Entrepreneurs

Mara Gordon is the co-founder and CEO of Aunt Zelda’s, a California company renowned for a compassionate and scientific approach to the medical cannabis space.

Cresco Labs in Chicago has opened the application period for the company’s community business incubator program called SEED, or Social Equity & Education Development.

Ben Britton is the CEO and lead engineer at PurePressure, a leading rosin press developer and manufacturer based out of Denver, Colorado.

A cannabis storage device by Keep Labs won an award at this year’s CES but trade show organizers blocked the company from using the word “cannabis” in any of its exhibition materials; the company ultimately declined to exhibit its product.

Laurel Friesen, or “Lo” as she’s known in the industry, is the founder and CEO of Heylo, a Washington cannabis extraction company known for crafting whole-bud, full-spectrum extracts curated to enhance everyday experiences.

Chris Hagedorn is the general manager for Hawthorne Gardening Company, a business venture that provides all the cultivation needs of a state-legal cannabis operator.

Mike Sassano is CEO and Founder of Solaris Farms, one of the largest greenhouse cannabis cultivators in Nevada.

Brad Bogus is the VP of Growth and Marketing for Confident Cannabis, a wholesale cannabis platform that connects cannabis cultivators, laboratories, and retailers.

Meg Sanders is co-founder of the Canna Provisions Group — a boutique dispensary in Lee, Massachusetts — and co-owner of the successful MiNDFUL dispensary brand in Colorado.

Cannabis industry veteran Steve DeAngelo is a world-renowned cannabis activist, author, and cofounder of Harborside, Steep Hill Labs, the Arcview Group, and the NCIA.

Morris Beegle is a hemp industry enthusiast and entrepreneur who has established a host of pro-hemp brands, including one of the largest industrial hemp networking events in the world.

A new hemp facility in Murray, Kentucky demonstrates the newly legal crop’s ability to outpace and replace oak trees as a lumber source.

Travis Howard is a Colorado-based serial entrepreneur and attorney who has worked for 10 years in the cannabis space to benefit patients and normalize the cannabis plant.

Amanda Mac is a founding partner of Bellingham Budfest, the first-ever cannabis festival in Bellingham, WA happening on July 14, 2019.

Despite the 2018 federal legalization of industrial hemp, banks are still hesitant to work with hemp-derived CBD companies, many of whom have lost their credit card processing capabilities in recent months.

Katherine Long is the CEO of Illustria, a branding agency based in Washington DC that has worked with cannabis industry clients like New Frontier Data and Bluebird Botanicals.

California cannabis firm Canndescent announced the completion of its solar-powered production facility in Desert Springs.

A New York City crackdown on CBD-infused food and drinks has left some entrepreneurs worried and confused about the state of CBD regulations in the Big Apple.