Zimbabwe Approves First MMJ Grow Site

5/31/2019

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Zimbabwe officials have approved the nation’s first legal cannabis farm – a 10-hectare cultivation site at a prison, the Independent reports. The license was granted to Ivory Medical nearly a year after the government legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and scientific purposes.

The prison was chosen as a grow site because of its high security and Ivory is reportedly planning to expand the site by an additional 80 hectares. The company is leasing the space from the government. The company is partnering with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare on the project – which is partly funded by NSK Holdings & International Investors – and Portuguese firm Symtomax, who will provide technical and farming techniques, according to a Caj News report.

Ivory plans to produce extracts from the plants for both domestic and export purposes. Zimbabwe officials expect the nation will see $7 billion by 2023 from cannabis export sales, according to the Caj News report.

Under the 2018 law, cannabis cultivators in Zimbabwe are subject to a $10,000 application fee and can only import and export products out of the Robert Mugabe International Airport. Zimbabwe is the second African nation to legalize cannabis for medical use, following Lesotho, along with South Africa.

Last year, Zimbabwe officials stalled the licensing process after the government received more than 350 applications that offered wildly different estimates with regard to how much money could be made on how much land.

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Peter Vogel: Connecting Cannabis Entrepreneurs and Investors

5/30/2019

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Peter Vogel is the CEO of Leafwire, a cannabis business-focused social media platform known commonly as “the LinkedIn of cannabis.”

Peter recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to talk about what separates Leafwire from other social media platforms, the importance of networking in the cannabis industry, how software and technology play an important role in the industry’s success, and more!

Check out this week’s Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode via the player below or scroll further down to read a full transcript of the interview.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

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TG Branfalt: Hey, there. I’m your host TG Branfalt. You are listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast where we try to bring you actionable information and normalize cannabis through the stories of Ganjapreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today I’m joined by Peter Vogel. He’s the founder of Leafwire. He has nearly 20 or more than 20 years of tech industry experience. Leafwire, the LinkedIn of cannabis, is a social network aiming to link cannabusinesses with investors. How’re you doing this afternoon, Peter?

Peter Vogel: Doing great. Thanks for having me on.

TG Branfalt: Delighted to have you on, a lot to discuss. You’re a tech guy, so that’s always a great conversation to have. Before we get into that, tell me about yourself, man. How’d you end up in the cannabis space?

Peter Vogel: As you had said, I’ve been in the tech startup space for 20 years plus, so founded a variety of different online advertising, marketing and loyalty-type programs online. About a decade ago, I was CEO of a company called Plink, P-L-I-N-K, which was a Facebook credits loyalty program, which if you remember FarmVille and all those crazy games, we were basically giving social gamers the currency to play the games more, and ran that company for a while. While I was CEO of that company, I got to be buddies with Marion Mariathasan who is now CEO of Simplifya, a compliance company here in Denver. We got to be good friends and have been networking ever since. About a year and a half ago, we had a lunch, and he told me how he had transitioned into cannabis and how Simplifya was blowing it up. They raised a bunch of rounds and are scaling really big right now. Told me about Leafwire. Said they needed someone to run it and convinced me to jump in head first.

TG Branfalt: Tell me about Leafwire and what convinced you to jump in head first.

Peter Vogel: Well, one, the cannabis industry was very exciting to be in in the sense that, obviously, it still is, but a year and a half ago it was even a little more immature than it is now. Colorado, being one of the mature markets, but still, nationwide or worldwide it’s really an industry in its infancy. I saw an opportunity similar to what I saw in technology 25 years ago that there were very few companies that were mature or that had a lot of experience or growth yet that I just saw an industry that was ready to just blow up. It seemed like the place where I wanted to be five years from now, the cannabis industry is where I wanted to be firmly established versus the same kind of tech industry I’d been in for decades. So one, I saw it as a huge opportunity just because of the stage of the industry.

Two, I love the idea of Leafwire. Initially, we really talked about Leafwire more like an AngelList, connecting investors to cannabis, so we were connecting accredited investors to cannabis companies. We still are doing that, but it’s evolved a lot. As we’ve grown, we keep having more and more cannabis business people joining the platform, telling us what they’re looking for whether it’s jobs, business partners, advice, resources, news. They want to know about events. We realized there’s this huge need to be a business platform for everyone not just investors in cannabis. So that’s really what excited me is the demand that I saw that a solution like this was needed and there was nothing out there like it.

TG Branfalt: How many people are currently using the platform, and what are they doing on it? I mean you mentioned a lot of different things. What’s pushing its growth right now?

Peter Vogel: Some of those things I mentioned exist now, and some we’re in the process of building based on demand. But where we are in terms of members, just this month we’re crossing actually 10,000 members, and those are 10,000 members that are either cannabis professionals or investors. It tends to be about 90/10, so 90% cannabis professionals and then 10% accredited investors. These are all cannabis business people. These are not your typical consumers or stoners. These are people who work in the industry everything from law firms to dispensaries to grow facilities to advertising companies, but it’s all people. It’s all business. It’s 100% devoted to the business of cannabis. There are some other social networks that are more focused on consumers. We’ve tried very hard to stay away from that and be 100% focused on the business side of cannabis.

TG Branfalt: What are people doing most often right now? With everything now you have going on, what’s the more popular purpose?

Peter Vogel: For right now, our platform is really I would call it around news, awareness, and connection. So right now what we have is it’s very similar to a LinkedIn-type platform. You can come on, join, create a professional profile, which means you put your picture up, you put your professional experience, the city you’re in. You could put up your past jobs. You could put up a variety of other things. You could essentially put up as much or as little as you want. Some people create profiles. They can create a profile for their company as well, just like on LinkedIn. Then we have a newsfeed that’s their homepage. The newsfeed is 100% user generated, so our members post articles. They post open jobs. They promote events. A lot of people promote their own companies. People ask questions. There’s a lot of people that just post comments that they’re in Michigan. They just opened up a store and they’re super excited to be in the industry, and they want to know if anyone else is on the platform from Michigan. So it’s a big combination of just business people communicating, sharing news, promoting things, asking for help.

We also have the ability for people to like posts. You can comment on posts. We do get people who have an ongoing communication where they’re communicating about a certain topic. You can also connect with people. So in the top right corner of this site, we have a recommended connections module. That based on an algorithm of who we think you maybe interested in meeting and connecting with, you can hit the connect button, and that individual will get a message email to them saying, “John from The Green Solution wants to connect with you.” That person can accept the connection. Once people are connected, they can send messages back and forth on the platform. So that, right now, is what people are doing on a day-to-day basis. I can jump into, if you want, some of the other things we’re building as well.

TG Branfalt: Yeah, absolutely.

Peter Vogel: Sure. All this is based on demand. We get emails from people all day long asking for XYZ or suggesting we do something. One of them is jobs. Obviously, lots of people in cannabis are looking for jobs. Lots of companies are looking to hire people in cannabis. I always say that getting a job in cannabis is not something that happens by accident. You don’t just all of a sudden start working for a cannabis company. You go look for a job in the industry, and vice versa. If you’re a company, you are trying to find someone who actively wants to work in the cannabis industry not just any random person on a job platform. So we think once we launch this, the nichey aspect of the industry will be a big driver of people wanting to use our platform. It’s 100% safe for cannabis and hemp, and everyone on there is 100% focused on cannabis and hemp, so it makes a ton of sense to have jobs there.

We’re also launching a groups section. Just like LinkedIn has groups where people who want to talk about, say, “How do you advertise on Google with a cannabis company?” we’ll have a group where people can go on and talk, and there’ll be an ongoing thread where people can share information. Then there’s always information there that people can go access, and we can just act as a resource for people.

We’ll also be adding what we call marketplace. It’s kind of a Yellow Pages-type listing. We’re also adding that because of demand. We have people email us every day and ask if we know a lawyer who knows cannabis law in California or if we know an accountant who understands 280E. Multiple times a day people ask us about if we know banks or payment processors who will work with cannabis companies or CBD companies or even just ancillary companies. Even people that don’t touch the plant often have trouble getting companies to accept payments. Because people keep asking for that, we realized we need to have a static place where we can let companies post their offerings, and then other people can go find them. They can go search for what they need, and we can help them connect. All these things that I just mentioned, they’re all around connecting, helping each other and sharing information, and just providing people a platform to connect in whatever way they want whether it’s employment, business partners, or investment. We’re also all about connecting investors to cannabis companies who are fundraising.

TG Branfalt: This whole thing is being built in real time based on feedback. There’s got to be some learning curve there. What’s that been like from the time you’ve taken over until now?

Peter Vogel: I mean there’s definitely a learning curve. We’ve learned things about the user flow and how users are doing things. Some of the things we initially put up were clunky and didn’t work that well, and we found out really fast. Our users told us, “This is confusing. How do I create my company? This doesn’t make any sense.” Or this feature of messaging… For example, we had something up on messaging where anytime you hit return, it would send the message automatically. It was kind of an annoying thing that a lot of people complained about, so we actually just fixed that. I think that’s going to be live tomorrow or the next day. We’re slowly adding in features people want, and then we’re also learning some of the things that people don’t want, or don’t find user friendly we’re fixing, so there is definitely a learning curve. I don’t think that’ll change. I mean the industry’s growing so fast. I think we’re going to keep adapting as we go.

TG Branfalt: What about for you personally? What’s been the learning curve for you entering the space, and how have you adapted in your tenure thus far?

Peter Vogel: It’s been now about a year and a half. I’ll say one of the things that I’ve been pleasantly shocked by is how open and friendly everyone has been in terms of… I’ve done a lot of networking. Almost anyone I’ve reached out to to have lunch, have a phone call with, even CEOs of pretty successful companies, they’re all willing to talk. They’re all willing to answer questions. I think that’s kind of unique in cannabis where everyone still feels like they’re in this together. I think it was just a sense of there were so many years when people had to fight and band together just to get laws passed. Then once they passed, everyone had to work together just to figure out how to implement them. It was very confusing, and no one knew what to do or how it really worked. Everyone’s had to work together for so long; I think there’s still a really amazing sense of camaraderie in the industry. In general, people are much more open and helpful than almost any other industry I’ve been a part of.

TG Branfalt: One of the taglines on your site talks about this community building. It says that you want to help reduce the stigma for industry operators. While that does exist, I teach at a college and there’s definitely a cannabias in the discussions that we’re allowed to have, and I study the media and there’s definitely a cannabias there. How can your website, a specialty website, help reduce the stigma for industry operators?

Peter Vogel: I think that one thing we do is we provide a platform where that stigma doesn’t exist. So we provide a platform where people come on. You mentioned media advertising. Lots of platforms will sensor you. YouTube cancels video channels. Facebook cancels groups. It shuts down pages. We provide a platform where no one has to be afraid that’s going to happen to anything that they’re doing on the platform. They don’t have to be worried about announcing a new product line, a new opening.

I’ve had people tell me… I use LinkedIn every day, so I’m not negative towards LinkedIn. For me, I have a lot of connections I use every day. I post articles daily, just like I do on Leafwire, so I love using LinkedIn also. But a lot of people out there don’t want to necessarily be loud and proud on LinkedIn because they know they live in a state where maybe it’s not legal. They know half their family doesn’t approve. They know half the people they worked at their last banking job will look down on them or think strangely of them if they’re working at a cannabis company. Not everyone wants to go onto LinkedIn and say, “We just launched our third vape pen. Come check it out.” It’s kind of a weird…

There’s just so much on LinkedIn other than cannabis; it’s hard for people to be 100% open about what they’re doing. So one of the ways that we do help remove that stigma is just provide that safe community, that safe platform where people know they can hire people. They can promote events. They can just share news, and they can ask for help with whatever they need and not be judged or worried that they’re in a place where there’s millions of people who will look down on them for that.

TG Branfalt: Now, I don’t use LinkedIn personally. I haven’t since college when I was actually required to as a part of a class. I’m not really social media guy. Have they taken the steps that… You mentioned Facebook who does shut down groups but has recently said that they would be open to cannabusinesses advertising on their platform in legal states. Does LinkedIn have this cannabias that’s built in to some of the other more popular social networks?

Peter Vogel: Not as much. LinkedIn doesn’t do very much censoring. The cannabias that exists is not necessarily from LinkedIn. I think it’s more from the fact that society in general and the number of states where it’s not legal are still not necessarily open to cannabis. So it’s not LinkedIn as a company. I think that makes it a platform that’s not 100% open to cannabis. It’s really more the fact that societal norms are not 100% open to it. I don’t think that’ll even change even when things go 100% federally legal, say, in two or three years. We’re still going to have a condition where I think it’s going to be state by state. States are going legal with recreational or medical. That’s going to be slowed to adopt and slow to happen, so there’s still going to be the same X percent of the public who is not necessarily really approving of cannabis industry and cannabis businesses. So I don’t think that’s going to go away just because things are legal. I think that’s going to be another five or 10 years to get rid of that stigma and bias in general.

TG Branfalt: When it comes to Leafwire and your user population, are you seeing more growers and dispensaries, people who touch the plant, or are you seeing more ancillary businesses?

Peter Vogel: I’m pretty sure what we’ve been seeing pretty consistently is more ancillary businesses than plant-touching. I think that’s very simply a matter of numbers. I’ve been told there are probably… I don’t know what the numbers are this month, but I think there’s around 35,000 to 40,000 licenses in the US. You may have a better number than I do but somewhere in that ballpark. Let’s say 40,000, and those are licensed companies. They’re licensed by the state to either grow, transport, process, or sell in retail. The typical person outside the industry, if you say, “Cannabis company,” that’s what they think of. It’s someone that’s on a farm. It’s someone that’s in a dispensary, or it’s someone that’s extracting the oil.

TG Branfalt: Making candy.

Peter Vogel: Yeah, exactly. So that’s what almost everyone thinks cannabis companies are. There’s actually not a really solid list of these, but there’s probably three to four times as many ancillary companies that are depended upon the cannabis industry than there are plant-touching. So if there’s 40,000, there’s probably 120,000 to 160,000 ancillary companies out there. Those are everyone from security, lighting, fertilizer, PR companies, legal, accounting, real estate. I mean it’s a huge list.

What I usually tell people is think about if you’re a company like a store, you depend on 20 different companies to provide you with services. You depend on your POS system, maybe a loyalty program, maybe a compliance company, maybe HR, maybe advertising, maybe development, a creative company, someone to design your stores, someone to guard your store. So every single one of those companies probably has 15 to 20 service providers they rely on, and so it makes sense. There’s bound to be more of those companies than there are the licensed ones. Simply because of the numbers that there’s three to four times as many ancillary, we do see more ancillary than we do licensed companies, but I think that’s just the nature of the industry. That’s just the reality of what’s out there.

TG Branfalt: You had mentioned quite a variety of ancillary businesses that work with the cannabis industry. One of them I never really even thought of. You need somebody to design the store. Is there any other examples like that that stick out to you? That businesses don’t initially think, “Oh, yeah, we need this person,” that you’re seeing on the site people finding out, “Oh, we need this person.” Whereas they might not have thought about it initially, and then Leafwire helps them find that person.

Peter Vogel: That’s part of the site I talked about called marketplace, which is like Yellow Page listings. I think a lot of people don’t necessarily realize how important PR is in cannabis. Because advertising is so tough on Facebook and Google and some of these other places, PR’s a really big deal. There’s a bunch of companies out there that are really great, and we’ve worked with a bunch of different ones: Nison PR, Rosie Mattio, Powerplant. There’s a lot of these. There’s probably a dozen or more of these PR companies. AxisWire is another one that does PR. Most people don’t necessarily think about it immediately, but if you’re running a brand, it’s pretty important.

Another big part of the industry that people may not ever really think about is packaging. Packaging requirements are really stringent, and there’s a lot of companies that focus on eco-packaging. The biggest one, KushCo, that went public and then there’s companies like Sana Packaging and CRATIV Packaging. You go and buy your cannabis; you don’t necessarily think about what it’s in, but someone’s got to make that, and someone’s got to get it to the people who are processing the cannabis. So it’s all those parts around that people don’t think about.

TG Branfalt: And packaging’s a very highly regulated part of most cannabis programs, so it adds a whole other layer on. You’ve been in the tech industry for more than 20 years. Anytime I have conversations with somebody in the tech industry, I always tell them the same thing. When I talk to a lot of entrepreneurs entering the space, a lot of them make that comparison between the tech industry in the ’90s and the cannabis industry now. Can you compare those two being somebody who’s worked in both in those timeframes where they are really getting the ball rolling?

Peter Vogel: Yeah, for sure. I would describe it as a very similar level of excitement. Leafwire is a company… We’ve hosted a bunch pitch contests, like Shark Tank-type events. We did seven last year from Miami to LA to Denver to San Francisco all the way up to Vancouver. I can tell you that every single one of them we had a bunch of companies, a bunch of judges, 100 to 200 people, and the vibe in all of those people were so excited and jazzed to learn about new companies and to be there and meet each other and talk. The energy is really great right now in the sense of people being excited about growing businesses. That’s how it was back in the beginning of the tech boom.

The big difference, though, is the regulatory environment. Tech did not have that at all really. In tech, it was off to the races. Anyone could do anything they wanted. Whereas here, it can only grow state by state as governments pass laws, and even the things you can do in certain states whether… There are certain states that have medical, but you can only prescribe cannabis for one type of seizure disorder. It’s so limited. It’s almost impossible for companies to exist with such limitations. So the huge difference, I think, is the growth is a little bit slower and controlled, which is not necessarily an awful thing. Because everyone knows in the tech days, companies like pets.com and things like that would go spend $100 million on your Super Bowl ad. They blew everyone’s money, and half the companies went under in a year or two.

One thing I think the slower roll out is doing is it’s helping that slow down a little bit. I mean obviously in Canada right now we still have huge hype and a lot of people think that public companies are overvalued up there — depends who you ask — but you’re still seeing that a little bit in Canada. But in the US, it’s definitely more controlled and regulated. I’d say that’s the biggest difference between tech in the ’90s and cannabis now is just the regulatory environment has slowed things down a bit.

TG Branfalt: While we’re talking about tech, you’re a platform that connects people, but you also bill yourself as a social network. This is sort of broad, but what role do social networks have in protecting data? Are you being extra cautious since you’re dealing with cannabusinesses who operate in a highly regulatory environment and a lot of them operate with extreme caution?

Peter Vogel: Yeah, 100%. We do 100% respect that people’s data is private. It’s their own data. We don’t sell anyone’s data. We don’t give out any information about any members, any companies. The only we do is we communicate with our own members via email, but we never let anyone else have any data about any of our members, and we’re careful. We use top of the line, like Amazon Web Services and a bunch of other products that are designed to safeguard people’s data. So we’re 100% aware of all the stuff that’s going on especially that Facebook has done and other companies. We are not running our business model to have that be a part of anything we do.

TG Branfalt: How are you guys handling advertisements? You had mentioned it’s very hard to advertise, and very cannabis-centric sites such as yours, obviously, are going to allow these advertisements. Do you guys have any regulatory stuff that you have deal with? How are you handling advertisements?

Peter Vogel: We don’t. We’re allowed to post… I mean we’re our own platform. We don’t have rules about cannabis. We don’t ever post anything about selling directly to the consumer. We post things about brands. We post things about ancillary companies. We post things about services and advertisements, whatnot. We don’t ever, obviously, sell anything directly on our platform or promote the direct sale from one individual to another.

TG Branfalt: Interesting.

Peter Vogel: I mean we only work with established licensed companies who are advertising legitimate services.

TG Branfalt: I noticed some things from Cody who linked us up who does the editing on these podcasts. When he mentioned you, he was telling me that you had some CBD investments. You want to talk to me about those?

Peter Vogel: I’m a big believer in the industry in general, but recently I’ve gotten involved with some CBD companies. There’s some CBD companies here in Denver that have a physical location called Canvas Organics. I was approached by some people who wanted to open some more stores, so some friends and myself decided to be a part of it. We’re not operational in any sense. We’re just investors, but we are big supporters. We’re opening a couple actual physical stores, one over in Belmar and one in RiNo. They’re going to be called Canvas Organics. They’re run by this group of people out of New Mexico. They have a bunch of stores in New Mexico as well.

I really believe that just like you have gourmet pet food stores… I know CBD’s is going to be sold in CVS and Walgreens and all over the place. The fact is, though, there’s a lot of people out there who are very interested in CBD. They want to know how it works, what the different applications are, or how much they should take, what are recommended products, and they want to talk to someone educated. I believe that in a small, boutiquey-like store, you can have a much better experience than at Walgreens. That you’re not necessarily going to have every employee in there who’s actually trained to educate people.

Just like a pet food store, you can buy pet food on Amazon or on Chewy, which they just bought. You can go to a huge pet food store, or you can buy it at Walmart. But in almost every nice neighborhood, you still see a nice gourmet pet food store because people who love their pets, they care about them, they want to go ask questions. They want to get unique products. They want to get quality products, and they want to talk with somebody who’s knowledgeable. I believe for CBD that’s the future. Even though you will be able to buy it everywhere, people are going to want to go to stores that have 30 varieties and have the highest quality products and that have the most educated people who are working in the store that can help them.

TG Branfalt: So you bring up pet food store. I have a two-year-old Boxador. I’ve been giving him CBD since he was a tiny pupper. Still to this day, I give him not much. I’ve done a bit of research. I’ve talked to a few people. Had a conversation with my vet, with the person who runs the doggie daycare, and I’ve interviewed people who make CBD products for pets. What’s your take on CBD for pets? You like CBD. Obviously, you like animals, which we’ll get into that a little more in a minute. What’s your take on CBD for animals?

Peter Vogel: Well, so I have a dog who’s about five and who has some achy joints and aches and pains once in a while, and we’ve been giving our dog CBD for the last almost two years I think now. I take CBD every day. We buy a certain kind for pets. It’s essentially the same thing. They occasionally flavor it. Depending on your dog, some dogs don’t care. Some dogs will eat anything. They don’t care. I’m sure if you have a dog, you know.

TG Branfalt: Yes.

Peter Vogel: They flavor some of these. They flavor with them with bacon or salmon or something so they taste good to dogs. Mostly the only difference is it’s the amount of milligrams. If you know what you’re doing, you could give your… It’s CBD is CBD. You could give your dog any type of CBD as long as you give him the right milligrams and see. Obviously, they weigh a lot less than a human, so you give them less. We actually do buy the ones for pet. My wife likes to buy that. I think it’s a flavored kind, so we get that one. Theoretically, one, I think it works for pets. I’ve seen it work, so I believe in it. You can really give any kind. You just have to monitor. You could up online or look on… There’s a lot of resources. You can find out the appropriate dosage for the weight of the dog. That’s really the most important thing.

TG Branfalt: You said that your dog has achy joints. Have you noticed a significant difference?

Peter Vogel: Definitely. We once had her diagnosed as an early onset arthritis for dogs, so it’s just a little bit of aches and pains in the joints at an early age. The way that it displays is the dogs just chew constantly on their joints. They’re trying to alleviate it somehow. We do find that when we give CBD regularly, it minimizes that significantly so she doesn’t do the constant gnawing on her joints and elbows that we see otherwise. Yeah, we have seen a big difference.

TG Branfalt: The other thing that Cody was telling me about is that you have an animal rescue project. Can you tell me about that? Is it linked to the cannabis industry, and if so, how?

Peter Vogel: It’s not my project. It’s a project that I’m joining and throwing in my resources, trying to help as much as I can. It’s actually Davyd Smith over at Vangst. He’s the CTO of Vangst. He runs something called No Kill Colorado. It’s not a shelter. It’s an organization that teaches shelters how to change from being a kill shelter into being a either zero or almost zero kill shelter.

This is based on a book that someone wrote decades ago, and they’ve done this all over the world, in different cities and states. They have 12 different policies. If you enact these 12 policies, you can get your shelter to almost a zero kill shelter. Just to give two examples of this so it makes sense. One, when they go pick up a dog… Say a dog has been found. It’s a stray, and no one knows what to do with it. The shelter will go pick it up. Rather than just take it back to the shelter, they walk around in a three-block radius to every house and ask every single person if they know where the dog is from. I think it was something like 50% of the time they just find the owner of the dog by doing that.

TG Branfalt: Wow.

Peter Vogel: So they eliminate in bringing the dog in, which seems pretty obvious, but most of these shelters or pounds, they’re so busy. They just pick the dog up, take it back, put it in a cage, and forget about it. Another example of that is shelters often have people drive up with their dog and say, “I can’t afford this anymore. I have to give it up.” The shelters all get food donated from dog food companies. So another one of these principles is offer to give them a free month of food and tell them, “Take this. If you need more next month, just come back, and we’ll give you another one.” So rather than have someone give up their dog because of financial reasons, help them in a way that gives them a month at time so that they can, hopefully, get back on their feet and start to feed the dog on their own. Again, make it so you don’t even have to take the dog in. So there’s about 12 principles like that.

So what Davyd’s organization does is they go shelter by shelter in different cities. They go to them, and they pressure them to adopt these principles and work with the city, work with the county to pressure them to do it. They’ve gotten a bunch of shelters in Colorado to get to zero percent. Their goal is to get all of Colorado to zero percent kill shelters. No Kill Colorado, partly because Davyd’s the CTO for Vangst, obviously he’s a big believer in the industry, wants to bring in… That’s part of the reason I’m joining forces with him. We want to start to throw a lot of events, bring in cannabis companies to help support this cause and throw their resources, money behind it. Because one of the things that I didn’t really know that Davyd brought up is there’s a lot of people in the cannabis industry who want to donate money or time, and there’s a lot of charities that won’t take money from cannabis companies strictly because they’re cannabis companies.

TG Branfalt: Really?

Peter Vogel: Yeah. I didn’t realize that. Apparently the more traditional, conservative charities don’t want to be associated with cannabis still and they won’t accept — 

TG Branfalt: Unbelievable.

Peter Vogel: … money from cannabis companies. That’s what Davyd wants to do is really say, “Listen. Let’s show that the cannabis industry can work together and help save these animals.” The goal is to get to zero percent kill in Colorado. There’s other organizations that do the same thing in other states. So this is part of a national organization.

TG Branfalt: Super cool, man. I really appreciate you telling me all about that. Well, I’ve been covering this industry for several years, and there is a lot of charity that goes on. I had no idea that a lot of these traditional organizations won’t take cannabis industry money. You learn something new every single day of this industry. Where can people find out more about you, more about Leafwire?

Peter Vogel: Well first, we encourage everybody, obviously, to come join Leafwire. It’s 100% free. We will be adding some premium features, but right now it’s all free. Just come join. Create a profile. You can connect with me on Leafwire. Anyone that wants to shoot me an email or connect directly, you can also just go to peter@leafwire.com. I’m happy to chat, have coffee, meet with most anyone. I’ve been networking in cannabis very heavily ever since I started.

TG Branfalt: Well, Peter Vogel, thank you so much for coming on the show. Really a breath of fresh air in the industry, I think, especially for being new into it. I think you have a lot of really great ideas, and I’m excited to see how Leafwire grows. Definitely try to keep me updated on this No Kill Colorado campaign. I’m an animal guy, you know.

Peter Vogel: Well, I’ll chat with Davyd too. We should get him to get on with you, and he can tell you. He’s the guy. He started it here, so he can really tell you about it.

TG Branfalt: That’d be great, man. Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show.

Peter Vogel: All right, thank you Tim.

TG Branfalt: You can find more episodes of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast in the podcast section of Ganjapreneur.com and in the Apple iTunes store. On Ganjapreneur.com website, you’ll find the latest cannabis news and cannabis jobs updated along with transcripts of this podcast. You can also download the Ganjapreneur.com app in iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Trim Media House. Thanks for listening. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Google Bans Cannabis Apps from Play Store

5/30/2019

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Tech giant Google has announced a ban on cannabis transaction apps from its Google Play store on Wednesday “regardless of legality” according to its recently updated policy section. The change was first reported by Android Police.

The new rules prohibit apps that allow users to order cannabis through “an in-app shopping cart feature,” assist “in arranging delivery or pick up” of cannabis products,” or facilitate the sale of THC-containing products.

Its updated policies include bans on apps that facilitate tobacco sales – including e-cigarettes – and those that “encourage the irresponsible use of alcohol or tobacco.”

In a statement to Android Police, Google indicated that apps like cannabis delivery app Eaze and Weedmaps – which has an online ordering function in addition to the ability to map dispensaries – would have to remove their ordering function within 30 days in order to remain compliant with the platform.

“These apps simply need to move the shopping cart flow outside of the app itself to be compliant with this new policy. We’ve been in contact with many of the developers and are working with them to answer any technical questions and help them implement the changes without customer disruption.” – Google, to Android Police

The changes come on the same day Google announced “additional protections for children and families” on its Play service. The changes now require app developers to declare a target audience and while cannabis sales are limited to individuals 21-and-older, the company’s new policies are renewed efforts to prevent children from seeing inappropriate content.

In an email to Marijuana Moment, Elizabeth Ashford, senior director of corporate communications for Eaze called Google’s decision “a disappointing development that only helps the illegal market thrive” but was “confident” that Google – and Apple – “will eventually do the right thing” and allow cannabis transaction apps to continue doing business on their platforms. Apple had banned some cannabis apps, such as MassRoots, until they backtracked on the policy in 2015.

Google is based in California, which legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2016.

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Illinois Capital

Illinois Senate Advances Adult-Use Cannabis Bill

5/30/2019

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The Illinois Senate has approved the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which would establish a taxed-and-regulated marketplace in the state for adults who are 21 or older.

HB 1438, sponsored by state Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, passed the Senate in a 38-17 vote and is supported by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The proposal would legalize the possession and sale of up to 30 grams of cannabis flower and would allow for some expungement of prior cannabis convictions.

The bill had caught a snag over a proposed cannabis home-grow provision; that provision, however, was replaced by another provision allowing only registered medical cannabis patients to grow their own plants, and the bill advanced.

“One of the reasons we’re going to tax-and-regulate is to make sure you’re not getting product that’s got issues. By limiting that (home grow) significantly, you reduce the problems.” — State Sen. Heather Steans, via the Associated Press

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“MPP is proud to have worked hand-in-hand with state lawmakers and Gov. Pritzker to develop this historic legislation,” said Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, in a press release. “This bill helps people remove the stigma and harm caused by prior cannabis possession convictions and creates opportunities for those who want to enter the new, regulated program.”

If the bill becomes law, adults could begin participating in the newly legal cannabis market as early as January 1, 2020 and Illinois would become the 11th state to pass legalization — and the first to approve a taxed-and-regulated marketplace via the state legislature instead of a ballot initiative.

“This is just one step of many in ending cannabis prohibition,” Dan Linn, executive director for NORML Illinois, said in a press release. “Even after this bill passes there will still be work to do to give adults in Illinois access to cannabis without having to purchase it from a limited amount of stores and cultivators.”

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Maryland Receives 160 Applications for MMJ Expansion

5/30/2019

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The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has received more than 160 applications for one of the state’s 14 new medical cannabis licenses, the Baltimore Sun reports. The license expansion is aimed at minority- and women-owned businesses and comes more than a year after the legislature and Gov. Larry Hogan approved a law to address the lack of diversity in the state’s cannabis industry.

Commission Chairman Brian Lopez indicated that the agency was aware of some technical problems applicants had with submitting their applications online but that none would be penalized if they missed the deadline due to the difficulties. He added that all of the applicants that submitted their $2,000 application fee would be notified Friday if their application was complete.

Following the rollout of the medical cannabis program in 2014, it immediately came under fire for its lack of diversity despite the original law calling for race and gender to be considered when awarding licenses. In the initial round of licensing, not one was awarded to a minority-owned firm. A state-commissioned “disparity study” confirmed what social-equity advocates had argued, concluding that the state needed to implement “race- and gender-based measures to remediate discrimination” in the space.

The legislative push was led by Del. Cheryl Glenn, the head of the Legislative Black Caucus.

“I’m sure the commission understands the importance of making sure that we have the diversity that we should have in Maryland. I’m hoping most of the licenses will be awarded not only to minorities, but to Maryland minorities. That’s the whole reason we’re doing this.” – Glenn, to the Sun

In March, Maryland licensed producer Curio Wellness filed a lawsuit against the state over the licensing plan claiming that the commission had violated its own rules by soliciting applications without first completing a supply and demand survey. Days later, following backlash, the company dropped the lawsuit. Curio CEO Michael Bronfein said at that time that he stood by the “merits of the lawsuit” but didn’t want to divide the community, noting that 36 percent of the company’s workforce is female, and 38 percent are African American.

Four of the new licenses are for cultivation while 10 are for processing. Medical cannabis sales in Maryland reached $109 million last year. As of last month, there are 15 cultivators, 16 processors, and 75 dispensaries licensed in the state.

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Health Canada Approves 100-Acre Outdoor Grow

5/30/2019

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Health Canada has approved 48North’s 100-acre, 250,000-plant outdoor cannabis cultivation facility in Brant County, Ontario, according to a CTV News report. Once operational, the facility will immediately become the largest, legal, outdoor cannabis site in the nation.

48North already operates two indoor facilities in the province. Jeannette Vandermarel, a co-CEO and director of 48North, told CTV that the new facility could “likely” be the “world’s largest legal cannabis farm.”

Alison Gordon, another company co-CEO and director, called the site – which was once used to grow tobacco – “ideal” for cannabis cultivation.

“When you’re growing outdoor, you have a low-cost input and a quality input that you’re able to extract and turn into the vapes, and edibles, and all these products that both patients and consumers are really for in the Canadian market.” – Gordon, to CTV

The company is planning to install more than 100 cameras on the vast property for security, along with fencing and motion sensors. 48North representatives said they would employ about 200 seasonal workers and 50 full-time staff once the project is underway.

The approval for the site comes as Canadian cannabis regulators mull changes to the three-year-old industry including regulations for edibles, which are currently unavailable; changes to security requirements; and updates for Good Production Practices. Those changes are expected to be announced in the fall.

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thc vs. cbd

Know Your Cannabis: THC vs. CBD

5/29/2019

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It’s safe to assume that because they affect you differently, THC vs. CBD work differently in the brain. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. The THC content in cannabis has increased drastically over the years — in the ’70s, the supposed “golden age” for drug use, THC content was estimated around 3-5% in cannabis. Now, it’s normal to see percentages of around 20% and even 30% on dispensary shelves.

This means the cannabis being consumed now is more potent than it once was, so knowing how these compounds affect us is increasingly important.

THC and the Endocannabinoid System

THC activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body, specifically CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors are part of a network called the endocannabinoid system, which was discovered by researchers in 1988.

There are many regions of the brain where cannabinoid receptors exist (they are also present in certain peripheral organs involved in pain responses and immunity). There are CB1 receptors in the hypothalamus (hormone release), frontal cortex (executive decision making/judgment), hippocampus (memory), amygdala (basic physiological processes like heart rate/breathing), and a region of the brain encompassing many structures, called the basal ganglia (movement/cognition). This illustrates why THC has such a multitude of behavioral effects and can vary widely among individuals.

Cannabis growers around the country use highly honed growing practices to produce THC- and CBD-rich cannabis strains. Photo credit: Rory Savatgy

CBD’s Various Mechanisms

CBD, on the other hand, has a low binding affinity for CB1 and CB2 receptors but acts by modulating other non-cannabinoid receptors in the body and brain. One of the receptors it acts on is the 5-HT species, which is involved in serotonin release. This could contribute to CBD’s anxiolytic effects.

CBD also blocks fatty amyloid acid hydrogenase (FAAH). FAAH is an enzyme responsible for the breakdown of anandamide, a cannabinoid our body naturally makes that activates the endocannabinoid system. Interestingly, the word anandamide originates from the Sanskrit word for bliss — CBD blocks FAAH from breaking down anandamide, which could be another reason CBD helps with anxiety.

CBD also stimulates the release of another endocannabinoid, 2-AG, which is responsible for modulating immune responses and activates both CB1 and CB2 receptors. This is how CBD indirectly activates cannabinoid receptors—it doesn’t bind directly to them but sends out signals for other molecules to be released that will stimulate the endocannabinoid system. In addition to these mechanisms, CBD has been seen to act as an antioxidant and contributes to neuroprotection and pain relief (both THC and CBD also modulate opioid receptor expression).

Different Metabolites and Mechanisms

When taken orally, THC is converted into a much more potent metabolite called 11-OH-THC. This is one of the reasons why when you take edibles, it not only takes longer for the high to hit, but you frequently feel the high much more intensely than if you had smoked.

In contrast, CBD allosterically inhibits cytochrome-P450 receptors. The P450 receptors are a specific subset of liver enzymes that break down compounds in the body. When CBD interferes and these enzymes are unable to do their job, you could end up with exceedingly high levels of a compound in your blood (say THC, for example, if you smoked a cannabis strain that had high percentages of both THC and CBD). This is one reason why it is crucial to learn how these compounds act in our body and interact with other substances we may be taking (if you’re on SSRI’s or blood thinners, taking high doses of CBD may not be a good idea because of its ability to block enzymatic breakdown).

A cannabis industry worker plucks the leaves off of a freshly harvested plant. Photo credit: Rory Savatgy

The Entourage Effect and Synergy

Together, THC and CBD work synergistically to create the many benefits cannabis has been shown to offer: reducing anxiety, pain, and nausea — and helping restore sleep and appetite — to name a few of the major ones. The entourage effect is the name of this theory, stating that the compounds in cannabis work together to heighten the plant’s many benefits compared to when any of its individual compounds are consumed alone.

CBD specifically aids in dampening the powerful psychoactive effects of THC by opposing its action at the CB receptor. This blunts some of the potential negative effects of consuming THC, like paranoia and cognitive issues. Also, because THC is a lipid molecule, it binds to fat molecules in our body, which is why it can be seen in drug tests even months after consumption. This phenomenon, called depot binding, may help CBD be even more active when consumed with THC.

THC and CBD activate different receptors in our body and therefore have different effects when consumed. However, it’s in their synergy where they bring out the best in each other.

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Texas Lawmakers Approve MMJ Expansion Bill

5/29/2019

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The Texas House and Senate have reconciled the medical cannabis bill overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers in both chambers earlier this month, the Victoria Advocate reports. The measure expands the state’s 2015 law by adding seven additional conditions to the qualifying conditions list – which previously only included “intractable epilepsy” and removing the requirement for two physicians to approve patients for medical cannabis use.

The measure does not raise the 0.5 percent THC cap on medical cannabis products available in the state; however, it does remove previous restrictions on all other cannabinoids.

Patients diagnosed with seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), autism, terminal cancer, and incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases would qualify for medical cannabis access in Texas under the law.

Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, called the bill’s passage “a bittersweet moment” for medical cannabis advocates in the state.

“This bill moves the needle, but falls very short of what we need in Texas. Those with other debilitating medical conditions need access to whole plant cannabis, and we will not stop until the Compassionate Use Program is truly made more inclusive and functional, protecting patients and providers.” – Fazio, to the Advocate

The bill moves next to Republican Gov. Greg Abbot – who signed into law the 2015 measure. If he signs it, the new law would take effect Sept. 1.

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Arizona Supreme Court: Medical Cannabis Extracts Are Legal

5/29/2019

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The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that cannabis extracts meet the definition of medical cannabis under the state’s Medical Marijuana Act, according to a Phoenix New Times report. The unanimous ruling effectively prevents lawmakers and regulators from pulling extracts from dispensary shelves in addition to shielding medical cannabis patients from prosecution for possessing concentrates.

“We hold that [Arizona Medical Marijuana Act’s] definition of marijuana includes both its dried-leaf/flower form and extracted resin, including hashish.” – Arizona Supreme Court ruling in State of Arizona v. Rodney Christopher Jones, via the New Times  

Rodney Christopher Jones was arrested in 2013 for possessing 1.4 grams of hashish and, despite being a medical cannabis patient in the state, he was sentenced to two and a half years in jail in 2014. Last year, the state Appeals Court ruled against Jones, with Judge Jon W. Thompson, writing in the court’s majority opinion that the AMMA “is silent as to hashish.”

The ruling, however, neither stopped patients from extracting cannabis for concentrates nor dispensaries from selling them. Law enforcement officials did not crack down on the dispensaries but some patients were arrested and convicted following the lower court ruling, according to the report.

The high court opined that state law “defines ‘marijuana’ as ‘all parts of [the] plant.’ The word ‘all,’ one of the most comprehensive words in the English language, means exactly that.” The opinion also explicitly protects patients and business owners from prosecution for concentrates.

Jones’ conviction was also vacated by the court.

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North Dakota Lawmakers to Study Legalization

5/29/2019

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Lawmakers in North Dakota have moved to study the implications of recreational cannabis legalization as they expect advocates to move forward with another ballot initiative, the Williston Herald reports. North Dakotans did vote on legalization in 2018; the initiative, however, was soundly defeated 59-41 percent.

The legislative study would examine both sides of legalization and Democratic Rep. Karla Rose Hanson said the study would allow lawmakers to be “proactive” if voters were to approve legalization.

“I think of zoning. I think of tax revenue. We have a human services role and we have law enforcement and the criminal justice system. And then, of course, we already have the medical marijuana program.” — Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, via the Bismarck Tribune

There are at least two potential initiatives seeking to make it to voters in the state next year. One group, led by John Bailey, is proposing a constitutional amendment for the reforms. He has already submitted one version of the initiative to the Secretary of State but rescinded it for language changes, according to the Tribune report.

Legalize ND is also hoping to put their version to voters, which would be similar to the measure rejected last year. In their statement following the failed 2018 bid, the group indicated they would re-try in 2020.

The legislative study will be assigned to a committee on June 10. There is no timeline for a report to be released.

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TSA Allows Some MMJ Products on Flights

5/28/2019

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The Transportation Security Administration has updated its website to clarify that air travelers are permitted to bring some cannabis-derived products aboard airplanes and in their checked luggage. The change allows passengers to possess hemp-derived CBD products and Food and Drug Administration-approved cannabis-derived medical products – namely Epidiolex.

The change was first reported by Marijuana Moment.

In a CNN report, TSA indicated the agency “was made aware of an FDA-approved drug that contains CBD oil for children who experience seizures from pediatric epilepsy” and “immediately updated” its website once they were aware of the issue.

The updated section says that while the agency’s officers “do not search for marijuana and other illegal drugs,” if they find any illegal substances they “will refer the matter to law enforcement” – regardless of whether the products are discovered in a state where the products are legal – because TSA is a federal agency.

In 2017, TSA’s “What can I bring” tool had been briefly updated to show that the agency would allow medical cannabis on flights; however, the agency later said it was “a mistake in the database.”

Last year, California’s LAX airport updated its policies to allow cannabis possession on the property but not necessarily through TSA checkpoints. In Alaska, some licensed cannabis producers are allowed to transport products in-state on commercial airlines since some Alaskan communities are only accessible by air or sea.

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New York Lawmakers Amend Adult-Use Bill In Final Bid

5/28/2019

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New York lawmakers have amended the state’s recreational cannabis bill in an effort to make it more palatable to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Buffalo News reports. The amendments include raising taxes, lowering possession limits, and expunging records for low-level cannabis-related crimes.

The original version of the bill would have allowed individuals to possess up to 2 pounds of cannabis, which has been reduced to 3 ounces. If approved, the limits would still be among the highest among legal states.

The tax rate for flower would be raised from 62 cents per gram to $1 per gram, with tax rates for trim and leaves jumping from 10 cents per gram to 25 cents per gram. The amendments make no changes to the sales or excise tax rates in the original measure.

Individuals with low-level cannabis convictions would be able to get those convictions expunged, instead of sealed as initially called for in the introduced legislation, and all records associated with the charges would be destroyed.

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes called the economic and social justice parts of the bill “really huge.”

“At the end of the day, the most important piece to me is expunging people’s records, to give people a chance to survive in America.” – Peoples-Stokes, to the Buffalo News

The measure also expands the definition for social-equity applicants from those convicted of cannabis crimes to individuals with “a parent, guardian, child, spouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual” who was convicted of a cannabis-related crime.

Additionally, the new version of the bill includes $3 million over three years to train law enforcement officers to identify people driving while impaired by drugs. The bill would also allow the governor to appoint the head of the Office of Cannabis Management.

Sen. Liz Krueger, the Democratic sponsor of the bill in the Senate, admitted that she still doesn’t have enough votes in the chamber “unless the Assembly passes it first and the governor comes out in full-throated support.”

New York’s legislative session ends June 19.

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Alabama MMJ Bill Likely Dead Without House Support

5/28/2019

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Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon expects state lawmakers to create a commission to study medical cannabis instead of legalizing its use, according to an AL.com report. The bill was approved by the Senate 17-6 earlier this month but has met strong opposition in the House.

Currently, the state does permit the University of Alabama at Birmingham to research the use of CBD products under what is known as Carly’s Law but the proposed CARE Act would extend that law until 2021. The measure would have established the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which would set up a patient registry and issue patient identification cards and operator licenses.

The bill includes 33 qualifying conditions including addiction, autism, chronic pain, depression, Tourette’s, and several others included in medical programs throughout the U.S.

Despite the Senate support of the measure, McCutcheon told AL.com that medical cannabis is in “the educational phase” in the state.

“Members are studying. We’re listening to the opponents and proponents on it. We’re gathering information. And that’s one reason that this study commission idea, I think, is going to be very significant.” – McCutcheon to AL.com

The House Health Committee is holding a public hearing on the issue today as the legislature heads into what is likely its final session week.

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Colorado Establishes Cannabis as Opioid Alternative

5/27/2019

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill last week that will allow doctors to recommend medical cannabis for any condition for which they might have prescribed painkillers, The Denver Post reports.

Senate Bill 13 — which passed the Senate 33-2 and the House 47-16 — is set to take effect on August 2, 2019. The bill is aimed at reducing opioid overdose rates by using cannabis as a potential offramp for opioid addicts. Specifically, the bill “adds a condition for which a physician could prescribe an opiate to the list of disabling medical conditions that authorize a person to use medical marijuana for his or her condition.”

“Adding a condition for which a physician could recommend medical marijuana instead of an opioid is a safer pain management tool that will be useful for both our doctors and patients.” — Ashley Weber, executive director of Colorado NORML, via The Denver Post

The legislation was introduced at the start of the year and drew wide support from medical cannabis advocates. A legislative hearing in January included two-and-a-half hours of testimony from 40 individuals, mostly in favor of the bill.

Concerned medical professionals, however, voiced some opposition to the proposal.

“Our real concern is that a patient would go to a physician with a condition that has a medical treatment with evidence behind it, and then instead of that treatment, they would be recommended marijuana instead,” said Aurora-based physician Stephanie Stewart. “This will substitute marijuana for an FDA-approved medication — something that’s unregulated for something that’s highly regulated.”

Research, meanwhile, has indicated that states with established comprehensive medical cannabis programs see an overall reduction in opioid overdose rates.

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Iowa Gov. Vetoes MMJ Expansions

5/27/2019

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vetoed legislation on Friday that would have taken multiple steps toward expanding the state’s limited medical cannabis program, the Des Moines Register reports.

The bill had passed through both legislative chambers with sweeping approval — 96-3 in the House and 40-7 in the Senate — but the governor cited concerns about “the health and safety of Iowans” and said her veto was based on the state medical cannabis board’s recommendations.

“Ultimately, I believe Iowa must proceed cautiously to ensure that any expansion of our medical (cannabidiol) program is thoughtful and deliberate — particularly because Iowa’s program is in its infancy and the body of research that analyzes the efficacy of medical CBD is limited.” — Gov. Kim Reynolds, via the Des Moines Register

Iowa‘s five-year-old medical cannabis program is already quite restricted — THC inside of medical cannabis products is capped at just 3 percent and the program only allows for capsules, extracts, concentrates, lotions, ointments, and tinctures, while flower products that can be smoked or vaped are not allowed.

If it had not been vetoed, the bill would have:

  • Replaced the state’s THC cap with a new system that would allow patients to access up to 25 grams of THC over a 90-day period.
  • Changed the program’s “untreatable pain” qualifying condition to just “severe or chronic pain,” which would have given more patients access to the program.
  • Allowed additional health care professionals to make medical cannabis recommendations.
  • Removed a ban on felons participating in the program.
  • Established a system for state health officials to collect and analyze data associated with the program.
  • Given terminal patients a waiver allowing for unlimited THC.

On the day before the veto, activists submitted a petition with nearly 1,600 signatures calling for Gov. Reynolds to sign the bill.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there are more than 2,800 active patient registration cards in the state’s medical cannabis program.

 

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Canada Invests $24.5M Into Cannabis Research

5/24/2019

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Canadian officials have earmarked C$24.5 million (US$18 million) for cannabis research to fund 26 projects throughout the nation, according to a CBC report.

The research will cover cannabis as a migraine treatment, cannabis education and harm reduction for youth, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome – a rare condition that can cause severe nausea and vomiting after cannabis consumption.

Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair, who was in charge of legalization in Canada, said the research would “make the world a better, healthier, and safer place.”

“For too long many people have based their medical use of cannabis on anecdotal evidence, and frankly that’s not good enough.” – Blair, to the CBC

Researcher Rebecca Haines-Saah, who will head up the harm reduction among youth research, said that it will be an attempt to “mobilize different messages” noting that “‘just say no’ is not an effective strategy.” By the time Canadian students reach grade 12, 17 percent of them have used cannabis and half of Canadians have used cannabis by the time they are 24-years-old, according to Statistics Canada figures outlined by the CBC.

Haines-Saah said some students are already making their own harm reduction choices by choosing cannabis instead of tobacco or alcohol.

Alice Moon, Director of Communications for Blunt Talks and vocal advocate for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome awareness told Benzinga that she has been “desperately” searching for more information on the condition but there is a “major lack of research.”

The term was first coined by Australian researchers in 2004.

“I am beyond excited to hear that Canada is going to be leading the charge with research on this controversial topic,” she said in the report. “Canada’s dedication to education is groundbreaking and I think it’s going to inspire more doctors worldwide to study the topic as well.”

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Utah Gov. Criticizes Feds for Medical Cannabis Policies

5/24/2019

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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, ripped the federal government for “their lack of action and attention” on medical cannabis policy, FOX 13 reports. The comments came during his monthly press conference in response to a question about why the state decided to treat medical cannabis like any other prescription drug.

Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing recently announced that it will take no action against anyone who is legally using medical cannabis and will treat it like any other prescription – effectively preventing someone from being fired for being enrolled in the medical cannabis program.

“Putting the states now in an awkward position of following the will of the people who want to have access to medical cannabis and yet, there’s the potential of violation of the law and banking laws because of inaction by the federal government. They ought to be ashamed.” – Herbert, via FOX 13

The state is expected to roll out its limited program next year, which will see 10 licensed cultivators but just seven dispensaries.

Herbert did not support the voter-approved ballot initiative that was ultimately replaced by the state Legislature but he did back that legislative effort. Although he has criticized the state-approved program for policies that hinder physicians and federal policies that force canna-businesses to operate in cash only.

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Massachusetts Approves First Sale of Licensed Cannabis Firm

5/24/2019

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Massachusetts licensed cannabis company Sira Naturals has been sold to Cannabis Strategies Acquisition Corp. marking the first time the state Cannabis Control Commission has approved the sale of an industry operator, according to a MassLive report. Sira operates three dispensaries and one cultivation and production facility in the Bay State.

Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman indicated that regulators are keeping an eye on who holds equity in the company in an effort to ensure that no state regulations are ultimately side-stepped by the deal. Earlier this year, the Boston Globe reported that the commission was investigating whether two licensed producers had thwarted state ownership rules by holding more licenses than allowed under the rules. The report alleges that the firms used a system of shell companies to exceed the three-license limit.

The Sira deal was announced by Cannabis Strategies in October, along with the purchase of three Nevada firms – including two Canopy-owned dispensaries. The details of the purchase were not disclosed. Cannabis Strategies is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

While this is the first takeover approved by Massachusetts regulators, it is not the only shakeup in the state’s industry. Last month, Vireo Health announced they had agreed to acquire Mayflower Botanicals, marking its first foray into the recreational cannabis industry. That deal still requires the approval of Massachusetts cannabis officials.

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Kristen Yoder: Calling Out BS in the Cannabis Industry

5/23/2019

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Kristen Yoder is CEO of cannabis business advisory firm Soil to the Oil and hosts The CannaBS Detector podcast.

As a veteran of California’s cannabis industry with professional experience in nearly every facet of the business, Kristen joined our own podcast host TG Branfalt for a chat about the state of cannabis as it moves out of the gray and into the heavily restricted legal marketplace. In this interview, we hear Kristen’s 14-year story of exploring the industry — from starting as a dispensary worker, advancing into cultivation, then edibles manufacturing, then as a project manager, and eventually becoming an independent strategic business advisor — and she shares important truths about the industry that may be hard to hear for entrepreneurs or investors who are considering a career in cannabis.

Tune in via the player below, or scroll further down for a full transcript of the interview.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

Commercial: This episode of the Ganjapreneur podcast is made possible by 420 friendly service providers in the Ganjapreneur business directory. If you need professional help with your business, from accounting to legal services, to consulting, marketing, payment processing or insurance, visit ganjapreneur.com/businesses to find service providers who specialize in helping cannabis entrepreneurs like you. Visit the Ganjapreneur business directory today at ganjapreneur.com/businesses.

TG Branfalt: Hey there, I’m your host, TG Branfalt, and thank you for listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, where we try to bring you actionable information and normalize cannabis through the stories of Ganjapreneurs, activists and industry’s stakeholders. Today I’m joined by Kristen Yoder, Soil to the Oil owner. She has more than 10 years in the cannabis industry, offering strategic advisement services to businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to enter the industry, and she’s the host of the CannaBS Detector podcast, which is a whole lot of fun. Really interesting stuff on that. How are you doing?

Kristen Yoder: I am good. Thank you so much for having me today.

TG Branfalt: I’m really, really stoked. Before we get into what you do and some of the BS that we’re going to talk about today, tell me about yourself. How did you end up in the cannabis space?

Kristen Yoder: Actually, I’ve been in the cannabis industry in Los Angeles since 2005, so I’m going on 14 years out here. I got my first job at a dispensary when I got my doctor’s recommendation, 2005. There was only one dispensary in the city of LA. The first time I went in there, I was just absolutely in heaven. I was like, “Oh my God. There are weeds stores. This is insane.” To clarify, I wasn’t really a medical patient. That’s just how you got weed in California. The dispensary, nobody smoked there, which was insane. I’m like, “Oh my God. You guys need me.” The second time I came in, they hired me and I mean, I was just … I loved it. For five years, it was my job to literally study weed and teach people about it. So I did that.

Then, between the politics in LA and repeating myself 80 times a day for five years, I got very burnt out. I took a couple of years off to learn how to grow cannabis indoor and outdoor. But I realized, when working in a warehouse, that cannabis growing is labor, and I don’t do labor. So I got another job running an edible company, one of the largest in California, for three years. When I started, I was doing supply chain management and then I took over product development, R&D, pretty much immediately. While I was there I had made 11 products, and I helped them start their Washington edible company. I left there when they got raided because there’s no operations to manage when you get shut down. But they opened up again and then they got raided again, and then they opened up again, but that’s another story.

After three years there, I went to work for the analytical testing lab that I did all the testing for the extract while I was at the edible company, and I did product development with them. They knew I was a good project manager, so I started working with cultivators to come up with custom terpene formulated vape cartridges. They also had just came out with a terpene training kit, which I took on as my pet project, and I would teach edible companies and dispensaries, et cetera, about terpenes. I did that for a year, and then I wanted to go out on my own and tried management consulting, and realize I absolutely hate that. I don’t want to spend my time doing SOPs and business plans for people that aren’t even going to use them or listen to you.

I did that for a year. I also did a podcast back then with my ex-business partner called Cannabis Business Minds, which was on cannabisradio.com, et cetera. Then once we split, I decided to be a strategic advisor, meaning I’ll help you figure out what you should do, I’ll put you in the right direction, but I’m not going to do your homework for you. I’m here to make sure that you know what you’re getting into and to put you in the right direction. So I do that, but really my focus and my passion is teaching people about terpenes and doing my podcast. I also have a dash radio show called Soil to the Oil Story Time, where I have people in the industry talk about their crazy, scary or funny stories.

I’m like, “Don’t talk about your positive stories because that’s literally every other show.” Because, I mean, I want people to know it’s a shit show in the industry. It’s not even fun once they legalize it. I like to bring people down to reality, and I’m also on the radio in San Diego every Friday. That’s about it.

TG Branfalt: You are a busy human being.

Kristen Yoder: Yeah, I really am. I’m losing my mind a little bit. My aspirations are much larger than my capabilities, but luckily I have a lot of awesome people there supporting me and helping me because they believe in me, which is pretty freaking awesome.

TG Branfalt: Even after you said that you were working at a place that was raided a couple of times, why at that point didn’t you walk away? A lot of people do.

Kristen Yoder: Because I freaking love cannabis. I mean, my dad, it’s so funny, he posted a picture of us 20 years ago when we ran his first marathon, and I was 15, and I was wearing a 420 shirt. It’s been … I mean, half baked, dazed and confused. I was your typical stoner child. I mean, I still am. I own that word. There are functional stoners. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater because you want to be all pious about medical cannabis. There are people that just like to smoke weed and hang out with people and listen to music or whatever. Yes. Did-

TG Branfalt: Were your parents-

Kristen Yoder: … I answer your question?

TG Branfalt: Yeah, yeah. Were your parents supportive or not? Maybe not supportive but accepting of your cannabis use, and do you think that that might have led you on the path that you’re on?

Kristen Yoder: My parents are all very Christian, nondenominational Christian. My dad and his wife are missionaries in Cambodia. My mom and her husband are … they have a little church in Las Vegas. No, they weren’t supportive when I was a kid, getting high, but they couldn’t stop me. I feel bad for them because they gave birth to a nightmare. But I got better when I moved out. I mean, they were scared. They were more worried than anything because at the dispensary I was at, that got raided by the DEA, and I was the only one there. Then the edible company got raided several times, but that’s because they pissed off ex-employees and, hey man, you get what you put out. Right? Then, the lab, I wasn’t there when they got raided, but this is California. That’s why California doesn’t have a lot of business people running cannabis businesses, because business people don’t want to take a risk of going to jail. You can’t stop me. I’m in it to win it, and I haven’t gone to jail. So, that’s a plus.

TG Branfalt: You are incredible. You spoke briefly about the advisement service that you’re doing now, and I know on your website there, you have something called the power hour. What does somebody get when they sign up for that power hour?

Kristen Yoder: I created the power hour because everybody reaches out to pick my brain. But you wouldn’t reach out to a lawyer to pick their brain about your divorce because they went to law school and they get paid by the hour. Generally, with a retainer. I didn’t do 14 years, running businesses in every sector, to have my brain picked. I do that. Whatever you want to know, I ask people to send me your questions ahead of time. That way, I have answers, I can provide guidance. But really as a strategic advisor, I’d say my main job is expectation management, and that means lowering people’s expectations greatly.

Because if you don’t lower your expectations, you’re going to lose your freaking mind, because whether or not we want the cannabis industry to be professional, it is not there yet. People really need to know that. There is no personal bankruptcy once you start a cannabis business, touching cannabis. These mistakes that you make, live with you like student debt. You really need to understand that if you don’t have the capital to get started, you should be really happy you found me first.

TG Branfalt: You’ve been in the industry for 14 years, you started a dispensary. Now, we’re in legalization in California, not where I am in New York, but how have the industries changed in those 14 years, aside from legalization? You’ve seen a lot. What’s been the biggest changes that you’ve noticed?

Kristen Yoder: The industry in California, the medical cannabis industry, started before the Compassionate Use Act or Prop 215, which was in 1996. But 1996 is when it got established, and until … Let me think, SB 420, I think that came out in 2008 or something. So before then, it was all medical dispensaries, and people, for the most part, were sick. Over time, I’d say around 2010, is when people started dabbing and people started doing open blasting, and the kids started getting attitudes. Then, people just get really jaded and it just … it’s sad, but I mean, that’s what happens with capitalism. But in Los Angeles, it’s always been run by quasi legal people. A majority of them are sociopaths. I’m not even kidding. That’s how you win in the industry, unfortunately, because you really need some balls.

It’s just gotten … It got more, at least in So-Cal more gangster in a way. I mean, there’s tons of gangs that own shops that will shut down and move somewhere else before they actually are shut down all the way, because no one can really afford to enforce it. Extracts were on the rise, big time. I got to tell you, if I was dabbing in high school, I don’t even know where I would be. It’s scary to think of what’s up with the youth, but maybe I’m just an old person.

TG Branfalt: No. I mean, to that point, when I talked to my friends about legalization, I always say the high potency products actually frighten me a little bit because it will give cannabis a bad rap, ultimately, I think. That’s not to say that I don’t love a 100 milligram edible, or dabbing. Do you fear that as well?

Kristen Yoder: I mean, straight up, I have a problem with dabbing. I freaking love dabbing. It tastes so good. I love just taking a fat dab and then laying back and be like, “Hmm, that was so good.” My problem is, is I wake up, I dab, I get on a call, I dab. I’m just dabbing till I run out of things to dab. I literally have my ex-boyfriend take all my bongs and everything out of my apartment because I have no self control. It’s a freaking problem for me, dude. I also turned into a Debbie Downer and I’m already really cynical. It’s not helpful for anybody. But I mean-

TG Branfalt: I’ve noticed that too.

Kristen Yoder: I love it, dude. I love it, but I can’t function on it and I have a problem, and I think people need to realize. I mean, look, even this, I noticed, it takes about three days for me to stop wanting to dab after I stop dabbing, which is crazy. Not that I’m shaking or any sort of withdrawals, but it’s a habit. But after I quit dabbing, I feel so much better. Like so much better. I don’t know, dude. As a grownup, I’m 34, I don’t recommend it for kids, especially these diamonds. Dude, I freaking hate diamonds so much. It’s not natural at all.

TG Branfalt: Tell me a bit about the impetus behind starting the podcast. You say you don’t want people to pick your brain, but you have this podcast where you put everything out there. You’re very honest. I mean, very open-

Kristen Yoder: To a fault.

TG Branfalt: I wouldn’t say to a fault, but it’s incredible to me as somebody who appreciates that sort of thing. When did you decide that you were going to start the CannaBS Detector?

Kristen Yoder: My ex-business partner was literally the most optimistic, positive, energetic person I have ever met in my life, and I am the total opposite, which messed with my head because I’m like, “Wow, am I just the worst, or is she insane?” In the end, I think it was a mix of both. She’s amazing. I’m not talking shit, it’s just in comparison to me. It messed me up. Once I left, then I found comfort going back to being my cynical self, which is when I came up with the title Bullshit Detector, because all I’ve dealt with is bullshit. Literally, my entire career as a young woman in the most shady industry or the shadiest market in the industry, it’s just been nonstop bullshit.

Now, literally all I see is bullshit, so I’m actually really good at that. I created the podcast because I don’t want people to get fucked over. That’s it. I’ve been fucked over, everyone I know has, and if I can just save one person from getting into the industry with an idealistic expectation, then I’ve done my job. That’s the other thing, I made the podcast too, but people don’t want to listen. They just want to pick your brain because they’re lazy. I’m like, “Look dude, I put it up there so you can go check that, and when you’re ready to pay me, call me.”

TG Branfalt: During an episode, you say legalization is just another form of prohibition, and this is something that I firmly have believed in. I’m a libertarian leaning sort of guy. You say something along the lines of … Actually, I have it written down, but I’m not going to be able to find it. With more laws, there’s more laws to break.

Kristen Yoder: Exactly.

TG Branfalt: I’m in New York, Cuomo just took legalization out of the budget. My friends were all like, “Boo hoo,” and I’m like, “that’s great, man. The black market’s treated me fine for 16 years.” I think I know what you mean by that. A lot of people aren’t going to agree with the statement, legalization is just another form of prohibition. What do you mean by that?

Kristen Yoder: I mean, the key word is legal, and the laws are so restrictive, and the compliance is so difficult to follow, and then the regulations are changing all the time, that it kills small businesses. It makes it nearly impossible to make it through the first years of legalization, or legalization in general. Because it’s just too expensive for most people. When you have laws, you have an illegal market. I mean, literally, legalization turns a medical industry into a capitalistic industry, and anyone who can’t be a licensed whatever, they are now criminals straight up. I loved Prop 215 because it was gray, and if you’ve got a good lawyer, you could get out of things. But, I had someone telling me because he has been arrested for growing, he had to go to Federal Court and there is no medical cannabis defense in Federal Court.

He’s strongly for legalization, but I just disagree because legalization doesn’t mean you can have home grows. I think that’s what a lot of people think. Legalization has different flavors based on the state, and in California we aren’t the fifth largest economy in the world because we care about people or anything like that. We’re literally run by special interest. Prop 64, our legalization, just fucked everyone, literally. I mean, two thirds of our state hasn’t even adopted legalization. How does that work? I tell people, “You want to know what national legalization looks like? Look at California,” because all these states are going to be like, “Oh, states rights. We don’t want to do it.” That’s the way it works.

Why would … I mean, considering that special interests are the ones really behind legalization, besides the drug policy alliance, which I really question their motivations. But anyways, it just isn’t for the people in the most part. I mean, plus the taxes and it’s just really depressing watching people in the industry get basically screwed out of the industry they went to jail for, by wealthy capitalist that do not care about anyone in the industry.

TG Branfalt: What would you prefer to legalization?

Kristen Yoder: I mean, decriminalization would be awesome if decriminalization meant that it was not treated like a crime. The problem is decriminalization does not give you a regulated market, which means sales and distribution and everything like that is still illegal or quasi illegal, which people will still get arrested. But people are going to get arrested either way. It depends on who you’re asking. If you’re talking to someone who’s got a felony on their record and they went to jail for a home grow, they’re going to want legalization because it’s going to protect them. They think, but the key is to read the legalization measures before you vote for it.

TG Branfalt: Did you vote for the law? Can I ask you that?

Kristen Yoder: Oh God. No, dude. Hell no. I mean, I’ve read that shit, and you know what? I was going to debate it until they tried to put me on a panel with a crazy lawyer and I was up against a drug war victim and CBD nuns. I’m like, “Whoa, dude. You’re setting me up. I’m not supporting the police on this. This is just a bad deal,” and now everyone is crying, and I’m like, “you’re the one who fucking voted for it. No pity. I’m sorry, but it’s your fault.” Now it’s just too late. What are we going to do? We can’t turn back. It’s very depressing.

TG Branfalt: You mentioned that you were invited to a conference. You’ve spoken about … you’ve spoken at several conferences and some of the talks that you gave were about women in the cannabis industry, and I just want to talk to you a bit about that. Do you think that women are underrepresented in this space?

Kristen Yoder: Oh, my God. Yeah. The fact that people think women are breaking a grass ceiling because of a Forbes article in 2017, does not by any means mean that A, it’s true, or B, that we’re winning. They actually compared the fact that, in the conventional industries or in general business, women are 21% of the industry. But in the cannabis industry in 2017, women are 27%. Are we supposed to be glad that we’re only a little less marginalized? I mean, come on. That was 2017.

Women have been leaving the industry because it’s a boys’ club, and especially with all these Wall Street and investor wealthy people coming in, treating women like sexual objects, not investing in their companies, women getting pushed out of their companies by their board of advisors. I mean, in Canada, I believe 92% of all cannabis businesses are owned by men. I’m constantly out there trying to dispel these myths that make men feel better because it’s not true.

TG Branfalt: Is there any way to bridge this gap? I mean, there’s a minority problem in this space. There’s obviously a women … not a women problem, but in terms of equity, is there anything that can be done? I mean, short of more regulations?

Kristen Yoder: Well, more regulations doesn’t really help anybody. You can’t require a … I mean, I don’t know, dude. Okay. There’s social equity in California, and social equity for Oakland, example. There is social equity, which they go by neighborhoods that have been defined as being over-policed, then they go by income requirements. Meaning, if you had a nonviolent drug offense that fucked your life up and your income, where you make 80% less than the median average income of your neighborhood, you qualify to be a social equity applicant. By being a social equity applicant, you will get priority in licensing over existing businesses.

Here’s the problem. This is such an over-regulated industry that … Do you really think that people with no background in running these businesses are going to succeed? I don’t know, man. I mean, we really got to train people. Even business people fail at this. Second of all, guess what’s happening? Rich investors are just picking up social equity applicants. I mean, in a way exploiting them for the licenses, which defeats the purpose. I mean, I think all intentions are good or whatever, but are they actually going to make a difference? I don’t know, dude.

None of these social equity programs have actually worked yet. I think that’s what happens when the government gets involved. They fuck it up. They always do. I mean, it’s a definite problem, it’s something we need to address. But let’s not kid ourselves. Legalization is capitalism, and capitalism does not care about people. Who runs everything? Rich white people. I mean, who’s fucked up the world? White people. I don’t know, dude. Can we fix it? Mm-mm (negative) I tell people, “Don’t come to me for motivation.” You know what I’m saying?

TG Branfalt: No. I mean, it’s a really harrowing truth that I don’t think does get enough attention. To your point, two-thirds of California doesn’t even have … allow legal sales and it’s probably those same areas that were really bad to minorities when enforcement was in full effect. It’s not really helping anybody, to your point.

Kristen Yoder: Well, I think also something to consider is, if you don’t regulate your industry, you are willfully allowing an illicit industry, which will only cost you money and enforcement. Not only that, you’re fucking the state from their tax money, which they need to enforce legalization because if you don’t have enforcement, then what’s the point of getting licensed? Because you’re going to get over-taxed, over-regulated and probably grounded, destroyed. Then, there’ll be some wealthy dude who will buy up the shell of your company for pennies on the dollar because you don’t have any options to get out of it.

This is a freaking problem. I mean, I had this idea that will never happen, but we should charge any city or county, that decides to opt out of regulating their industry, a specific fee based on their population. Minimum $1 million a year, and if you want to fuck around and not regulate the industry and have an illicit industry, then you need to pay for it. Maybe if you pay for it, you might change your mind and actually tax it, regulate it and be a part of the system, not a problem. But until then, we’re fucked. Two thirds of the state, that’s insane. What were they thinking?

TG Branfalt: That’s mostly … Where is that mostly? Is it pocked out or?

Kristen Yoder: Yeah, it really is. I mean, even if they allow cultivation, they don’t allow shops. I mean, the state had to pass the bill to allow delivery all over the state because they left two thirds of the state as a cannabis desert. Here’s the other thing that people don’t realize, legalization destroys medical cannabis because the government would rather just wrap two programs into one and not deal with medical. But the problem is, medical patients, A, need higher dosage products because they’re using it for medical things. But if it’s only a recreational market, they limit edibles at a 100 milligrams. Not only that, then you have all these crazy taxes. A chocolate bar that used to be 180 milligrams that sold for $20, is a 100 milligrams and it sells for $40. When you make legalization and all of these cities decided to opt out, the medical dispensaries are also fucked. Who wins?

TG Branfalt: I didn’t know that the medical dispensaries also weren’t allowed if they’d got rid of rec.

Kristen Yoder: I mean, look, man, if they had regulations in the first place, then they probably regulate the industry, but it’s coming up with their own specific greedy bullshit that makes them not do it in the first place. I mean, dude, literally one city in California was requesting … not requesting, requiring $50 per square foot of cultivation tax to be paid up front. What? That’s insane. I mean, another city, they were telling people that if they wanted to grow at home, they would have to get a permit through the city, which is unconstitutional because it’s our right to grow and they don’t need to know our business. It’s all of these different things where we got fucked. Totally.

TG Branfalt: Have you heard of anyone considering challenging that ban based on constitutional grounds?

Kristen Yoder: I mean, people are really just trying to survive right now, and I think … I mean, the first episode I did for the CannaBS Detector was with this incredible lawyer. I mean, I just quizzed him on every way to sue and be sued in the cannabis industry, and I asked, “Couldn’t we sue the State for fucking up?” People are suing the State for the delivery bill because they’re like, “We don’t want this in our area.” I mean, it’s just special interest in the end.

TG Branfalt: I do want to ask you this question that’s sort of unrelated to what we’ve been talking about. But I’m really interested to get your response. I was interviewing somebody … I was interviewing a company from Maryland which was led by females, and they … medical company, they offer products geared towards women. What they said was that they adopted these monikers for their products based on strain names being seen by some as too masculine, AK-47, green crack, things of that nature. I’m wondering first, what you think about that, whether or not strain names are too masculine. How do you feel personally about products that are marketed toward women with pinks and purples?

Kristen Yoder: I mean, A, I have been in the industry so long that if I actually had to buy cannabis, I think I failed somewhere in my career. With that said, I’m not a consumer like that. If it appeals to women, sweet dude, we’ve been marginalized in every other way, the thing is, it’s not different. But I mean, marketing is marketing. I think with the names, genetics actually matter. People don’t do the genetics, breeders, fino hunters, whatever. They don’t do this so you can change it into some fluff bullshit. You know what I’m saying? Okay. I don’t support green crack, but blue dream or … I mean, even AK-47, that’s very established genetics. If you’re going to change the name, you at least owe people what it actually was in the first place.

There’s a company called Canndescent in California. They’re cool. Love it. I love their approach, but they changed all the names to like Calm, or Relax, or whatever. But it doesn’t work like that for everyone. In my opinion, I mean, A, independence sativa is bullshit because it’s the terpenes that affect it. When you’re calling something Calm, that’s placebo effect right there. You’re actually influencing people to think that that’s what’s going to happen, and if you didn’t, what would they actually feel? Which is the whole point of my terpene class that I teach, is that stop guessing. Don’t … It’s not sativa or indica. What if you just bought cannabis and consumed it with no expectations? It will probably have a different effect than if you bought something called Calm. You know what I’m saying?

TG Branfalt: Yeah. Do you think terpenes are the next … I guess-

Kristen Yoder: Totally. Yeah, no. It is. Dude, I mean, I always ask people in my class, “What do you do when someone hands you a nug?” You smell it. That’s what you do. We follow our noses. I know if it’s sour diesel or not because of the terpene profile. I learned this at the lab I was working at. It took me about a month to come into acceptance that I was spreading bullshit for five years at a dispensary, which is another reason why I’m so passionate about dispelling this to make up for that. But, I mean, even this, I would tell people whatever they wanted to hear to get them to leave, and that’s exactly what they want it to feel. Which then made me wonder, what does cannabis do?

But now we know that it’s the terpene profile, not necessarily the potency. It’s not just THC, it’s THC and other cannabinoids and the terpene profile. Once you figure out what strain you like, look it up online, look up the terpene profile, and then find other strains that have the same dominant terpenes. The other thing is, this is not strains, it’s cultivars or chemovars, but you can only be so anal, really, before you start turning people off.

TG Branfalt: What’s your favorite strain? What’s your favorite terpene profile? [crosstalk 00:32:15]

Kristen Yoder: I love Bubba Kush or Master Kush or Hindu Kush. It’s got this meaty mentholy spicy flavor. But it’s so hard to actually find those strains because people mislabel things, which is so annoying. It’s like, “Dude, if it’s not OG, don’t call it OG just to charge more money because it doesn’t even smell like OG.” Which is a problem. I mean, do we have so many issues to deal with? I mean, dude, you don’t go to a grocery store and buy a green apple and call it a red apple. I mean, rose growers don’t spend all their time coming up with specific rose breeds or species or whatever so that you can just call it a rose. You know what I’m saying? We need to respect the growers. I mean, after all, they get fucked by everybody, yet they are the basis of the industry. I mean they get fucked by everybody because they’re at the bottom of the supply chain. They do the most work and they get the least amount of money.

TG Branfalt: Is there any push to at least change that set up by people in the industry that you’ve spoken to?

Kristen Yoder: Well, I know that there are companies like … What is it? Bio something. Oh, Phylos and other companies that are like, “Look, send us your products so we can map the genome and add it into our systems, so when big businesses and corporations come in and start patenting different things, we can show that this existed before them and they don’t own it.” The thing is, is once that company gets bought up by a big company, then a massive company now has everybody’s information. It’s a catch-22, and really, who’s going to regulate it? There is no such thing.

TG Branfalt: How bad is the corporate problem in California?

Kristen Yoder: It’s huge. I mean, most states don’t allow outside investment into their state when they’re starting because that fucks everyone in the state. California was like, “Hey, dude. Anyone can come in.” Now we have all of these investors making stupid investments, really investing with their penis or something because they’re not thinking about what they’re doing, and they’re fueling a bunch of sociopaths that don’t know how to run businesses, and everyone suffers working for them. They keep getting bigger. I’m not going to say any names, but there’s some really big companies run by super shitty people and it’s because stupid investors keep giving them money. I think this is a big problem. Plus these people don’t get high. They waited. I mean, dude, John Bayner. Okay. He’s like-

TG Branfalt: Yeah, Bayner.

Kristen Yoder: He’s pushing for federal legalization. I questioned his motives. He runs … I mean, he’s-

TG Branfalt: It’s got to be money.

Kristen Yoder: … on the board of Acreage Holdings, which wants to own the industry. I say, “Fuck those guys. Fuck John Bayner. Fuck the ex Canadian prime minister.” None of them were supportive of cannabis when we were going to jail, yet now they’re all about what? Making tons of money off of it? No, I’m not going to support these people exploiting my industry.

TG Branfalt: In lieu of support though, I mean, isn’t somebody like Bayner at least a big enough to maybe get some of these conservatives Republicans who are … if he can help change their mind then maybe less people go to jail and maybe-

Kristen Yoder: Dude, if he changes their mind and national legalization happened, we’re fucking done. We’re done. That’s the last thing protecting small businesses. Look, the cannabis industry is a risk. If you’re not willing to take the risk, you don’t really deserve to be in the industry in the first place. I haven’t gone to jail, so obviously I’m not representing everyone, and that sucks, dude. But federal legalization — dude, Hemp Farm bill that just passed. That doesn’t mean you can grow hemp wherever you want now because states-

TG Branfalt: No.

Kristen Yoder: … can control it. If we do federal legalization, the next step is globalization. Let me give you an example of globalization. There is a company called … I think it’s InstaDose Pharma in Canada. They have spent a ton of money investing in the DRC and Colombia or something, in South America. They grew so much hemp. Supposedly that they had 2 million liters of CBD that’s going to come into the Canadian industry. They propose that that will drop the prices of CBD wholesale by 96%. There’s no way Americans could compete with third world countries. I mean, ask any farmer. Let me tell you, this depresses people, but this is a reality.

There was an article by The Guardian that said that farmers have the highest suicide rate by all industries combined. The thing is, is you don’t hear about it because farmers stage their deaths to look like accidents so their family can get life insurance to bail them out of debt. That’s a fucking problem.

TG Branfalt: Holy shit.

Kristen Yoder: But why don’t you add on the fact that you were growing cannabis for 20 years, and now you’re still … A, it’s still illegal even with federal legalization because you’re not licensed. Then, if they had a global market, even then, everyone’s fucked. I actually know of three … I’ve heard about three people that were in the industry that took their lives last year because of the stupid regulations fucking up their livelihoods. I think government needs to understand what they’re doing, but honestly, I don’t think they care.

TG Branfalt: I mean, I’m there with you. Taxation staffed and-

Kristen Yoder: Like …

TG Branfalt: … the government is the biggest murderer in the world.

Kristen Yoder: No taxation without representation. You know what I’m saying?

TG Branfalt: Nobody believes that anymore.

Kristen Yoder: Whoops! People are done. That’s the problem. That’s why we don’t want John Bayner talking. Dude, all he is, is talking Republicans into exploiting our industry, not protecting us. No, I don’t want that. I don’t want these guys in the industry. They don’t fucking deserve it.

TG Branfalt: I could sit here and I could talk t youo for another hour and a half, but I cannot.

Kristen Yoder: I know. I could go off. I go off every day these … If you can’t tell, this shit makes me heated, which is the whole point-

TG Branfalt: No, you’re passionate. You’re passionate, and you rightfully should be. I mean, you’ve been part of DEA raid several times. You’ve been in the industry before there was this industry, and I mean, I admire your forthrightness and it’s a breath of fresh air. I think, in an industry that people want so badly to call it a win, when the reality is it’s just fucking people, fucking farmers, and it’s-

Kristen Yoder: Fucking themselves, man.

TG Branfalt: … ultimately, more people are going to go … ultimately people are still going to go to fucking jail over this.

Kristen Yoder: Yes, exactly. Come on, guys, let’s pay attention. This is the other thing. I’m putting together a tour for my terpene class and my podcasts, and I’m calling it the Common Scents tour, but a scents spelled like S-C-E-N-T-S, and the whole point is I want to teach you about terpenes but also critical thinking, and maybe get you to start sniffing out the bullshit instead of believing it. Because unless we start questioning the motives behind the things that are coming up, we are going to fuck ourselves. There’s really no excuse. If you hear me talk, then I’m holding you personally responsible for fucking things up if you vote for stupid things. Don’t even tell me if you voted for it. You know what I’m saying?

TG Branfalt: I’ve never had an opportunity, I’ve never lived in a legal state, but like I said, When Cuomo was pitching it in the budget, people around me are excited and I’m just like, “Guys, it’s not going to be what you think it is.”

Kristen Yoder: None of these governments pass this to help people. Okay, they pass it for money, period.

TG Branfalt: When I was in Vermont, they legalized … basically decriminalize it. There was no shops or anything in the regulations and a little gray market occurred. But it was basically just the same people just doing the same thing, just no longer afraid that when they get pulled over with an ounce or two that they’re actually going to go to jail for it, or even have it taken from them.

Kristen Yoder: That’s the way to go.

TG Branfalt: They’re talking about regulations, probably as we speak.

Kristen Yoder: I mean, they probably are because they want money. But, look, if you are a part of the regulations, if you don’t vote for things that are going to fuck you up, that’s the key. You got to keep fighting. If you want to do something better, then you need to pull together and come up with a better solution. Because just being against it … I mean, it’s not going to work if we just buy everything, maybe we could influence some things. It might not be as bad if people were really pushing what would help people. But if we leave it to lobbyists and government officials, no one’s going to win but them.

TG Branfalt: Well, that’s how it’s been, at least, our entire lifetimes. I feel that.

Kristen Yoder: It’s called capitalism, straight up.

TG Branfalt: It’s crony capitalism. It’s a goddamn shame.

Kristen Yoder: Look at our president. Need we say more?

TG Branfalt: You’re going on this tour, terpenes Common Scents, just going in California or?

Kristen Yoder: No. No. I’m starting off in Jamaica next month, and I’m going to be teaching doctors about terpenes. Then California, I’m going to go up the coast in May. June, I’m hoping to go across Canada. July, I don’t know. Wherever people pay me to go. I’m not coming to the East Coast until autumn because I’m not trying to sweat. You know what I’m saying?

TG Branfalt: It’s 40 degrees here right now. It’s perfect.

Kristen Yoder: Yeah, but not during the summer. It’s horrible. Plus I always wanted to see the leaves change.

TG Branfalt: Yeah. It’s a good time. I’ll definitely look for you if you do make it under the East Coast. Where can people find the Bullshit Detector and more about you?

Kristen Yoder: I highly recommend anyone in the cannabis industry to get on LinkedIn. It has the best industry. This is where the future is. It’s the smart people. People don’t put up with Facebook emotional bullshit. I mean, that’s what I love about it. People actually really hold their feeds seriously. So LinkedIn, I am linkedin.com/in/thatskristenyoder. If you connect with me, I’ll keep you informed and I have over 22,000 connections that are, for the most part, awesome people. You can find me on Instagram at Soil to the Oil, and on my Instagram page there are links to my other Instagrams for both of my shows, and on those bios, there is a link to a document that has every episode on it. Then you can find me. My website is soiltotheoil.com.

TG Branfalt: Thank you so much for coming on the show, taking the time. I know that you’re busy. Like I said, breath of fresh air. I’m excited to keep listening to your podcast, and hopefully I get to catch this Common Scents tour if you make it out east or into parts of Canada, because I’m close to the border, just in case shit goes south.

Kristen Yoder: I know, dude. I’m planning on marrying a Canadian for an exit. Because … Don’t marry for love, marry for benefits. The other thing that I didn’t mention was my podcast, the part of my tour with my podcast is to go around and get the voices of everyone that’s getting fucked over by their regulations. I mean, dude, Canada, wow. They’ve really messed. Everywhere has messed up and there are victims everywhere, and it is my goal to give them a voice because I feel like they’ve really been marginalized. Stay tuned, everyone.

TG Branfalt: It’s incredible. You’re incredible, man.

Kristen Yoder: Thank you.

TG Branfalt: Thank you so much again for coming on the show.

Kristen Yoder: Thanks for having me.

TG Branfalt: Dog, what are you doing? My dog just showed up. You said enough. You can find more episodes of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast in the podcast section of ganjapreneur.com, and in the Apple iTunes Store. On the Ganjapreneur.com website, you’ll find the latest cannabis news and cannabis jobs, updated daily along with transcripts of this podcast. You can also download the Ganjapreneur.com app in iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Trim Media House. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Five Ganja-Inspired Gifts for Your Friends and Family

5/23/2019

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What do Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and birthdays all have in common? They are all gift giving occasions. Unfortunately, picking the right gift is not always easy. In many cases, gift giving can be a tedious and stress-inducing task. Sure, you can go with safe options like socks and chocolates, but if you ever want to be invited anywhere again, you might want to consider something more personal and original.

Lucky for you, we got you covered for the next time you need a unique gift for someone in your life. Here are five cannabis-inspired gifts for everyone from your significant other to your co-workers:

For Your Partner: Heart Shaped Bong

Surprisingly, bongs can give you the opportunity to be creative and romantic in a very unique way. Can’t find a heart-shaped bong? Look for other shapes that might hold a special meaning for your partner and you. Was your first date a visit to the zoo? Maybe an elephant-shaped bong will do. Does your partner love Harry Potter? Look for a lightning bolt shaped bong! When it comes bongs, combinations of shapes and colors are almost infinite.

For Your Parents: CBD Oil

Oils and tinctures made with CBD are quickly becoming the most popular cannabis-based product in the market today. Thanks to its proven anti-inflammatory properties, a daily dose of CBD can help with symptoms related to chronic pain, insomnia, and anxiety. The best part is that Hemp Oil can be mixed into foods and beverages like coffee making them the perfect gift for mom or dad. Just make sure to buy hemp-derived CBD products free of THC, so your parents only feel the medicinal effects of cannabis.

For Your Friends: Hemp Edibles

Edibles like gummy bears and candy are the most delicious and fun way to benefit from all that CBD has to offer. Your friends are guaranteed to enjoy the delicious assortment of flavors which make these CBD snacks perfect for both new and experienced users. Hemp Gummies are also available in night-time versions in case you know of any insomniacs in your social circle. These relaxing CBD gummy bears are infused with melatonin which is the natural compounds responsible for regulating sleep cycles in humans.

For Your Grandparents: CBD Cream

Used by athletes, fitness experts, and yogis, CBD pain relief rub is widely used by many to alleviate muscle and joint pain. CBD creams can be particularly effective for localized pain associated with conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia which is why it has become a must-have item for thousands of older adults. If you want to go the extra mile for your grandparents, get them a CBD cream bundle which comes with a bottle of CBD oil. Incorporating oil and cream into one’s daily routine can maximize the effects of CBD, providing faster and stronger relief.

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The Lone Star State's state flag flying between two U.S. flags at the Texas state capitol building.

Texas Senate Approves MMJ Expansion Bill

5/23/2019

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The Texas Senate has unanimously approved a measure to expand the state’s list qualifying conditions list for its medical cannabis program, the Texas Tribune reports. The measure still needs to be reconciled by the House, who can approve the Senate’s changes or amend the legislation in a conference committee before the legislature adjourns in five days.

The bill changes the medical cannabis law to include all forms of epilepsy; seizure disorders; multiple sclerosis; spasticity; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease; terminal cancer; autism; and incurable neurodegenerative diseases. It also removes provisions requiring patients to receive the approval of two licensed neurologists to access the program.

The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Donna Campbell, keeps the 5 percent THC cap on medical cannabis products and removes a requirement by the House bill that calls for a research program to assess the efficacy of medical cannabis for various conditions.

“This bill is about compassion. For patients participating in the [Compassionate Use Program], they have had a remarkable and life-altering change because of this. That’s compassion.” – Campbell, to the Tribune

During the debate, some lawmakers had called on the Senate version to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the regime; however, Campbell said there isn’t “good scientific data” that supports adding PTSD to the qualifying conditions list.

“I hope — I hope — that we can get the definitive research necessary to be able to include PTSD, traumatic brain injury and those other illnesses that are very difficult to measure,” Campbell said during the debate.

Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had indicated that the medical cannabis expansion bill was dead on arrival in the Senate, but Campbell said that Patrick had actually helped craft the newly-approved bill.

The bill initially passed the House 133-10 with two members voting present. If the chamber approves the Senate version, it will move to Gov. Greg Abbot for his signature.

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Hemp Farm

Washington Hemp Farmers Plan 6K Acres

5/23/2019

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Washington farmers intend to plant more than 6,000 acres of hemp this year after planting just 140 acres last year and 175 acres in 2017, the Capital Press reports. In 2018, the hemp crop was grown by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the majority of the hemp grown in 2017 was also by one farm.

The massive increase in Washington hemp crops comes after state officials approved hemp cultivation for CBD oil production. Since the April reforms, the state Agriculture Department has licensed 35 new growers, 21 of which also obtained a processing license. The department is reviewing another 20 to 25 applications. According to state data, the state issued 11 hemp cultivation licenses in 2018.

Despite the increased interest, Washington’s industry is scant compared to neighboring Oregon where 1,342 growers are licensed to plant 46,219 acres of hemp this year – up from 7,808 acres in 2018. Other states are also showing massive licensing increases following the passage of the federal Farm Bill last year, which removed hemp from the federal drug schedule. Tennessee has issued more than 2,600 licenses this year after issuing just 226 last year and most of the 2019 licenses are for fewer than five acres.

Industrial Hemp Association of Washington lobbyist Bonny Jo Peterson said she expects even more licenses to be issued in Washington, adding that she is “completely overwhelmed with everything going on, but at the same time excited.” However, she predicts there will be an oversupply.

“I’ve been saying that all along. Like with any industry, there will be an over-saturation,” she said in the report, adding that the infrastructure for the more industrial uses – such as products from fiber and seeds – “isn’t there like it is for CBD.”

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved CBD for consumption but is holding a public hearing on May 31 as part of its rule-making process.

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Pro-Legalization New Jersey Senator ‘Skeptical’ of Decrim Plans

5/23/2019

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New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, is “very skeptical” of plans to decriminalize cannabis possession in the state, preferring comprehensive legalization instead, NJ.com reports. The push for adult-use legalization in the Garden State stalled earlier this year after Sweeney and Gov. Phil Murphy were unable to get the 21 votes needed to pass the bill.

“I’m still struggling with it. I want to legalize marijuana. But having dealers on the corner where the worst that’s gonna happen is they get a $50 ticket, in my mind, people will be less fearful.” – Sweeney, to NJ.com

Sweeney indicated that Murphy also favors legalization to decriminalization, but the Senate leader said he is “willing to listen” to the sponsors of the decriminalization bill – which would impose fines of $50 on possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis.

Sweeney suggested that in lieu of on-the-books decriminalization, the “best course of action” might be for the governor to instruct the state attorney general to not prosecute low-level possession crimes. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told NJ.com that while city prosecutors can’t adopt their own decriminalization policies, they should use their discretion and prosecute such crimes on a case-by-case basis.

Alyana Alfaro, Murphy’s spokesperson, said that while giving municipal prosecutors leeway in enforcement is “an important step,” the governor “believes that legalization must be the ultimate end goal in order to prevent continued injustices.”

State Sen. Ronald Rice said Murphy is “wrong” about his decriminalization position and “trying to find reasons to justify his wrongness.”

“It was OK to get us out immediately if we legalize it. But now they can’t make money, we’re gonna stay in jail because they can’t make money,” Rice said.

Following the failed legislative legalization bid, Murphy used an executive order to expand the state’s medical cannabis regime to reduce patient and caregiver fees and change the permitting structure. Sweeney said earlier this month that he plans on putting the issue to voters via a 2020 ballot initiative.

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First Annual Bellingham Budfest Coming July 14

5/22/2019

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BELLINGHAM, WA – May 2019 — The city of subdued excitement welcomes Bellingham Budfest, the first education driven cannabis culture extravaganza of its kind in town at Zuanich Point Park on Sunday, July 14th from 12pm to 9pm.

Attendees of the Whatcom County festival will enjoy five educational panels, seven live bands, eight silent disco DJs, and over 50 vendor booths. Event coordinators have partnered with Sustainable Connections to ensure a Toward Zero Waste festival including a water bottle filling station to cut down on plastic use.

Varying musical acts will grace the stage throughout the day while silent discos carry on into the night. Those looking for education can take part in panels moderated by Founder and Executive Director of the Cannabis and Social Policy Center Dr. Dominic Corva. Also enjoy meeting various businesses and nonprofits in the vendor area, or cool down in the refreshment section where vegan and vegetarian options will be bountiful. Don’t miss out on a cooking demo with Bong Appetit featured chef Unika Noiel or the Art Bazaar featuring beloved Whatcom glass artists.

Since the inception of recreational cannabis, Bellingham has been a cornerstone for cultivating the plant. On top of this, this city on the bay is rich in musical talent and appreciation. With these two symbiotic cultures feeding the pulse of the town, Bellingham Budfest felt like a natural next step for co-founder Amanda Mac. As a prominent professional in the cannabis industry, Amanda Mac has a vision for the future of cannabis culture. Legalization came first, but now it’s time to break the social stigma associated with cannabis-use.

Bellingham Budfest co-founder Stacy Bloch eloquently expressed this vision, “By focusing on community, tourism and economic activity, the mission of Bellingham Budfest is to normalize and legitimize cannabis culture’s place in society. This is the right time and Bellingham is the right place to move the cannabis industry’s image into the future.”

Bellingham Budfest is a Whatcom County lifestyle tourism festival that celebrates all that Whatcom County has to offer including our blossoming cannabis culture. This region is home to numerous successful companies from an array of industries and we want to showcase the special creative nature of this community, including cannabis.

Contact: Amanda Mac Co-Founder hello@bellinghambudfest.com

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