business: Understanding Law, Finance, and Governance in America’s Newest Industry (Routledge, 2020).

Prior to joining VS, Charlie worked as an associate in the New York offices of Latham & Watkins and Goodwin, where he represented public companies and private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a range of corporate transactions. For companies trying to raise money for their businesses, either startup or bigger expansions, with this federal confusion, we talk about how that impacts the process of raising money in a technically illegal industry. We dive into if there is risk in putting yourself out there that you’re in this industry trying to raise money.

So while we say “states are legalizing” but depending on how that law is written, it might be full-on adult-use like we enjoy in Colorado or California, or medical-only like Florida, and then there’s the unique case of Oklahoma. Maybe just decriminalizing for consumption but not allowing an actual industry, which is confusing. So we talk about how can we start to make sense when legalizing state by state is NOT a cookie-cutter process. As the largely illicit cannabis market transitions to the legal, regulated industry, the “canna-curious” and experienced industry participants alike are experiencing the harsh truth: Making a fortune in the legal cannabis industry is a challenge made even more difficult by a complex patchwork of state and federal laws.

The Cannabis Business clears the confusion around topics such as the distinction between hemp and cannabis and why it matters for consumers and regulators, why CBD isn’t completely legal in the U.S., why and how states differ in their licensing processes, and how to deal with structuring is impacted by state regulations. Written by attorneys from the nation’s leading cannabis law and policy firm, this comprehensive primer on all things cannabis law is a must-have for anyone seeking to understand the major practical legal issues facing the cannabis industry in the U.S.

Compliance In Cannabis With Frank Nisenboum

Learn more about Compliance In Cannabis With Frank Nisenboum, Vice President of ERP Sales/c2b teknologies. Frank is a trusted advisor at c2b technologies who has guided organizations of all sizes enabling them to establish a technology presence and expand their business through technology. His proven ability to analyze the current and future plans of a company and work with team members to subsequently bring technology solutions to the organization result in improved processes and controls that assure continued growth and profitability. Frank has worked in the ERP and CRM software selection, sales, and consulting industry for almost 25 years.

We start by talking about compliance. It’s on our minds in this industry constantly. We’ve seen some common mistakes or infractions that are made on the compliance front, creating some patterns that our industry should take notice of and address. We talk about these common compliance infractions we’re seeing in our industry lately. Having touched on compliance here, which is our industry’s mantra, there’s a lot of documentation involved in staying compliant. Everything from the seed to sale reporting like tracking the plants themselves and even the waste material, to financial reporting of sales for METRC, as well as 280E compliance, good grief. So we dive into managing all that and how to keep it all together.