A commercial cannabis grow in Washington state.

U-Grow Rentals Creating Leasable Growing Facilities for California Patients

8/15/2017

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With the 2016 passage of California’s Prop. 64 legalization initiative, there are some big changes coming for the country’s most populous state. Many Californians are focused on the opening of adult-use dispensaries and the end of criminal cannabis possession charges; however, there is another very important aspect of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act: adults who are 21 and older will soon be allowed to grow their own cannabis plants — up to six at a time.

Growing your own cannabis is arguably the best way to keep costs low and to know exactly what goes into your medicine. But it can also be a daunting task — particularly in urban environments, where concerns about neighbor complaints, having enough space, property rates, inexperience with growing the plant, city inspectors, children, theft, and even the rare possibility of a federal raid may detract from the wonderful experience that is growing your own medicine.

U-Grow Rentals, a Los Angeles-based startup, aims to alleviate those concerns by leasing 100-square-foot growing spaces to patients and would-be home growers. From city to city, these 10 ft. by 10 ft. rooms will all be located under the same roof with U-Grow master growers onsite to answer questions and help patients down the path towards cannabis self-sufficiency.

The company likens these shared growing spaces to a standard storage facility — albeit significantly more aromatic — with just a typical renters agreement necessary before getting your own cannabis garden underway.

Under Prop. 64, municipalities throughout California will be required to allow their citizens to cultivate up to six cannabis plants with just “reasonable regulation” — and that requirement kicks in starting January 1, 2018. For this reason, U-Grow is aggressively seeking partnerships with city officials throughout all of California’s major population centers to make sure that every citizen has a reasonable shot at growing their own cannabis plants — even if they live in highly urban or particularly sensitive areas, such as near parks or school-grounds.

Each grow room rental will come equipped with 24-hour webcam access to allow for remote monitoring. Additionally, master growers will be available onsite to help patients monitor their plants and keep crops healthy. In fact, making use of a U-Grow rental can be as hands-on or hands-off as the renter wishes — the master growers are there to assist, answer questions, and to make sure that each renter achieves the fullest potential for their cannabis crops.

“Cannabis is very sensitive,” said Roland Cordova, CEO of U-Grow. “That is why we pay our Master Growers $120,000 per year. We engage our clients with 24-hour video access and the ability to learn how its done by interaction with their grower, so they can decide to bring it home when they know what they are doing.”

“We also believe that getting your medicine as inexpensively as possible is important,” said Cordova. “We guarantee at least 16 ounces every 60 to 90 days — that is a lot of medicine.”

With the calendar steadily marching towards a post-prohibition California, visit UGrowRentals.com to learn more about U-Grow’s unique business plan or to get in touch with a company representative.

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Holyoke Mayor Vetoes City Council-Approved Moratorium on Adult-Use Cannabis

8/15/2017

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Holyoke, Massachusetts Mayor Alex Morse has vetoed a moratorium on the recreational cannabis industry approved by the City Council, according to a MassLive report. In a letter to the council, Morse argued that the “only thing” the ordinance would do “is put the city at an economic disadvantage by dissuading interested investors” from considering starting their business in the town.

Morse, 28, has envisioned the cannabis industry providing jobs in Holyoke, encouraging cultivators to move into the vacant textile mills which comprise 1.5 million square feet of space.

“A moratorium that extends beyond the state’s (April 1, 2018) start date to receive applications will likely jeopardize the ability of businesses to secure licenses in Holyoke well beyond the July 2018 (legal sales) start date,” Morse wrote in his veto letter. “We run the risk of decreasing Holyoke’s competitiveness to attract this industry, decreasing opportunities for good, local jobs and new tax revenue.”

According to the report, Councilor at Large Rebecca Lisi said the city could save time by using the town’s already-established medical cannabis zoning regulations, and Morse agreed with her assessment. The council had voted for the moratorium 10-4, Lisi voted against the measure.

“From a land use and zoning standpoint, there is no difference between cannabis cultivation for medicinal purposes, for which we already have a robust special permit process, and recreational cultivation,” he wrote. “In both cases, the product goes through the same grow and processing cycle regardless of its intended end use.”

Morse urged the council to sustain his veto and, according to the report, the council will likely consider an override during its Sept. 5 meeting.

End

The Indiana state flag flying before a tree on a clear, winter day.

Indiana Excise Police Backtrack on CBD Confiscations

8/15/2017

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Indiana State Excise Police will no longer confiscate CBD products so long as they fall under the federal definition of hemp with THC limits less than 0.3 percent, WTHR-13 reports. The decision comes after the agency confiscated thousands of dollars of CBD products from Fresh Thyme grocery stores and other retailers.

“After a review of the situation, the Indiana State Excise Police will not confiscate CBD oil products from stores unless the products clearly violate Indiana law,” said Excise Police public information officer Heather Lynch in a statement to WTHR. “We will continue monitoring this issue and remain prepared to take enforcement action whenever appropriate.”

Following the June raids by Excise Police, a spokesperson indicated that CBD was “not legal to sell or possess in Indiana” and the business owners were charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a counterfeit controlled substance. According to the report, the store has neither had its products returned nor been informed as to the status of the criminal citations; its legal counsel was made aware of the policy changes by the news outlet rather than the State Excise Police.

Fresh Thyme was able to obtain the products from a store in Kentucky and temporarily restock their shelves. They hope to be fully re-stocked by Friday or Monday.

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A commercial cannabis crop hangs from the ceiling to cure.

Arkansas Has Yet to Receive Single MMJ Grower, Dispensary License Application

8/15/2017

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As the application deadline for Arkansas medical cannabis cultivators and distributors draws near, the state Department of Finance and Administration has not yet received any applications from potential operators, the Associated Press reports. However, Scott Hardin, spokesman for the department, said the agency is “not concerned” understanding the applications “require detailed and specific information that will take time to complete.”

“Applicants are likely performing their due diligence to provide quality applications,” he said in the report, adding that officials expect applications to be submitted closer to the Sept. 18 deadline.

The Finance and Administration Department expects to award five cultivation and 32 dispensary licenses.

According to Department of Health spokeswoman Katie White, the state has so far approved 404 medical cannabis patient applications. Director of Health Communications Marisha DiCarlo indicated that the agency has anticipated receiving about 30,000 patient applications. The ID cards cost $50 and must be renewed annually.

“This number was based on population, types of qualifying conditions, and trends in other states,” DiCarlo said in the report. “At this time, it is too early in the process to know if that number will be reached, since usable, legally obtained Arkansas marijuana is not yet available in the state.”

The state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law covers 18 qualifying conditions.

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Maryland Cannabis News

Eight Maryland MMJ Cultivators Receive Final Approval

8/15/2017

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Regulators in Maryland have approved final cultivation licenses for eight medical cannabis cultivation companies and some expect to begin growing immediately, while others anticipate it will take weeks to begin cultivation, the Baltimore Sun reports. There are still six companies that have received preliminary licenses awaiting final approval.

Among those approved are Freestate Wellness, Curio Wellness, Temescal Wellness, Harvest of Maryland, Green Leaf Medical, HMS Health, Holisticm Grassroots of Maryland and Blair Wellness. ForwardGro, which will operate in Anne Arundel County, was granted the state’s first final license in May. Two other potential operators underwent final inspections on Monday.

Curio Wellness CEO and founder Michael Bronfein, who will operate out of a 46,000-square-foot warehouse in Timonium, indicated that in addition to medical cannabis cultivation, the company’s job is “to educate physicians, patients, regulators, [and] the community” on medical cannabis.

“This is strictly a wholesale manufacturing facility, so we will distribute across the state from this location, but there will be no retail sales here at all,” he said in a WBAL-11 report.

The state expects to license 102 total dispensaries, but thus far only one, the Wellness Institute of Maryland, has been awarded a final license.

In June, the Maryland Court of Appeals blocked Circuit Judge Barry Williams from holding a hearing that would have delayed the licensing process, which has been marred by conflict of interest claims over medical cannabis application reviewer industry ties, and favoritism. Williams is presiding over the case by minority-business owners who claim the licensing process didn’t follow racial equity provisions included in the legislation.

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A skyscraper covered in glass windows.

iAnthus Strikes New Deal to Acquire New York MMJ Producer, Terminates Deal with Different Licensee

8/14/2017

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iAnthus Capital Holdings, a venture capital firm publicly traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Citiva Medical, LLC, which holds one of New York’s 10 medical cannabis licenses. The transaction is worth $18 million in cash and iAnthus stock.

Previously, iAnthus had agreed to acquire Valley Agriceuticals, another New York licensed producer; however iAnthus CEO Hadley Ford said that deal has been terminated after the two companies “were unable to reach definitive legal agreements.”

“We continue to believe New York is a growth market,” Ford said in a press release. “Our investors expect us to find ways to create value in the high growth U.S. cannabis market.”

Citiva NY was granted a licensed by the state Department of Health to operate four New York City dispensaries – one each in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Chemung and Dutchess counties – with a cultivation, extraction, and processing center in Orange County.

“We are excited to be partnering with iAnthus,” said Kim Volman, Citiva CEO. “Our team has spent decades meeting the pharmacy needs of patients in New York City. Combining our experience with the operational and capital markets expertise of iAnthus should allow us to scale quickly and execute on our mission to provide the highest quality, consistently-dosed and standardized cannabis medications to meet the specific needs of New York residents.”

The deal must be approved by the Canadian Securities Exchange and the New York Department of Health before it is finalized.

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A micro photo of the crystallized tip of a large cannabis bud.

Israel Approves MMJ Export Plan

8/14/2017

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Israeli Finance and Health ministers have approved a plan allowing medical cannabis to be exported from the country in a move that is estimated to bring in between NIS 1 billion ($279 million) to NIS 4 billion ($1.1 billion) in revenues, the Jerusalem Post reports. Exported products will include all forms of medical cannabis produced in Israel and so far more than 500 farmers have applied for an export license.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said the plan represents “significant economic potential” for the country “and will strengthen Israeli agriculture in general and agriculture in the Arava region in particular.”

“It will serve as an opportunity for the country to exploit its relative advantage in developing medical products from medical cannabis,” he said in the report.

Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman, who opposes the exportation plan, said he agreed to the request due to “international interest in Israeli medical cannabis” adding that officials “will ensure” that the health sector benefits from the state revenue increases.

The system includes several restrictions – the exports will be closely monitored by the state; exports will only be allowed to nations that have medical cannabis regimes that explicitly allow imports from Israel, and farmers must obtain a license from the Health Ministry to cultivate and export medical cannabis products.

Currently, there are eight licensed growers in Israel who produce about 10 tons per year.

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A medical cannabis patient's homegrown supply of cannabis plants.

Arkansas Medical Board Chairman Steps Down from MMJ Trade Association Board

8/14/2017

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The chairman of the Arkansas Medical Board, Dr. Steven Cathey, is no longer on the board of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Association, citing potential conflicts of interest, according to a Talk Business & Politics report.

“Where things changed for me was after I started reviewing my role as the state (Medical Board) chairman, I was fearful there would be a conflict of interest and in my opinion even a perception of conflict of interest would be inappropriate – so I declined to participate,” Cathey said in the report. “That was pretty much the bottom line.”

The neurosurgeon said that he does believe that Arkansas’ cannabis industry “needs a clinician’s voice and input” as physicians are “heavily involved” in the medical cannabis acquisition process.

“I think doctors need to be at the table when we consider medical and regulatory issues surrounding this new industry,” he said.

The shakeup comes less than a week after the creation of the AMMA, which is chaired by Little Rock attorney David Couch, who led the ballot initiative effort to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

After Cathey’s participation with the association had been announced, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a Talk Business & Politics interview, that he didn’t think “someone on the Medical Board should be associated with a medical marijuana advocacy group.”

The board is comprised with some former government officials, including former Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, and Dr. Richard Douglas, former assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Ronald Reagan.

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Hawaii's official state flag flying off the back end of a sailboat.

Hawaii Dispensary Moves to Appointment Only Amidst Product Shortage

8/14/2017

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Hawaii’s first licensed dispensary must close for two days and change their operating hours after the company’s products didn’t clear state testing certification by Saturday. Maui Grown Therapies opened for the first time last week after the Department of Health granted a license to Steep Hill Hawaii to test medical cannabis products.

“Due to high demand, the company sold out its first batch of certified flowers on Saturday. To prevent patients from fruitless trips to its dispensary, the company will close on Monday and Tuesday, August 14 & 15, and reopen on Wednesday, August 16 at noon,” the company said in a statement. “Due to uncertain product availability, the company will extend its sales by appointment policy until further notice.”

Christopher Cole, director of product management for Maui Grown, said that despite the testing laboratory approval, the company is currently only able to sell flower due to “restrictions placed on the only licensed lab.”

“It’s unfortunate that an administrative hindrance of this magnitude prevents patients from getting the help they need,” Cole said in the release. “We had planned to open with a full range of derivative products such as concentrates, oils, capsules and topical products, but at the eleventh hour we discovered that the State Labs Division had failed to certify a lab to conduct testing of manufactured products.”

Dr. Gregory Park, an oncologist and co-founder of Maui Grown, said it was “ironic” that the “vehemently anti-smoking” Health Department is “forcing cannabis patients to smoke to get relief.”

Neither Cole nor Park could ascertain when the ‘administrative hindrance’ would be resolved.

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Danny Sloat: Self-Healing Through Clean Cannabis Cultivation

8/11/2017

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Danny Sloat is the owner of Alpinstash, a Colorado cannabis cultivator known for producing premium-quality cannabis with an emphasis on environmentally friendly growing practices.

In this Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode, Danny joins our host TG Branfalt to talk about his company’s emphasis on an eco-friendly production process, the therapeutic value of growing your own cannabis plants, exciting research and cannabis cloning techniques that are being pioneered in Colorado, how the state’s cannabis marketplace has evolved over the years since legalization took effect, and more!

Listen to the podcast through the media player below, or keep scrolling down to read a full transcript of the interview.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

TG Branfalt: Hey there. I’m your host, TG Branfalt, and you’re 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 really excited. Our guest is Danny Sloat. He’s the owner of Alpinstash. How you doing today?

Danny Sloat: I’m doing real good, Tim, how you doing?

TG Branfalt: I’m great. Like I said, I’m real excited to have you on the show. You have a really, really interesting story. A real motivational story and we want to get into that first. Why don’t you tell us about your background, a little bit about your personal story and how that brought into the cannabis space?

Danny Sloat: Yeah, definitely. Shortly after I turned 21 I had some pretty bad abdominal pain. Went to the hospital, had a stay, tests, all that good stuff. They couldn’t find out what was wrong so I was just put on a regiment of opiates. Then over the years as I still continued testing and tried to figure out what was going on, bouncing from doctor to doctor, the opiates kind of increased and before I knew it, I was taking medication to treat the side effects of the opiates and medication to treat that side effects, so on and so forth. Somewhere in there on about 2005, I developed a nerve impingement syndrome called thoracic outlet syndrome. I was dealing with that, I was dealing with loss of nerves to my arm and, again, more opiates tossed on top of that.

Then in 2009 I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, which is a non-cancerous base of skull tumor. That required surgery. From the age of 21 through about 29, I was in a medical funk in which I was prescribed high doses of opiates. I’m sure, I assume your listeners are familiar with Fetanyl. It was the new scary opiate, but I was prescribed both patches and lollipops. In my point of view, I was blindsided. I have very much faith in the medical world and just kind of did what my doctors had told me to do. Before I knew it, I was in a really bad state physically after years of opiate use and other medications. Nothing was helping and I was just getting worse.

Then I decided as a last ditch effort at the time to try medical cannabis back in 2009. Almost instantly I found relief from the pain, which allowed me to taper myself off of these opiates that I had been on for seven, eight years at that point. Within six months I was off all the medication. I was on, I think, 19 different prescriptions at the peak. Had dropped about 80 pounds, back down to a healthy weight. Reengaged with life. Doing physical activities again. I contribute both the use of cannabis, but almost more important or even more important the growing of cannabis with reengaging me back into life. Then I recognized the value that cannabis had and decided to make that my focus and here I am today.

TG Branfalt: You’re not one of those people who used cannabis recreationally as a youth and then … That’s what I did. I used cannabis as a youth and then as I grew up and the aches and pains started catching up with me, and my own medical problems, and had my own battle with addiction, I started using cannabis as a medicinal way. That wasn’t the path that you had taken.

Danny Sloat: I’m from Boulder, Colorado, so I definitely had my use of cannabis when I was younger in high school and things like that, but between high school and the age of 29, I really didn’t partake very much at all. I found myself just not enjoying it. When I actually started it for medical use I was pretty hesitant because I had some bad experiences over the past few years. I had gotten my card in September and I don’t think I tried it until December when I finally gave it a shot. Yeah.

TG Branfalt: You started with one plant?

Danny Sloat: Yeah. It’s funny, actually back then there weren’t too many dispensaries that were obvious. The first one I went to had a big neon sign and they gave away free clones with purchase. I had enjoyed doing a lot of gardening, specifically container gardening, as a hobby up until that point so I just started growing that plant. Then when I found the benefits of it, I decided to go all in and made a lot of mistakes. A huge learning curve in the beginning there.

TG Branfalt: Tell me about that. Tell me about the experience of going from one plant to now you’re a registered grower, you’re growing a lot of different products. Tell me about going from that one plant to the registered grower. Tell me about what you learned and the obstacles that you faced.

Danny Sloat: Yeah. It’s funny, as somebody that does this as a hobby and then jumping into the commercial realm, there is, and I knew there would be, a huge learning curve. I took some steps to prepare myself. I spent some time going to school for horticulture and spent some time in the hydroponic industry, all while working to make this facility a reality. There’s been some major learning curves. You really have to be on your game when you go from a home grow to a commercial grow. You have to take into account a lot of … It’s much harder to control a bigger space, there’s a lot more at stake and that’s actually been the hardest thing is when you do it for fun and you have a dream of doing it professionally there’s a romanticized version of that. When you get in it, all of a sudden now, everything matters. The plant health, even though it was fine at home, now all of a sudden you care a lot more about it because your financial future and the goal you’ve been working towards for five years is on the line.

TG Branfalt: Well, and the Colorado market, the prices in that market have fluctuated a whole lot since the roll out of the market until now. How have you been weathering that storm?

Danny Sloat: Yes. From the time we started this facility to now, the prices have dropped. In some cases even 50%, while the taxes still remain high. However, it’s been easy for me to weather the storm. The product that we grow is the top of the top shelf. There aren’t very many people that can offer the same quality product we can, so there’ll always be a market for that. The thing that we’ve dealt with though is maintaining until a point where our brand is established and we can start demanding the price that our product deserves. I guess, for us to weather the storm it was more of a long term approach. I’m not trying to get rich, I’m not trying to make money in the short term, I’m just trying to do what I love and stay around. That strategy has worked very well and now we’re seeing the emergence, even more so, of the connoisseur market. You combine that with pesticide scares and pathogen issues. We are actually in a great position.

TG Branfalt: Tell me a bit about your strains and how you came to decide that these were the ones that you were going to cultivate. These were the ones that you were going to offer.

Danny Sloat: Yeah. The way that Colorado works is there’s a system called Metrc, it’s their seed to sale tracking system. In a lot of places and at the beginning before Metrc is in place, you could bring in strains, cuts and seeds from outside sources. If you had them at home or whatever you could do that. Now and when we started that, you can’t do that. You have to get all your genetics from an already existing facility on Metrc. Given how dangerous that can be from a plant health standpoint of pulling material from unknown and untrusted sources, I was really limited to the strains that I had from the initial purchase I made that we had quarantined and gotten healthy. We picked the best there and started breeding them. Since then, we’ve taken in a few more cuts from other facilities, but it’s really, really, really been limited. My passion is in genetics and breeding, so I use that as an excuse, but as a way to focus on making my own stuff so that I don’t put my garden at risk from unclean facilities.

TG Branfalt: You offer four CBD rich strains. This is starting to become a little bit more popular out here in Vermont. We have looser laws than probably not Colorado, but a lot of the rest of the country and it’s readily available. Are you, over there in Colorado, experiencing an uptake in the demand for CBD rich strains?

Danny Sloat: Just a little bit. Those CBD rich strains are something I’m really passionate about and I really believe in their value and in their quality too. I tell people when they’re trying to drink a beer or get buzzed, they don’t go to Everclear. They want a product that delivers flavor and good feeling and all that stuff. The CBD strains is what I think is a great product. A lot of people though are really hesitant to spend their money on something that they haven’t tried, or they don’t think it gets them high, or whatever reason they have, so the popularity of the CBDs as a flower has been increasing, but very slowly.

TG Branfalt: You said that you were passionate about the CBD strains. What drives that passion for you?

Danny Sloat: First of all, they’re really fun to grow. The products are great, very flavorful, good looking. They obviously have a huge medicinal benefit, which I appreciate. The other nice thing about them that I don’t feel like gets talked about lot is that because often they have a lower THC content and because the CBD helped balance out the negative side effects that can arise with THC, they’re really great smokes for almost anybody. More often than not, when I talk to people, especially people that are my parents’ age, they talk about smoking and getting paranoid.

‘Oh, I used to love smoking, but now when I do it, I get paranoid. I take one hit of today’s stuff and I just can’t hang.’ They’re able to try one of these CBD products and they get exactly what they’re looking for from a relaxation and getting stoned perspective, but as well as the medicinal benefits that change a lot of people’s minds. Again, I go back to that Everclear analogy. I feel like that side of the industry is hurting it and is hurting the image of it for a lot of people across the country moreso than it’s enhancing it.

TG Branfalt: I want to touch on a bit more about why you think CBD rich strains are a little more fun to grow and a little more about your grows, but before we do that, we’ve got to take a short break. This is the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, I’m TG Branfalt.

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TG Branfalt: Hey, welcome back to the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast. I’m your host TG Branfalt here with Danny Sloat, owner of Alpinstash. Before the break, you had said that CBD strains were fun to grow. I’m not a grower. I have conversations with them and I’ve never really heard that so could you elaborate on why they’re fun to grow in your opinion?

Danny Sloat: Definitely. I’ll start by saying any strain that does really well, looks good and smells good is fun to grow. What I enjoy about the CBD strains, some of the ones we have, they look dank as it gets. Frosty, they smell great and they’re with great structure. Then you do a test and you come to find out that there’s almost no THC in there and it’s almost all CBD. We’re talking .5% or less of THC and 24% of CBD. I just love seeing the reaction of people that come across that. In their mind, CBDs are ditch weed or hemp. It doesn’t look like something you’d want to smoke. When you grow them, they’re quite the opposite. Some of them turn great colors, they have great structure and they yield really well. It’s always fun to grow something that turns out unexpectedly awesome and a lot of these strains do.

TG Branfalt: I was at an event here in Vermont and they had jars of CBD flower. I opened the jar and I was really shocked with the overwhelming smell of citrus.

Danny Sloat: Yeah.

TG Branfalt: Is that something very common with these strains?

Danny Sloat: Yeah. I definitely find that. They definitely have a citrusy smell. Some of them have a little bit of almost like a cough syrup citrus, too, for whatever reason. I can guess, but it would be just purely a guess. It must be a shared lineage somewhere, but the majority of CBD strains that I come across do have that smell. Not all of them do, but a lot of them do.

TG Branfalt: Tell me about your approach to growing. It’s described as environmentally responsible, eco-conscious. Tell me about that approach and how you are incorporating these techniques.

Danny Sloat: Sure. The laws in Colorado, when I started, were such that an outdoor grow was very hard to do, so we do indoors. We use Nectar for the Gods, which is a sustainably sourced, natural nutrient system that is handcrafted in Eugene, Oregon. They have the second largest rain water reclamation facility in the state, so all the water used for the making of the nutrients is rain water. Most of the nutrients come from the byproduct of organic and sustainable farms, such as bone meal or the byproduct of the fishing industry. Crab meal and shrimp meal and things like that. We start with the nutrients being environmentally sustainable and well sourced. We also use low wattage lighting techniques or lightings. I’m able to achieve what is kind of considered an industry standard for 1,000 watt light, I’m able to pull that yield off with 315 watts. Less power going in, less energy required to cool that.

We also use a type of an a/c system that is a water cooled a/c system, which is up to 30% more efficient. We recycle our soil and we reuse our pots. Because we’re using organics, we don’t have to flush and collect a bunch of water that’s been wasted. One of the biggest impacts that the growing industry has is when you have salt-based fertilizers that can cause a build up and a toxicity, you have to continually flush those out of your grow media and then you have that salt nutrient rich water that you’re pouring down the drain. That gets into the ground water, that gets into the soil. They’re having big problems with that back east.

Then another thing is the use of synthetic nutrients. Most of those synthetic salts are strip mined out of the earth in a very negative way. Sometimes they come from all over the globe. I’ll give you an example. Phosphorous, which is a main nutrient used in flowering, is strip mined out of Morocco. There’s a finite supply of phosphorous in the first place. It comes out of the ground radioactive. Morocco can’t have radioactive material so they actually send it to the U.S., where we clean it of radioactivity, send it back to Morocco where they then bag it up and then send it back to America, where we then use it. That whole process is very bad for the environment in and of itself.

TG Branfalt: You obviously did a lot of research on the environmental impacts of these things. How important was it for you to have an environmentally responsible facility and practice?

Danny Sloat: To me, that’s very environmental. Sorry. I’ll redo that one. To me, that’s very important. The place that I grew up in the country is just by nature most people are pretty eco-conscious. As time goes on and factory farming becomes more prolific, you just see the problems associated with it. I felt like our industry does create waste and does create a carbon footprint, but it doesn’t have to be anywhere near what the industry standard is. There’s a lot of good growing practices, techniques and, these days, equipment that you can use to really be as environmentally sound as you can be and still have a successful business.

TG Branfalt: You’ve mentioned a couple of times how the industry has changed in Colorado since you’ve been a part of it. Now there’s even more new rules in Colorado, such as reducing the number of plants allowed for home grows. How have these new rules impacted the industry and what was the reaction by your colleagues to these changes?

Danny Sloat: Well, I kind of go against the grain of the industry, as I see it, in a lot of ways. I, and my company, was totally for patient and caregiver rights. I don’t believe in a plant count. I don’t believe that home grows or caregivers take anything away from my business in any way. Actually, I encourage anybody to grow a plant. Not only is it therapeutic, and it’s fun to do, and you can get as clean a product as you want it to be, but you also see the effort that goes in. One of the battles we face is we have giant corporations that are growing the equivalent of factory farming cannabis and here we are, everything we do is done by hand, there’s two other people besides myself that touch the plants. We take all of the steps to deliver the finest quality product, but they’re all done by hand.

Really, for people to appreciate that, one of the things they can do is grow it. I don’t see that as an issue at all. The industry, there was a lot of lobbyists from some of the corporations that were there pushing these plant count caps. They see it as a threat to their business. I I look at it from their side, I can see where they’re coming from in a way that they’re scared that their business is at risk, because the products they deliver are achievable by almost anybody. That’s kind of the situation we’re in, but it doesn’t bother me at all.

TG Branfalt: You go against the grain on that issue. What’s your take on the social use proposals in Denver?

Danny Sloat: I’m 100% for that. I would love to see that be available. First of all, because there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. Second of all, because of how available other substances like alcohol are and accepted socially. Another really important aspect is, we have tourists coming in from out of town. They can’t smoke in their hotel, they can’t smoke in their car, they can’t smoke out in public, but they’re here to enjoy Colorado. They’re here to enjoy cannabis. Where are they going? What are they doing? There should be a good option for that. It just makes sense. I can’t see why anybody’s opposed to it except for fear tactics.

TG Branfalt: I want to talk to you a bit about your partnership with Front Range. We’ll get into what that is, but before we do that, we’ve got to take a short break. This is the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I’m TG Branfalt.

At Ganjapreneur, we have heard from dozens of cannabis business owners who have encountered the issue of canna-bias, which is when a mainstream business, whether a landlord, bank or some other provider of vital business services, refuses to do business with them simply because of their association with cannabis. We have even heard stories of businesses being unable to provide health and life insurance for their employees because the insurance providers were too afraid to work with them. We believe that this fear is totally unreasonable and that cannabis business owners deserve access to the same services and resources that other businesses are afforded. That they should be able to hire consultation to help them follow the letter of the law in their business endeavors. That they should be able to provide employee benefits without needing to compromise on the quality of coverage they can offer.

This is why we created the Ganjapreneur.com business service directory. A resource for cannabis professionals to find and connect with service providers who are cannabis friendly and who are actively seeking cannabis industry clients. If you are considering hiring a business consultant, lawyer, accountant, web designer or any other ancillary service for your business, go to Ganjapreneur.com/businesses to browse hundreds of agencies, firms and organizations who support cannabis legalization and who want to help you grow your business. With so many options to choose from in each service category, you will be able to browse company profiles and do research on multiple companies in advance, so you can find the provider who is the best fit for your particular need. Our business service directory is intended to be a useful and well-maintained resource, which is why we individually vet each listing that is submitted.

If you are a business service provider who wants to work with cannabis clients, you may be a good fit for our service directory. Go to Ganjapreneur.com/businesses to create your profile and start connecting with cannabis entrepreneurs today.

TG Branfalt: Welcome back to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I’m your host, TG Branfalt, here with Danny Sloat, owner of Alpinstash. Before the break I had mentioned about your partnership with Front Range. Tell me what Front Range is, tell me about this partnership. I think it’s super cool, but I’ll let you explain it.

Danny Sloat: Sure. Front Range Biosciences is a startup bioscience tech firm. They have a few things that they’re trying to bring to the market. The first is a type of cloning known as plant tissue culture. That’s different than traditional cloning in that you take a very small piece of plant material, you essentially grow it in a Petri dish and before you put in that Petri dish you clean it and you sterilize it so that there’s no problems on the surface. One of the interesting things though is when you put plant tissue into culture, if there are any diseases within the plant, within the vascular system, those will come out in culture.

What they’re finding is that a lot of material that they bring in from other places has bacteria and fungus within the plant tissue. It still remains to be seen, there’s not a lot of research to say whether or not these are beneficial bacteria or fungus. Some of them certainly are not, but what they’re able to do is clean that out of the plant system. What you get back with plant tissue culture is a clean, healthy clone that’s been essentially sterilized and reinvigorated. That’s a great technique there, which by the way, is used in much of commercial agriculture production for many other crops.

The other thing that they’re looking at doing is some genetic and sequencing work down the future. Looking at the cannabis genome, identifying genetic traits that are responsible for certain aspects of the plant of the finished product and then being able to breed based on those genetic traits. You’re able to bring a plant to fruition much sooner and have it be much more stable. Then eventually a goal for them is to be able to do plant tissue culture, but combine that with cryo-preservation. You’d be able to take a sample of a plant tissue, put that on liquid nitrogen and essentially keep genetic material from which to clone from indefinitely in a clean state. The idea is that you could have a small freezer filled with every strain that you ever come in contact with and be able to pull those out, grow them and then put them back into storage as you need.

TG Branfalt: It’s futuristic. Cryogenics and these are things that you never think about entering the space. Why did you decide to enter into this partnership with them?

Danny Sloat: They approached us. They pitched that to me. I love science. I love seeing where the future is going. I love these new techniques. It was an exciting opportunity, not only to be able to have access to that, but just to watch it happen and be not so removed from it. How could I say no?

TG Branfalt: I see a lot and hear a lot when people bring up biosciences. People automatically think this is big pharma, these are people that are going to come in and take over the cottage industry. These partnerships are really important, especially for research, which is obviously very little of and hard to do. What do you think is the importance of these types of partnerships?

Danny Sloat: Well, I think the research is a huge key for many reasons. Anywhere from proper pest control and management, to sustainable and better growing practices, to disease diagnosis. All these things that are common place in every other crop, a tomato. There has been millions and millions of dollars in research done on tomatoes. That needs to happen in the cannabis space. Certainly, some people will use that, go towards the more GMO, Monsanto side of things. Unfortunately, I think that’s inevitable. Given the way industry runs and the way agriculture runs, some people will go that direction. From my standpoint of being just a small grow that’s trying to produce a high quality product, having access to some of these techniques can help me in the areas I’m lacking. I don’t have a huge facility in which to keep a ton of genetics. Instead, what I’m able to do is keep clones in a smaller state and keep a wider selection, so that can help me get to where I’m going.

TG Branfalt: I can tell that you’re super passionate about this and the path that you took to having your own facility and entering these partnerships that will help us understand the cannabis plant a little bit more, it’s really incredible. What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs looking to enter this space?

Danny Sloat: That’s a really good question. First off, I would say, think of what scale you want to be at and be realistic with that. I use the craft beer industry as an example of this. Here in Colorado there’s a ton of craft breweries. We also have Coors. If you want to exist as a craft brewery … Or if you want to make beer in Colorado, you can either go one of two ways. You can either be a small batch, hand crafted brewery that charges more per can than a 6 or a 12-pack of Coors. You survive because you’re great at what you do. Or if you have a billion dollars, you can be Coors. Most people don’t have that much money and even if they did, that doesn’t guarantee success. Really identify what you want to do. For people that haven’t ventured into the cannabis space, do a ton of research and know exactly what you’re getting into.

So many people come in here with a wad of money thinking I put a million in today, I’m going to get two million out next year. The realities are quite different. This is an industry that is cut throat. It’s an industry that is, in some cases, saturated. It’s an industry that has a ton of regulation and takes a ton of hard work and knowledge. Really, really spend your time researching. Spend your time vetting investments. Spend your time vetting people that will work for you. What I’ve found is the people that you employ matter so much. I’m very fortunate. My fiancee works for me and we’ve got two really close friends that work for me and that’s it. It’s a team that I trust and they’re willing to put up with the growing pains. They’re willing to give maximum effort because this is a team approach. If we all do well together, as a business, everybody succeeds. That’s really important. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of regulation, there’s a lot of hard work. You need the right people for the job and those people are hard to find in the cannabis industry.

TG Branfalt: Well, I want to thank you for taking the time for this interview. It’s really, again, your story is really motivational. I wish you guys the best of luck and hope to see what comes of your research with Front Range. Thank you, again, for appearing on the show.

Danny Sloat: Yeah. Thank you. It’s been a pleasure. I really appreciate you letting me have a chance to talk about something I’m very passionate about.

TG Branfalt: Where can people find more about you?

Danny Sloat: Our website www.alpinstash.com. I have YouTube channel, Alpinstash. I give growing tips. I believe in complete transparency, so I share everything that I know. We’re on Instagram, @alpinstashco. We’re on Twitter, @alpinstash. Yeah. If anybody has any questions, they can watch my YouTube videos, they can email me, Dan@alpinstash.com. Yeah. You can find me there.

TG Branfalt: Well, Dan, thanks again for being on the Ganjapreneur.com podcast.

Danny Sloat: Yeah. Thank you so much.

TG Branfalt: You can find more episodes of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast in the podcast section of Ganjapreneur.com in the Apple iTunes store. On the Ganjapreneur.com website, you will 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 Jeremy Sebastiano. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Inside of a legal, licensed cannabis cultivation site.

Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment Blocks Federal Prosecution of California MMJ Producers

8/11/2017

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A U.S. District Court has blocked federal prosecution of two Humboldt County, California growers charged with conspiracy to manufacture and possess cannabis with intent to distribute, concluding the defendants were in compliance with the state’s medical cannabis laws, LA Weekly reports. Anthony Pisarski and Sonny Moore had previously pleaded guilty to the federal charges.

District Court Judge Richard Seeborg stayed the prosecution due to the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment included in the federal budget; however, he said the case could be reopened if the amendment is not included in the passage of this year’s federal budget currently being drafted by lawmakers.

Ronald Richards, the attorney for the duo, indicated the decision was the first time in his 23-year career that he has “had a case stopped because of an appropriations rider.”

“What the court did in this case may be used as a blueprint for other cases,” he said in the report. “It opens the door for people not to get scared.”

Seeborg cited the 2016 U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals United States v. McIntosh case which affirmed a medical cannabis defense for state-approved operators facing federal charges.

“[The defendants’] conduct strictly complied with all relevant conditions imposed by California law on the use, distribution, possession and cultivation of medical marijuana,” Seeborg ruled.

Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML said it was the first case he was aware of that cited McIntosh to its full effect.

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New York Health Department Expands Allowed MMJ Products, Still No Flower

8/11/2017

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Medical cannabis patients in New York could soon have access to a wider variety of products, including topicals, chewable tablets and lozenges, under regulations proposed by the state Department of Health. However, smokeable products are still banned.

Additionally, the new rules would permit non-patients to enter a facility in order to get information on the program, so long as they are accompanied by a registered patient, and allow medical practitioners to take a shortened two-hour program training course.

“This is yet another positive step forward for New York State’s Medical Marijuana Program,” said New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker in a statement. “These regulations will continue to improve the program in several ways, including making new forms of medical marijuana available and improving the dispensing facility experience.”

In late March the state added chronic pain to its qualifying condition list and, since then, patient counts have grown 77 percent. As of Aug. 9 there are 26,561 enrolled patients and 1,155 registered practitioners.

Last week, the department licensed five new companies to cultivate and dispense medical cannabis in the state. The new producers include Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, Citiva, Terradiol, PalliaTech NY, and Valley Agriceuticals.

The state now has 10 total licensed producers who are allowed to open up to 4 dispensaries each.

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Bruce V. Rauner, governor-elect of Illinois, waves to the audience during his introduction at his inauguration ceremony in Springfield, Ill., Jan. 12, 2015. As Illinois' governor, Rauner will serve as the commander in chief for the Soldiers and Airmen of the Illinois National Guard while they are not under federal activation. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer/Released)

Illinois Gov. Allegedly Traded MMJ Program Expansion for Dissolving Cannabis Advisory Board

8/11/2017

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Last spring Illinois’ Medical Cannabis Advisory Board was disbanded and it appears the move was part of a deal between board members and Gov. Bruce Rauner to extend the program three years and add post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the qualifying condition list, Chicago magazine reports.

Michael Fine, a former member of the now-defunct board, said the members were “sold out” and “the trade-off” for the program’s expansion, “but a good trade-off.”

“We raised no stink because the program was much more important than our positions on the board,” he said in the report.

In June 2016, Joseph Wright, the then-head of the Board, resigned just one month after the legislature passed the law to extend the program. At that time, Wright indicated he had stepped down to pursue other opportunities; however now other former members are opening up about the details surrounding the shuttering of the board.

Last March, the state Department of Public Health rejected petitions to add intractable pain and autism to the qualifying condition list, and state Rep. Lou Lang, who championed the state’s medical cannabis program, accuses the governor of “directing the Department of Health to reject [those] conditions,” claiming that Health Director Nirav Shah told him that the only way new conditions would be added to the list is through the legislature.

According to the report, Rauner’s office declined to comment on the claims but Laurel Patrick, a spokesperson for the administration, confirmed that “the board no longer exists.”

In June, the legislature passed Senate Bill 10, which included language to recreate a medical cannabis advisory board, but former board member Leslie Mendoza Temple indicated she applied for a position on the new board but never heard back. Patrick did not comment on whether the new board, authorized by SB.10, will be convened.

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Inside of a licensed cannabis grow site near Bellingham, Washington.

National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators Call for Cannabis Reforms

8/11/2017

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Calling prohibition “unconstitutional,” the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators has penned a resolution demanding the federal decriminalization of cannabis and expunging of criminal records for “behavior that is legalized” in some states.

The resolution tracks the history of prohibition, beginning with the 1937 testimony to Congress of the first U.S. Treasury Department Federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Jacob Anslinger. In that testimony, Anslinger testified that “Spanish-speaking persons” were “low mentally” partly due to their cannabis use and that Mexicans sold “loco weed” to “mostly white high school students.”

Anslinger’s testimony led directly to the prohibition of cannabis in the U.S.

The caucus points out that the DEA spends $10 billion annually to fund anti-cannabis enforcement laws; while Colorado raised $76 million in tax revenue in 2014 and the overall crime rate in the state has dropped 10.1 percent since cannabis legalization in the state in 2012.

“… Decriminalization of recreational marijuana will ease the burden off the criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies, allowing police officers, judges, and prosecutors to focus on violent offenses and other criminal activity more deserving of priority, and freeing-up space in prisons and decreasing the budgetary impact from keeping marijuana users incarcerated,” the resolution says. “Whereas, regulated marijuana retailing greatly hinders black-market drug dealers, prevents marijuana’s (unproven but widely alleged) use as a gateway drug, and directs much-needed revenue to legal business owners, states and local governments instead of organized crime.”

The resolution is the second this week by state policymakers seeking to reform U.S. cannabis laws; on Tuesday the National Conference of State Legislatures passed their own resolution calling for removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

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A nighttime photo of the Miami city skyline.

Florida Medical Cannabis: Coming to a City Near You, But When?

8/10/2017

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The Florida medical cannabis industry is growing by the day. As a result of Senate Bill 8-A, Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, or MMTC’s, are subject to additional regulations compared to their Low-THC predecessors. In the state’s formative medical cannabis program, MMTC’s were referred to as Dispensing Organizations and were only permitted to dispense a very Low-THC product, except to terminally ill patients who could receive full-strength THC products.

Here are some key questions that people are asking when it comes to Florida’s medical cannabis program and its implementation timeline:

What’s currently happening in the legislature?
The implementation legislation for Amendment 2, titled SB 8-A, has been signed by Governor Scott. The Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use is tasked with creating the program around these laws and is also responsible for crafting final rules and regulations, as well as awarding business licenses.

What are we waiting on? What’s next?
The Florida Office of MMJ Use will release its final rules and timeline for the MMTC application process very soon. Businesses are already in the process of submitting license applications to the state, with several having already received local permits and authorizations. An applicant will need to present a designated location and be able to prove that the property is permitted by the municipality for the use that it is intended. In order to receive a license from the state, you’ll first need to prove full compliance within your local municipality in which you choose to operate. The Florida Department of Health has until October 3, 2017 to issue patient ID cards under the conditions listed in the Amendment.

Does my community allow MMTC’s?
Cities and Counties across Florida are in the process of developing their own ordinances regarding medical cannabis production, processing, and distribution. Under current law, local municipalities must regulate MMTC’s in the same manner that they regulate pharmacies and are also allowed to create their own sets of rules governing how they must operate. That includes the option to impose a moratorium, or outright ban. Municipalities are taking varied approaches, with some already permitting dispensaries from the Low-THC program to open in cities like Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and more coming.

If I want to start a licensed MMTC, where do I start?
There are several prerequisites for seeking an MMTC license. Securing property, compiling a team that has experience in cultivating, processing, and selling cannabis in a regulated market, background checks for all applicants and their employees, among several others. Applications for an MMTC license can be found here. An organization seeking an MMTC will first need to apply for and receive a state license. Prior to applying for a state license, you’ll first need to ensure you have local permits and zoning approval to operate each component of the business; produce, process, dispense/sell. The requirements for local approval will vary slightly from municipality to municipality, so you’ll need to get familiar with your local requirements if you want to be seriously considered for state licensure.

What’s the tax rate in FL?
Medical marijuana is not taxed in Florida!

Are there purchase limits?
Yes. Patients can purchase up to three, 70-day supply limits prior to needing a renewed recommendation. The purchasing limits in Florida are based on the patient’s recommendation from their doctor. A patient can receive a recommendation for up to 3, 70-day supplies. This is tracked in real-time in the state’s compassionate use registry. So, if a patient were to make multiple purchases in a given day, each individual purchase would count against their 70-day supply and that would be reflected and tracked from location-to-location in the state database.

What is one, single day supply?
The law is written in terms of what a patient is legally allowed to possess and the total amount that can be prescribed for a 70-day period. A patient can be issued a recommendation and purchase that amount either in a dispensary or via delivery. So, if a physician recommends that a patient consume 100 mg, 5 times per day, then the single day supply for that patient is 500 mg, or half of one gram. 500 mg/day x 70 days = 35,000 mg able to be purchased before you require another recommendation to increase your supply. This system is intended as a safeguard to prevent overselling to patients who can then divert product into the black market.

What kinds of products will be available for consumption?
The plant material of cannabis will not be permitted for sale or use; however, you’ll be able to purchase oils for vaping and products such as edibles, which will all follow strict potency guidelines. Florida will not permit the cannabis flower in a smokeable format.

Can I grow my own flower?
No. Home grows are not permitted under Florida law.

Is adult use being discussed at all?
There is an effort by Regulate Florida to have an adult-use initiative on the November, 2018 ballot.

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A cannabis worker scoops up two handfuls of trimmed cannabis product.

Uruguay Registered Cannabis Buyers Exceed 11,500

8/10/2017

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The number of registered recreational cannabis purchasers in Uruguay has topped 11,500 and four more pharmacies have begun the application process to sell the two adult-use cannabis varieties known as Alfa I and Beta I, according to the Instituto de Regulación y Control de Cannabis, the regulatory agency overseeing Uruguay’s legal cannabis market.

“The number of registered users as purchasers to access the psychoactive cannabis of non-medical use in pharmacies doubled, amounting today to 11,508 qualified,” the IRCCA wrote in a statement. “New requests for adhesion of pharmacies to the system are being processed, so that the number of access points in different parts of the country will increase progressively.”

According to a press release from International Cannabis Corp., at least 10 other pharmacies are interested in selling cannabis. ICC has so far distributed more than 141 pounds to participating pharmacies, which translates to 12,800 5 gram packages of the Alfa and Beta products. Buyers 18-and-older registered with the state can purchase up to 40 grams per month.

ICC is one of two licensed producers in the state, along with Symbiosis.

Alejandro Antalich, ICC CEO, said the company is “very pleased” at the market’s growth thus far, which has required the company to increase its cannabis production space by 21,500 square feet.

“ICC has quickly transitioned from being a development stage company, to becoming a fully licensed and approved recreational and medical cannabis producer in Uruguay,” he said in a statement.

The company expects to produce more than 11,000 pounds over 12 months.

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North Dakota Health Officials Accepting Applications for MMJ Testing Labs

8/10/2017

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The North Dakota Health Department is seeking non-binding letters of intent from laboratories interested in testing medical cannabis products once the voter-approved system comes online, the Associated Press reports. Health officials anticipate qualified patients will have access to medical cannabis products by late spring or early summer 2018.

The state’s law allows two “compassion centers” to grow and produce medical cannabis products and eight others to dispense it. Earlier this year nearly 100 companies applied to the Health Department to produce or dispense medical cannabis products. The law requires that all products be tested for molds, pesticides, and THC levels before being sold to patients.

“We issued the letter of intent (requests) to spur some interest and meet a critical need to keep the medical marijuana program in North Dakota heading in the right direction,” said Kenan Bullinger, director of the Health Department’s medical marijuana division, in the report.

The Department has estimated that they will need at least $2.7 million over the next two years to implement the program. The laboratory application period closes on Aug. 25.

Advocates in North Dakota are also circulating petitions to legalize adult-use cannabis use in the state. If approved, the measure would expunge the criminal records of low-level, non-violent cannabis offenders in addition to creating a taxed-and-regulated adult-use market.

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MMJ Trade Association Launched in Arkansas

8/10/2017

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The Arkansas medical cannabis community now has a trade association, as a coalition of businesses and individuals have formed the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Association, which has tabbed Little Rock attorney David Couch as its executive director. Couch led the efforts to put the medical cannabis issue to voters, which was approved last November.

The association also counts former state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel among its board of directors members. McDaniel, who is now in private practice, was the attorney general when the initiative was approved by the office.

Other board members include Dr. Steven Cathey, a neurosurgeon and chairman of the state Medical Board; Dr. Richard Douglas, who served as the former assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Reagan Administration and as a member of President George H.W. Bush’s Export Advisory Council; Kris Kane, president of 4Front Ventures, a holding company which includes medical cannabis dispensaries, who also serves on the boards of the National Cannabis Industry Association, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Common Sense for Drug Policy, and Marijuana Majority; Don Roda, general counsel and development head at Rock Capital Group; and owner of Sale Capital Partners Stephen LaFrance, the former executive vice president of USA Drug which sold its 157 pharmacies to Walgreens in 1992.

“Arkansas voters made clear that they want sensible, safe medical marijuana policy in this state, because they recognize the clear evidence that cannabinoids are effective in pain relief and treating a number of chronic illnesses,” Couch said in a press release. “Our association will be a partnership of all those with a common interest in ensuring the state stays true to the will of the voters and medical marijuana operations are run safely and legally.”

According to the release, the association plans on engaging with the policy-making process and providing public-education to patients throughout the state.

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A red brick building on the New Brunswick University campus.

University of New Brunswick Creates Health Research Chair in Cannabis

8/10/2017

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Canada’s University of New Brunswick has announced that it is creating a Health Research Chair in Cannabis which will help expand the university’s commitment to innovation and research in the natural products, biomedical, and health and life sciences fields, according to a press release. The chair will receive $1 million in funding from New Brunswick Health Research Foundation and Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc., at $500,000 each over five years.

The announcement follows the creation of the Health Research Chair in Cannabis at St. Thomas University in May, which was also given $1 million in funding from the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation and Shoppers Drug Mart, at $500,000 each.

Dr. David MaGee, University of New Brunswick acting vice-president of research, called the chair’s creation “a key example of the university’s commitment to discovery.”

“We believe in the power of research to advance innovation within New Brunswick,” he said in the release. “With 75 percent of the province’s publicly funded research taking place at UNB, we’re thrilled to play a central role.”

The recruitment and nomination process for the tenure-track faculty member position is expected to begin immediately, while the funding will be in place beginning in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Dr. Bruno Battistini, president, CEO, and scientific director for New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, said the two chairs “clearly signifies New Brunswick’s intention to be at the forefront of cannabis research.”

“This competitive chair will further develop the science toward implementing proven and safe innovative cannabis-based therapies for the chronic treatment of various disorders (chronic pain, PTSD, etc.),” he said in a statement.

Potential areas of research include the medicinal and biochemistry analysis of cannabis, preclinical pharmacology studies, and a review of the existing cannabis literature in an effort to identify future research needs and inconsistencies.     

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Vanessa Corrales: Infusing an Edibles Brand with Personality

8/09/2017

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Vanessa Corrales is the founder of San Diego, California-based B-Edibles, an infused edibles manufacturer that creates infused sugar products and is particularly well-known for offering medicated cotton candy.

This Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode features Vanessa and our host TG Branfalt in a discussion about how being a medical cannabis patient led to Vanessa pursuing a career as a medical cannabis entrepreneur and how B-Edibles’ bubbly and colorful branding plays to her desire to express uniqueness and her own personality in the cannabis space. The interview also covers a brand new project that Vanessa has taken up that is aimed at bringing a modern education about medical cannabis and the truth behind cannabis culture to native Spanish-speakers — and much, much more!

Listen to the interview via the player below, or you can keep scrolling down to read a full transcript of this Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

TG Branfalt: Hey there, I’m your host, TG Branfalt, and you’re listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, where we try to bring you actionable information to normalize cannabis through the stories of ganjapreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today, I’m joined by Vanessa Corrales, founder of B-Edibles out in San Diego. How are you doing today?

Vanessa Corrales: Hi. I’m doing great, thanks for asking. Thanks for having me today.

TG Branfalt: Oh, it’s a pleasure. I’m real excited to get to know you, get to know your products, but before we get into the products and B-Edibles, tell me about yourself, you know. What was your path to getting involved in the cannabis space?

Vanessa Corrales: Excellent. Yeah, so cannabis … It’s funny to hear all the stories that people have and what brings them to the cannabis space. I come from a background of food and beverage. I’ve managed hotels, I’ve been part of opening teams for restaurants, I’ve managed local breweries and local coffee shops, as well, here in San Diego. I really wanted to dive into the food side of cannabis with a twist of getting, also, the Hispanic aspect of it or bringing cannabis in Spanish and getting that Latino culture in there, because if my Spanish speakers are listening out there, we don’t have a lot of information of cannabis in Spanish. So, I know I wanted to jump into cannabis and my forte is food and beverage, so that’s where I kind of focused my energy on.

TG Branfalt: And that led you to the creation and formation of B-Edibles, where you make cotton candy, which, let me tell you, that’s a mind-blowing premise, cotton candy that’s medicated. So, tell me about coming up with the cotton candy idea.

Vanessa Corrales: Okay. So, being in the food and beverage background and being in the industry and managing restaurants, I’ve always looked at Australia for new and upcoming trends. Looking at Australia … Australia has fairy floss in everything. Fairy floss is the traditional name for cotton candy. It started as fairy floss. So, fairy floss was in everything, and I was just thinking, “Wow, we don’t have that here in the states.” So, I started a fairy floss company, not medicated, that was about a year and a half ago. I really thought, “Okay, this is awesome.” I never thought I was going to infuse cannabis into cotton candy, I mean, that’s mind-blowing to me just thinking about that, like really? Cotton candy and cannabis? Is that even a thing?

But, in order for me to really want to dive in into the cannabis industry and into this market, I knew that I needed to create a product that wasn’t a chocolate bar or wasn’t a brownie or a cookie because there’s already amazing companies doing that right now. So, I knew I needed to stand out and create a big boom, and say, “Hello, I’m here. I’m colorful and I’m proud,” and cotton candy just made sense.

TG Branfalt: I was really struck when I was thinking about this when we landed this interview and thinking about cotton candy in addition to how delicious it probably is, but as a delivery method, it’s got to have benefits over other edible methods, right?

Vanessa Corrales: Correct. So, because of the nature of cotton candy and how you consume cotton candy, it disintegrates, it completely melts on your tongue, so it acts a sublingual. You will immediately feel, well 15-20 minutes, you’ll feel the effects of it. For me personally, it’s amazing. If I want to smoke in public, I consume it, and a lot of people have the idea of cotton candy being a lot of sugar, “Oh my gosh, it’s so much sugar,” but it’s mostly air. When you spin sugar, the process of creating cotton candy, you use less than a tablespoon of sugar, the machine melts it, and it creates this big cloud of fluffy, sweet, infused-cannabis cotton candy. So, it’s really not a lot of sugar. But, when you consume it, you don’t need a lot of it to feel the effects of it.

TG Branfalt: So, tell me a little bit about your own medical cannabis use. You have a condition, endometriosis, and that’s not something I specifically see covered in many states, so can you give us an idea of what that is and how cannabis helps you and how you utilize it?

Vanessa Corrales: Absolutely. So, endometriosis is one of those diseases that, not a lot of people know about it, or not a lot of women talk about it. Endometriosis is … The tissue that lines our uterus, as females, begins to develop outside of our organs. So, it can develop in our fallopian tubes, in our intestines, in our appendix, wherever. It could travel to our brain. And that tissue is called endometrium, which is why it’s called endometriosis. It acts the same as the lining that we have in our uterus, so it sheds during the monthly menstrual cycle.

So, now you can only imagine, if that tissues travels to your intestines or to any other organ in your body, and every month it acts as your menstrual cycle and it starts shedding blood but there’s no place for it to release or to go, you start creating these pockets, these cysts, or these chocolate cysts, or these tumors, that have nowhere to go and that create this excruciating pain. I mean 24/7 pain, you can’t get out of bed, it causes nausea, crazy inflammation, and it affects a lot of women. A lot of women don’t talk about it because it’s one of those diseases that you don’t know about until 10 years later when it’s too late, and infertility kicks in, like myself. I suffer from infertility, I’ve had seven surgeries, I’ve had endometriosis in my large intestine, my small intestine, my colon, my appendix, fallopian tube, ovaries, everywhere, and the pain is ridiculous.

TG Branfalt: Unbelievable.

Vanessa Corrales: Of course, the doctors give you hormone therapy, and they give you all these medical narcotics. I was on Percocet and Dilaudid and Morphine for many, many years, and not once was I introduced to cannabis. And that has a lot to do with me being Hispanic and not being socially accepted in my culture.

TG Branfalt: So, how do you use cannabis? Do you smoke it, do you use edibles? What delivery method helps best with your symptoms?

Vanessa Corrales: So, an interesting thing with endometriosis, the main thing that doctors give you with endometriosis is a hormone therapy. They either give you Lupron, which is like a hormone replacement through an injection in your stomach, which creates blood clots. So, if you smoke cannabis, it increases your risk of blood clots, which is why I try to not smoke cannabis, because of that, because I’ve been through hormone therapy for many, many years. So, I like edibles, I like vaping, which is why I love the cotton candy because it’s that sweet tooth in me, and it’s fast-acting. I can really dose out how much I consume, as well, because it’s fast-acting.

TG Branfalt: Do you have any concern as a patient in California that the new rules will have a negative effect on the medical cannabis program currently in the state?

Vanessa Corrales: That’s an interesting question and a great question because the regulations were just given to us a few weeks ago and, of course as a medical patient that consumes cannabis on a regular basis, with the new proposed regulations you can only buy prepackaged edibles from all the manufacturers in packages of 100 milligrams, which, if you talk to a cancer patient or someone that suffers from seizures, 100 milligrams does nothing. I’m afraid that, as a manufacturer, it’s going to be an issue. For cotton candy, there’s no way for us to dose out 10 milligrams for patients, so cotton candy, I’m afraid, is not going to exist come 2018 with the new regulations.

TG Branfalt: That’s really, really unfortunate. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel with regard to these regulations because these are still proposals, right?

Vanessa Corrales: Correct, they’re still proposals. June 13th was the last day for the community to speak up and talk, give their opinion, regarding … But again, they’re just proposals, and we’re thankful for that. There’s still time to change all of these and I know there’s a lot of people working towards changing that, the dosage, and the details that are missing in these proposed regulations.

TG Branfalt: I want to talk to you a little bit more about the regulations in a little bit broader term, but before we do that, we’ve got to take a short break. This is the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, I’m TG Branfalt.

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TG Branfalt: Welcome back to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I’m your host TG Branfalt here with Vanessa Corraless, founder of B-Edibles. So, before the break, we were talking a bit about the new rules, California’s, as they roll into rec. You had said that there’s a possibility that your product, the cotton candy, might not be available under the new regime. What are your plans if that happens?

Vanessa Corrales: So, I’ve been soul searching. I think, “Okay, so what’s going to happen?” I’ve been working so hard and diligently in creating a product that’s safe, the quality is there, people are like, “It is cotton candy?” I’m like, “Yes, but it’s still clean meds, we still lab test, and we still have a sweet, clean medication for people.” So, I started thinking, “Okay, so what can we do if cotton candy is out of the question, and still keep the integrity of what B is and the quality and the consistency behind B?” To make cotton candy, we first infused sugar, that’s what we do, we infuse sugar. So, that’s the new sect for B-Edibles, we are going to have infused sugar for the cannabis community that is lab tested, that can be micro-dosed.

We currently have sugar cubes that will be going out to the community, to, hopefully, dispensaries pretty soon. They’re micro-dosed at 10 milligrams each, lab-tested, all organic. I didn’t mention that earlier, but all of the products that we use, all the ingredients that we use, are 100% organic ingredients. No artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no preservatives or additives. So, I see B-Edibles as being the manufacturer of infused sugar, which is a staple in everyone’s home.

TG Branfalt: I love how entrepreneurs, man like … You guys are able to overcome almost any roadblock. “You’re not allowed to bank.” “Oh, we’ll make this service and-

Vanessa Corrales: You’re right.

TG Branfalt: “Have that service. We’ll form these coalitions.” I mean really, it’s really incredible, really heartening for me to see, especially when your product’s on the verge of not being allowed in California, which is sort of crazy. So, in California, where Latinos encompass the largest racial or ethnic group, legalization there provides a big opportunity to break old traditions, clear the path to have the industry dominated by others besides the white male. Women, they hold 36% of leadership positions in the cannabis industry. What does all this mean for Latinas? You had said earlier that there’s a stigma attached to it, I am not a Latina, so-

Vanessa Corrales: Are you sure?

TG Branfalt: So, could you explain … Could you explain to me what that stigma is and what legalization in California does mean for that segment of the population?

Vanessa Corrales: Absolutely. So, interesting. Here in San Diego, we’re so close to the border, we’re so close to Mexico, we’re 15-20 minutes away from Mexico, from a completely different country where cannabis or marijuana is still seen as this gateway drug that only tweakers use. I get seen as, “You’re going to Hell. You smoke cannabis, you’re a bad person. You should be in the streets begging. You’re worthless.” That is still the stigma surrounding it. No question about it. People still don’t use the word marijuana, my grandparents, my aunts, don’t use the word marijuana, really, out in public, because they don’t want to be that person talking about it. Being at the border, oddly enough, we don’t have the information out there yet, the information of, “Cannabis is okay. Cannabis is healing a lot of people. Cannabis is opening the minds of so many. We’re getting creative people and artists. Doctors are using it and lawyers are using it. It’s not just for a bad person.”

The opportunity that cannabis is giving in the cannabis community here in California to really shed the light, because, whether Mexicans like it or not, we as Mexicans follow what California does, or what the U.S. does. The U.S. is legalizing cannabis. So, now Mexico is going that path. The Senate just approved medical use in Mexico, which is insane, insane.

TG Branfalt: I’m just wondering what does the legalization mean for the Latina population?

Vanessa Corrales: For Latinas-

TG Branfalt: In California.

Vanessa Corrales: It’s amazing that we can enter this space without having a person, or established corporation or company, saying, “We male,” or “We Hispanics don’t have room in this.” There’s so much room for us Latinas to really spread the knowledge and the love and the … How can I say it? The passion that we have for this plant. It is giving us a platform to shine, because we are on the same level. It’s all the same playing ground for everyone. Me as a Latina woman and my neighbor and their neighbor, we all have the same ground, we can all be super successful in this industry, which … You can’t say that in other industries. That’s what cannabis brings to, not only the Latinas, but Latinos and other minorities, which is amazing that I am able to say that I am living and growing, and my career is growing and my passion is growing in this industry with this amazing community.

TG Branfalt: You had mentioned that your parents and grandparents don’t even mutter the word marijuana. What was their reaction when-

Vanessa Corrales: They didn’t understand.

TG Branfalt: You started this company?

Vanessa Corrales: They didn’t understand what I was talking about. I’m like, “I’m going to be working with marijuana.” They don’t know the word cannabis. Cannabis is not a thing in Mexico. I’m like, “Yeah, I’m going to work with marijuana.” They’re like, “What?” I kept saying, “Yeah, mota.” I’m not sure how more clear I can be. But, because … They didn’t. And do you know why they didn’t?

Maybe if it was another cousin. Maybe. I’ve been a girl that has always loved books, that is always in school. I graduated from college, and I’m one of the only cousins from my Mexico side that has been to college. So, they know that I wouldn’t make a crazy decision that wasn’t well thought-out, or that I would harm my family or myself. They didn’t disown me, I mean, they were a little confused and they did need a little education. All they know about marijuana is. “If you’re a bad person, you smoke it. You probably smoke it and then you also, probably do other drugs. You probably also rob people or do crazy other stuff.” So, when I was telling them, you could see their heads turning. You know, like a little puppy, when their head turns like, “I don’t understand.”

You know what the great thing about it, is that when I spoke to them about this project, and I started with cotton candy, it kind of broke the ice, which is what I love about cotton candy, is that it allows me to preach, per say. It allows me to talk cannabis without, really, that wall of, “Oh, no, no. I don’t want to talk about cannabis.” It really broke the barrier. It’s like, “Oh, cotton candy? What? Tell me more. How does this work?” Then, it allows me to educate them, which, at the end of the day, if we don’t educate our community, if we don’t educate and pass that knowledge of what we know … Again, we don’t know much in this community because we’re writing the laws, we’re doing the research, we’re doing everything right now, but if we don’t spread the knowledge that we currently have, there’s no way that we’re going to break the stigma.

The Mexican culture is really stubborn. So, when you come to it with a very bubbly and colorful way, and being a female that they don’t really expect that, they really embrace it and they open their ears and they open their mind and their heart, which is amazing to me. I really didn’t think that they were going to be okay with it. I was going to do it regardless, but it was great. It’s been great.

TG Branfalt: As we’ve been talking, and I said this to you during the break that, you’re a very bubbly personality. And the photos of you, you have multicolored hair. So, how important was it to you for your brand to represent that bubbly, colorful personality?

Vanessa Corrales: It was everything. It absolutely was everything. When I first decided that this is the path that I was going to take, I really struggled with what did I want to call it, how was the feel and the colors. Because, what was out in the market at that time, I really didn’t identify with anything and I really wanted to scream individuality and to be colorful and to be unique. Working in food and beverage and working in restaurants and hotel, whoever is listening that has been in that industry, you have to be a certain way, you have to talk a certain way, you have to dress a certain way. I really wanted to step away from that. I wanted to embrace people’s individuality, but I also really wanted to bring color to the cannabis community by really pushing about being yourself.

I kept on telling myself, “I don’t know what I want to call it, I just want it to be colorful. I want it to be unique, I want it to be love, I want it to be creative.” I kept on saying this, I’m like, “I just want it to be.” Literally. I just want it to be. So, I kind of just stuck. Some people are like, “Oh, it’s ‘Bedibles.'” I’m like, “Well, sure. If you want it to be ‘Bedibles,’ sure.” But, it’s about being B, and that’s the beauty about B, it can be whatever you want it to be. Bubbly, serious, creative, you could be elevated, you could be high, you can be whatever you want to be, and that’s what cannabis does to me personally, as an individual, as a medical marijuana patient. It allows me to be myself and that’s why I love cannabis.

TG Branfalt: So, you sort of had, the, what you wanted …

Vanessa Corrales: Correct, absolutely. 110%

TG Branfalt: What message you wanted the business to have before you had the product.

Vanessa Corrales: Is that weird?

TG Branfalt: That’s really kind of shocking. It is sort of weird. I mean, in my experience, I’ve done dozens of these interviews, and nobody has said to me, “Yeah, I knew what I wanted to call it and I knew what message I wanted it to have before I knew what I was actually going to make.” No, that’s … So, you’re unique even in that way. I want to switch gears a little bit, move back a little bit. We were talking about California, and California’s really interesting as they go into legalization because of the equity provisions that are being outlined, not just by the-

Vanessa Corrales: Right.

TG Branfalt: State legislation, but also by individual legislation in San Francisco and Oakland. They were putting together equity provisions for the industry months before. They knew it was coming. Do you think that those equity provisions in cities like San Francisco and Oakland, do they do enough to remove the barriers to entry for minorities in California?

Vanessa Corrales: I mean, if you talk to the Latina in me, I’m going to say it’s never enough. But, it’s a start. And I’m thankful and I’m happy that we’re at least starting somewhere. I know the equity details in Oakland and San Francisco, I’m not super familiar with them, but I know that there’s … 50% go to minorities with convictions and some income thresholds, or something like that.

TG Branfalt: Yeah.

Vanessa Corrales: Am I correct saying that?

TG Branfalt: Yeah.

Vanessa Corrales: Yeah. And I know that there is very little written in the proposed regulations for us over here. Again, I think whatever we do to move towards that is amazing. We have to put it in writing. These social equities need to be in writing because it is true, it is a fact that we are the minority. But, like I said earlier, we are on a level playing field. We need to get out there as Spanish speakers, as Latina and Latinos, we need to get out there and really talk to other people and spread the knowledge in order to get where we want cannabis to be. These social equity programs are only going to help us get there.

TG Branfalt: Well, I want to talk to you, too, a bit more about what other products you’ve got in the works. Before we do that, we’ve got to take our last break. This is Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I’m TG Branfalt.

At Ganjapreneur, we have heard from dozens of cannabis business owners who have encountered the issue of canna-bias, which is when a mainstream business, whether a landlord, bank, or some other provider of vital business services, refuses to do business with them simply because of their association with cannabis. We have even heard stories of businesses being unable to provide health and life insurance for their employees because the insurance providers were too afraid to work with them. We believe that this fear is totally unreasonable and that cannabis business owners deserve access to the same services and resources that other businesses are afforded, that they should be able to hire consultation to help them follow the letter of the law in their business endeavors, and that they should be able to provide employee benefits without needing to compromise on the quality of coverage they can offer.

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TG Branfalt: Hey, welcome back to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I’m your host TG Branfalt here with Vanessa Corraless, founder of B-Edibles. So, you had mentioned, before we got started, that you’re working on something in Mexico. Why don’t you tell me about that endeavor. I’m sure there’s not a whole lot of people working out there yet, so why don’t you give us an idea of what’s going on.

Vanessa Corrales: Oh my gosh. Just thinking about me talking about it with you is amazing. I’m getting little tinglies all over my body. Because we have no information out there in Spanish, which is why I’m super passionate and super excited about this project. So, it’s Cannabis En Español, which is a platform of blogs, video blogs, or vlogs, and a website, that brings articles that are currently written in English translated into Spanish, as well as a blog by me, and a vlog by me as well, in Spanish, talking about cannabis, talking about what’s going on.

TG Branfalt: That is genius.

Vanessa Corrales: We don’t have that, and how are we going to get our community, our Spanish-speaking community, to really embrace this cannabis movement? Because, there’s a shit-ton of us out there, right? Our schools teach in Spanish. Why aren’t we teaching in Spanish over here? So, I was super excited to be part of the first cannabis, or club cannabico, the first cannabis club in Tijuana last week. It just came from the sky. I was contacted by a doctor that researches the endocannabinoid system in Mexico, he was an old friend of mine. He said, “We’re doing this cannabis meeting, the first one. We’re just going to get together and see what’s going on. What do we want to do, where do we want to take this?” I got invited and it was the most surreal thing. We were in this beautiful home in Mexico, I was surrounded by 11 men, and I was the only female there.

TG Branfalt: Wow.

Vanessa Corrales: It was just insane. It was amazing. I felt just … In shock, and in awe, and happy with life at that moment, saying, “Yes, we are doing this. Yes, this is happening right now.” Mexico … You have cartels and narcotics and the war on drugs, that’s all we think and breathe over there, which is crazy, and that’s all that the news tell us. So, I was so happy to be part of this group of men, and I was so happy that they included a woman to go there and to be part of the movement. I was just ecstatic. So, Cannabis En Español, and the club has its own name, they don’t want to release the name yet because, again, legal implications in Mexico currently. They’re trying to get all that squared away, but it’s coming and it’s going to bring a lot of cool stuff to our Spanish speakers over here.

TG Branfalt: So, what sort of issues came up in this meeting?

Vanessa Corrales: So, first of all, because we’re at the border, most of them come to San Diego, cross the border frequently, like myself. So, we sat down and like, “Okay, well this is what we want to do. We want to inform our people, we want to get the community together, we want to show that cannabis, or marijuana … I say marijuana because cannabis isn’t a word that is used in Mexico yet.

TG Branfalt: Okay.

Vanessa Corrales: So, we’re like, “Okay, what are we going to do with marijuana?” Oh my gosh. I was a little … hearing this word right now, this is so cool. But, we were talking about, “Okay, how are we going to get the community together? How are we going to get the community to see us, this group of crazy ass people trying to create this movement of ‘Cannabis is safe. It’s not a gateway drug?’ How are we going to get the community to really see us as legit? Not just a group of people that just want to smoke all day.” That’s not what we are. So, they had some ideas that they were proposing to the group that was there, “We’re going to get people together. Because it’s still super illegal in Mexico, it’s invitation only. We’re going to clean beaches, and we’re going to do private events. We’re going to go on radio and do interviews in Spanish and help the community. Feeding the homeless, feeding foster care kids.” There’s just a list of things. “Doing concerts to raise funds to help this community and to help this nonprofit.”

The range of people that were in this meeting, we had someone that works at a radio station, we had some lawyers, we had doctors, we had a few artists that paint and some others that do digital art. We just had such a unique dynamic going, and then me that brought that feminine side of cannabis. When I was talking to them … And I started with not only men smoke weed. They kind of looked at me like, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I just started talk to them. “We need to start talking about marijuana to women, to moms, to ladies that are going, maybe, through endometriosis, or through infertility, or through this pain.” It was just amazing. I am very, very happy and excited for this project and to bring it to the community.

TG Branfalt: So, where can people find this blog? What’s the web address for the blog?

Vanessa Corrales: So, it’s CannabisEnEspañol.org or CannabisEnEspañol.com is the URL that we have. Again, we’re barely recording and starting it next week, so it’s literally in it’s infancy. We’re barely starting. I have some awesome collaborations that are coming together, some marketing gurus here in San Diego that really want to invest in this project, that have very, very big rapport. Some videographer up in Oceanside that volunteered their time, as well, to record them. It’s just coming together so beautifully, and that’s something that I really love about this cannabis community, is that we’re all about collaboration and really spreading the love, that I do not see in other industries.

TG Branfalt: That’s a really super cool idea. As somebody who … I try to cover international news as I can, but I can’t speak Spanish. So, when I see what’s going on in Mexico or other Spanish-speaking countries, it’s not as well covered in the U.S. media and I mean, sometimes, we have to rely on sketchy translations. So, it’s sounds like a really, really great project, even for us members of the media who want to stay on top of international cannabis news.

Vanessa Corrales: Absolutely. I was talking to other websites like Medical Jane, and talking to them about the project, just because they have a lot of articles, to see how we can collaborate and get those articles translated. We have doctors in Mexico that would back up any translations. Obviously, when I translate some of the articles, you don’t know what bullshit I can be saying, right? So, we want to make it as transparent and as truthful to the original article, or whatever it is that we’re translating, and the information that we’re giving in Spanish. We really want to make it as clear and the best information as possible, out there. Obviously free for the Spanish-speaking community.

TG Branfalt: Well, that’s really exciting stuff. I’m really stoked to see how … As you said, it’s early, to see how it all comes together for you. Finally, where can people find out more about B-Edibles, about the company that you’re currently operating?

Vanessa Corrales: So, our Instagram is @bedibles or ‘bedibles’ like a lot of people like to call it.

TG Branfalt: So no dash?

Vanessa Corrales: No dash on our Instagram, but we do have a dash on our website, which is www.B-Edibles.com. Yeah, that website is in the process of being revamped, but you currently can go there and see the bubbly colors that B-Edibles is and probably a picture of me and my colorful hair, too.

TG Branfalt: Well, I want to thank you so much for taking time to appear on the show. You’re a really fantastic resource and taking a point position on trying to educate Spanish speakers and your own culture on cannabis, that’s a huge project to undertake.

Vanessa Corrales: Yes.

TG Branfalt: It’s really incredible that somebody’s doing it. So, thank you so much for being on the show and taking on that responsibility.

Vanessa Corrales: Thank you, thank you. I think that any person in the cannabis industry really has a lot of passion and it’s on us. We are the ones getting all this knowledge, we are the ones writing all these laws. So, it’s on our backs to really put all this information out there for people, the correct information, out there, and the correct image out there to the community. And cannabis is about being unique and it’s about embracing individuality, and we need to do that. That’s what I’m trying to do.

TG Branfalt: Well, again, I thank you for coming on the show and we’ll keep an eye out for the new site for sure.

Vanessa Corrales: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me, it was a blast.

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 the Ganjapreneur website, you will 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 Jeremy Sebastiano, I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Bird's eye view of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hawaii Dispensaries Coming Online After Testing License Approval

8/09/2017

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Hawaii’s first medical cannabis dispensary has finally opened its doors one week after the Department of Health granted a license to Steep Hill Hawaii to test consumer products, KHON reports. The approval for Maui Wellness Group’s Maui Grown Therapies Kahului location was granted by the Health Department on Tuesday.

In the report, Teri Freitas Gorman, Maui Grown Therapies director of community relations and patient affairs, said the dispensary would launch a “soft opening” after doing intakes for about 400 patients prior to gaining Health Department approval.

“We want to make sure our patients and our staff and also our neighbors here in the Maui Lani Village Center that everybody has a positive experience with us opening,” she said in the report.

A second dispensary, Aloha Green in Oahu, expects to open its doors today.

Dr. Virginia Pressler, director for the Department of Health, said that while implementing the program was challenging, the official rollout of the program marked “an important day for qualified patients and caregivers on Maui.”

“With legal guidance from Department of the Attorney General, the DOH team paved the way for this new industry in Hawaii and has set a new standard for dispensary programs other states can emulate,” she said in an interview with KHON.

Under Hawaii’s medical cannabis law, patients and caregivers can purchase up to four ounces of medical cannabis during a consecutive 15-day period and up to eight ounces over a consecutive 30-day period.

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Indoor cannabis plants inside of a cultivation site licensed under Washington state's I-502 adult-use cannabis marketplace.

Butte County, California Bans Adult-Use Cannabis Industry

8/09/2017

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The Butte County, California Board of Supervisors has temporarily banned commercial cannabis operations, despite the support of the majority of residents who attended the meeting and one supervisor pointing out that the county has fallen behind many others in the state in terms of tax revenues due to previous bans, according to a Chicoer report. The ban does not include medical cannabis deliveries to the county.

Among the supporters was Mike Lewis, a member of the Inland Cannabis Farmers’ Association, who suggested the board form a committee to write an ordinance for the industry to move forward, urging the board to take their “foot off the brake.”

“This is the beginning of the end of the black market,” Lewis told the board during his comments. “(There are) people who want this to be legitimate.”

However, Bonnie Masarik, speaking on behalf of opponents, raised concerns about the odor from farms and the use of pesticides, noting that Proposition 64 was only approved by voters in the county because of Chico – the most populous city in the county of 255,000. She warned of a “mass exodus” if the county allowed cannabis operations to commence.

Supervisor Maureen Kirk said she believed “delivery is a way of life in Butte County” and backed a plan for the supervisors to revisit the plan in six months after the board had an opportunity to see how other counties regulate the industry.

The board is expected to issue a report on the possibility of permitting the industry in May 2018.

End

A leather notepad, pen, and cell phone -- the early tools in an entrepreneurial journey.

‘High Five:’ Branding and Developing Products for All Five Senses

8/09/2017

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In a transient world with instant access and endless options, it’s more important than ever to create a cannabis brand that connects with your consumer on every level. I’ve taught some of the greatest brands in the world to develop their product in the most impactful way using all five senses.

In my last contribution, we discussed the concept of your brand being alive. But what does that look like in the cannabis industry? It’s our senses that keep us alive — incorporating them in how you promote yourself will keep your brand alive, too.

Let’s look at each sense and how you can incorporate it into your marketing to add value and a deeper connection with your customers.

Sight

Did you know over 80% of the information we retain is from visual interaction? This means how your brand looks is a critical piece in your success. This can go beyond your logo and into other elements of your business.

  • How is your team dressed?
  • What does your package look like when it comes to your customer?
  • What visual messaging are you using on social media?

Let’s look at the visual concepts over at Hi ™:

Friendly cannabis branding that makes you energized, excited, and wanting more. Photo Credit: Bruce Mau Design

Hi ™’s packaging is an excellent example of how a strong visual brand can portray a feeling. Their packaging portrays happiness while helping the consumer easily understand how each of their products can be used in everyday life.

From business cards to billboards, your visuals say volumes about your brand. They also promote thoughts, which turn into feelings, which turn into action. What is your look saying about you?

Smell

Smells have an extraordinary way of connecting us to memories. Take advantage of this sense and use it to connect to your audience.

As an example, the company I founded My Bud Vase ™ incorporates beautiful flower pokers to clean out our pieces. We give these out while vending and we know that it’s a natural instinct to smell a flower, so we decided to scent our flowers with hints of vanilla, sage, and lavender. Not only is this a pleasant surprise to the consumer, but it adds a distinctive differentiation to our product line.

Cannabis is often associated with strong smells, but consumers might be pleasantly surprised to find them incorporated into your branding itself. Photo Credit: Post No Bills

Look at your own business and think beyond the product or service itself. What could your packaging smell like? Don’t always work in the obvious choice of a skunky cannabis smell — get creative.

Sound

If your brand had a soundtrack, what would it be?

What we hear while we shop is proven to impact our mood and purchase choices. The atmosphere you create for your shoppers can be as impactful as the product itself. With that in mind, what is the vibe of your brand?

  • Are you creating a pleasant audible experience for your consumer?
  • What music do you play for phone calls put on hold?
  • What kind of mood do you want your customers to be in when they are in the presence of your brand?

Imagine pitching a new product and, when you open the packaging for the first time, you hear a drumroll in anticipation of the reveal. Light- or voice-activated sound chips are available for purchase and can add so much impact to your branding.

A peek inside of the Chalice Farms dispensary in Portland, Oregon. Photo Credit: Amarett Jans

Taste

This sense obviously ranks high in priority in the edibles industry, but think about how you can incorporate it in other ways.

What is the flavor of the city that your brand comes from? San Francisco evokes sourdough bread, Italy evokes pasta, Maine evokes lobster. Use these instinctual associations to create a unique experience.

If you’re a cannabis brand involving citrus terpenes, perhaps offer have some citrus candies on your store counter or at your tradeshow booth. Figure out how can you create a delicious experience and connect your branding with your audience on a completely different level.

Touch

The impact of touch cannot be underestimated. We are driven by the feel of a product.

Touch denotes the quality and worth of an item and many purchasing decisions are made by how something feels. Your business is an exchange of commerce, and this subtle sense has a major influence in the first impression of your product. From the clothes we wear to the sheets on our bed, to the journal we carry — touch speaks volumes. Many companies overlook how this sense translates into a desire to purchase and adds value to your selling price.

The Green Flower Media strain tracker journal has a unique touch and feel to make the product seem more legitimate and accessible.

Creative packaging is one of the most memorable ways to brand your company. The Green Flower Media strain tracker journal has a buttery leather feel, a feature important to the company because they wanted their users to use it frequently. They took the time to choose the right material that felt best when it was in your hand.

Have you taken the time to think of creative packaging options for your product?

People often say they are not creative, but if you can tap into the five senses, your creativity will soar. The senses drive everything we do. We are turned off or on to things that we process through our senses. It’s natural that we incorporate these in our day-to-day lives. It’s our senses that keep us alive, but we often do not incorporate them into our business life.

This is a whole new way to look at your brand — you can create maximum impact on quite often a minimal budget by incorporating the five senses. Make it your goal to integrate as many senses as possible to your cannabis branding and product development.

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A large cannabis cola bent over sideways in an indoor cultivation site.

Separate Polls Find Growing Support for Cannabis Reforms

8/09/2017

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Two new polls have found the majority of Americans support cannabis legalization and criminal reforms related to cannabis possession. In the Aug. 3 Quinnipiac University poll, 94 percent of respondents said that adults should be allowed to use cannabis for medical purposes if prescribed by their doctor – and in the overall demographics surveyed not one group polled below 90 percent in favor.

Moreover, 61 percent indicated they believe cannabis should be legalized nationally; however, support for the proposition varied among age, gender, and political affiliation. The poll found strongest support among respondents aged 35 to 49 (77 percent) and 18 to 34 (71 percent). Support was lowest among Republicans (37 percent) and those 65-and-older (42 percent). Men polled supported legalization at higher rates than women at 64 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

The Quinnipiac pollsters also discovered a supermajority of voters, 75 percent, opposed the federal government from interfering in state-approved medical and adult-use cannabis programs.

The Harvard-Harris Poll, conducted in mid-July, found 72 percent of respondents didn’t believe people convicted of cannabis-related crimes in non-legal states should face any jail time. Further, 57 percent said they believed that “legalizing marijuana makes societies better,” while 43 percent disagreed.

Just 14 percent of respondents in the poll supported prohibition.

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