Ross Bradshaw shares that his company, New Dia, was one of the first recipients of Massachusetts's economic empowerment program; they are now licensed and will be opening their doors in Worcester by the end of July this year. Bradshaw shares how he got started in the industry: "One of the things that really was profound to me was the lack of minori…

Guy Rocourt, of Papa & Barkley, returns for a discussion on good manufacturing practices (GMP). "The GMP is there to prevent the off-chance of something going wrong and to put in standard operating procedure. In our industry, we used to not be transparent because we were secretive, so the road to GMP is about professionalizing some processes so tha…

Terra Carver, Executive Director of the Humboldt Country Growers' Alliance, discusses how the changing seasons are affecting cannabis farmers and growers in Northern California. Unfortunately, California is dryer than usual right now, which has caused difficulty for farmers. Carver explains the three most important things that cover crops do and al…

Socrates Rosenfeld, CEO of Jane Technologies Inc., discusses his military experience and how it has informed his entrepreneurial life. He shares one of his philosophies regarding doing business in cannabis: "I see all these people trying to do a lot and focus on things that they can't control, whereas for us, I think, as stewards of this industry, …

Former U.S. Congressman Carlos Curbelo returns for a conversation on politics and legislation. Curbelo explains that, because of all the noise amidst impeachment and the Democratic primary, congressional campaigns have flown largely under the radar. He also discusses the political cost of switching parties and emphasizes that reelection is everyone…

Bridget Conry of Companion Botanicals joins us to discuss different anti-inflammatory drugs and the various ways of managing chronic pain. She describes the problem with pain medications: "You want to feel pain. We have pain because it tells us stop doing that or something's wrong. And the reason it gets so dangerous when we mask it is that all you…

Jessica Assaf, co-founder of CBD beauty brand Prima, begins by sharing with us her thoughts about the potential of cannabis to be a women-led industry: "This is really first time in history that women have the opportunity to design, build, and lead an industry from scratch, with no glass ceiling...cannabis is the opportunity to redefine feminism." …

Torsten Kuenzlen of Sundial Growers begins by discussing how welcoming Alberta, Canada has been toward the cannabis industry, allowing the province to truly be one of the country's industry leaders. Kuenzelen shares with us Sundial's intentions regarding the future of global operations: "As soon as we have the ability to export and then import into…

Nancy Whiteman, of Wana Brands, discusses operating in multiple markets that don't behave like one another -- for example, California and Illinois. She shares that "you have to approach every market kind of like the opposite of Groundhog Day. With a brand new set of rules. While you hope that there are learnings that you can bring from one market t…

Peter Barsoom begins by sharing with us his thoughts about why CBD is so popular, one of the reasons being that people are interested in cannabis as long as it doesn't get them high. This insight is one of the main influences for Barsoom's business philosophy: that it's not about getting high; it's about feeling a particular way. Barsoom discusses …

Harold Han discusses using emulsion technology to deliver cannabinoids into liquids. Han explains why this is a superior way of consuming cannabis: "I think everybody had this horrible experience of eating a brownie, didn't get high, and get hungry and eat another one until they got hit by a bus...This is a new whole category. Consumers, I think, a…

Betty Aldworth returns to join us for a discussion on what 2020 will mean for cannabis policy reform and for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). She strongly believes that 2020 will be one of the biggest years for legislative reform the movement has ever seen: "In 2020, we are looking at as many as 8 or 11 valid initiatives in states plus ano…

Ray Gracewood, of Organigram Inc., joins to discuss the effects of federal legalization in Canada, the long process of getting the industry to a solid place, and where the rest of the world is by comparison. "It even gets more interesting when you start to couple the realities in and around how governments work and how we have to manage government …

Hadley Ford shares his philosophy on business: "I just don't watch the stock. You just focus on delighting your customers, on creating great products, on optimizing your operations, paying attention, just running a business...if you do that, the stock will take care of itself." Ford discusses the volatility that drives the stock market, long-term v…

Mike Gorenstein returns to explain the importance of focusing as a business in the cannabis industry: "It's easy to say, 'Well, we think we're the best at all these,' but if you then take that energy and you refocus it in one area, you're likely to excel." Gorenstein believes that the best way to get rid of the illicit market is to bring it into th…

Chris Walsh dives into the industry's exponential growth over the past several years, the SAFE Banking Act, and the frustrating process of incremental legislative change: "When something substantial actually is enacted into law is when you're really going to see things open up." Walsh also discusses the difference between the cannabis industry and …

Tim Leslie of Leafly shares with us his thoughts about how to help consumers navigate the abundance of hemp-derived CBD products and figure out which products are right for them. Leslie also discusses the importance of taking more steps toward a regulated industry in order to provide people with safe, legal products: "If you view legalization as th…

Andy Williams returns to talk with us about the effects of House Bill 1090 in Colorado, which made it possible for public companies to own cannabis companies. He also discusses the vaping ban in Massachusetts, the STATES Act, the SAFE Banking Act, and the MORE Act: "Some of the senators that are feeling a lot of pressure for cannabis and hemp and t…

We are joined by two guests today: Philasande Mahlakatha, UFSN, and Baphele Mhlaba, Chief of Staff, Eastern Cape Office of the Premier. Mahlakatha begins by discussing the history of prohibition and the logistics of cannabis agriculture. She also wants to make sure that the community is involved with the process: "As the industry starts to boom, to…

We have two guests today: Ras Garreth Prince and Clara Norell. We begin by speaking with Ras Garreth Prince about the history of cannabis in South Africa and the tough battle to get where they are today: "Don't treat me worse than a tobacco smoker, or an alcohol drinker. That's what I'm asking for. I'm not asking for any privileges, I'm not asking …

Lesotho has recently arrived on the international cannabis scene, and Tseli Khiba, Advocate, High Court of Lesotho joins us to discuss the details of that development. She explains that, originally, investors were interested in the market in Swaziland, but ended up encountering several roadblocks there. Investors then began looking more broadly for…

Today we are joined by Nial DeMena, President and CEO of Manna Molecular Science. DeMena begins by discussing the advantages of adhesive patches over inhalation as a means of consuming cannabis, especially for women: "Your lungs are a very sensitive organ -- they're hard to get to and you can't survive without your lungs. Whereas your skin, skin re…

Professor Donald Abrams, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, discusses the usefulness of cannabis in treating a variety of medical conditions: "Cannabis has been a medicine for 3,000 years and only hasn't been for 77. So I think we can harken back to some of the prehistoric information that we have that sug…

David Torrisi, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Dispensary Association, joins us to discuss medical operators and adult use operators in the state of Massachusetts. Torrisi tells us about changes and progress that have taken place in Massachusetts over the past several years: "People thought the sky was going to fall, and there's still some p…

Saul Kaye, founder and CEO of iCAN, briefly joins us and begins by sharing his thoughts about the cannabis market in Malta: "I don't like cannabis markets that are export only. If you're not treating your own patients, you're doing a disservice to your country [...] it's a business thing, not a patient thing, and I think there should always be a ba…

We speak with the Boston Vaping Panel to discuss the recently decided four-month vaping ban: "The bottom line here is we have over 1200 people across the country dying in intensive care unit from something that's vaguely related to these devices. I've never felt that these devices were safe, but it's coming to a head at the moment." Because of the …

Kris Krane, co-founder and President of 4Front, returns and begins by sharing his experience as a cannabis activist in the '90s, which consisted mainly of playing defense and repealing bad laws. He walks us through the evolution of the industry since that time and notes that 2012 was when the industry really experienced a true turning point. Krane …

Joe Lusardi, CEO of Curaleaf, discusses getting started with the cannabis industry when Maine passed a dispensary bill back in 2009 and notes how much the industry has changed over the past 10 years. Lusardi also comments on the public safety issue surrounding vaping and tells us that most of the problems are coming from the illicit market: "This w…