Danny Moses, known as one of the characters from The Big Short but also as the real person in the flesh, joins us to talk about the past couple of years. He needed a break from Wall Street, and was first brought to cannabis by its obvious possibilities for easing the opioid crisis. Moses is excited about the industry and its promising prospects for growth with unique characteristics such as a lack of institutional money, leverage, and debt. Now is the time to see how the market responds in the face of legislation like the Farm Bill, with big companies already lined up to make the most of new opportunities.
Betty Aldworth joins us by phone and shares the extent of the growing Cannabis market: "In a new state, there are going to be countless opportunities to influence. I think that if you are based in Missouri and you aren't already having a conversation about how you get placed on a working group or a task force, how you participate in the regulatory process in building up these laws, you are already behind the ball. These groups are being formed now."
Paul Rieckhoff joins us and shares the potential for the Cannabis industry to be a massive job opportunity for veterans: "Think about the economic impact here, and think about the economic impact for veterans. Because veterans are four times more likely to be small business owners, they're extremely entrepreneurial, and we think this is going to be the green revolution, the green industry is going to be a source of jobs."
Our host Seth Adler was recently asked to be a guest on MJ Today and the Green Rush. He was also asked to be a panelist at the Cannabis Media Summit. Each was an opportunity for him to take a seat on ‘the other side of the microphone.’ And so we’ve compiled each appearance here in one episode.
Bob Hoban joins us and shares possible ways forward: "Now, you go forward with the excise tax. That's an example of how the federal government might swallow this legalization notion better. Because, all of a sudden, the dollars that would disappear because the 280E exception, under tax law, prohibits companies from taking the vast majority of expense deductions."
Samantha Walsh and Wendy Mosher join us and share the importance of all the moving parts in cannabis product manufacturing and agriculture: "It's not in the scale of processing. We need all these pieces to come together and we're getting there, but being able to process, ship it across state lines and get it approved in animal feed, all of those pieces need to come together and they're so close."
Kelly Thornton and Cory Sharp join us and share a number of ways hemp can be used in manufacturing and construction: "Straw is going to mold if it gets wet. Critters can get into straw. With hemp, the hydraulic lime is the key to making a concrete alternative which is extremely fire resistant. It's an alkaline material so it's anti-mold and anti-mildew."
Rick Trojan and Morris Beegle on independent agriculture "Farming, manufacturing are subsidized with all sorts of incentives. We don't need that with hemp. Other countries, China? They're killing it on the fiber side. 90% of what Canada grows, we eat. So the market's there, we're just don't have the infrastructure yet. But it's coming."
Nancy Whiteman joins us and shares the transformation of the public view of cannabis as a business: "For the first time people are started to really get a sense of cannabis- not just as sort of a mom and pop- but legitimately large business by any measure."
Tim Cullen joins us and shares the influence of expanding beyond an exclusively verticle integration model: "When you come into the store, there's never less than 15 to 18 strains on the shelf and it's because of that wholesale market that we can do that."
Kristi Knoblich from Kiva Confections joins us and shares the difficulties of preparing for further regulation on the industry: "Even for a company like us that has been preparing for eight years, we still couldn't prepare for everything, because there are so many parts of this that are out of your control and it really takes a village. It doesn't really matter how prepared we are. If our customers are not prepared, if the packaging companies are not prepared, if things get delayed, there's just any number of issues that can come up."
Steve Hawkins joins us and shares what it will take to end cannabis prohibition, "The strategy has been and continues to be inside the Beltway lobbying- walking the halls of Congress- combined with action in the states. There needs to be a chorus of voices that gets louder and louder as more states pass adult-use."
Ben Larson joins us and shares thoughts on public perception: "What we have been finding in the US especially- is that pushing the adult use market is breaking down the stigma- allowing more research, allowing more money to come into the industry."