As an Israeli living in the United States, Lilach Power, founder of Giving Tree Dispensary, has a unique perspective on the way regulations work in both countries. Because of the way regulations in the United States are going, Power predicts that the industry will eventually segment into three categories: pharmaceutical, wellness, and recreational. In addition to regulations, Power discusses the hopes she has for the state of Arizona, her business, and banking reform.
Peter Miller, co-founder of SLANG Worldwide, recalls the collective pique of interest he witnessed after Canada legalized cannabis back in 2018. There was a huge wave of investments, consolidations, and startups all happening at lightning speed – the fast pace and quick growth is something that still stuns Miller to this day. Besides his general ideas on the public sector, Miller shares his thoughts on what makes for a truly great company: consistency, trust, and an authentic story.
While most cannabis advocates start out with some type of personal relationship with the plant, others are handed 250-page books on the subject. Before reading that book, Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had no connection with cannabis, but because of his scientific background, Barak was fascinated with what he found between those pages. Besides the personal interest in cannabis he has since developed, Barak discusses the state of cannabis in Israel and how Israel is especially designed for first-class growing and research. Barak makes his predictions for the future and is excited for what’s to come, as there is a “huge world of science waiting for exploration.”
Steph Sherer joins us and shares how medical Cannabis has grown to be more accepted in the medical community around the world: "We're now at 31 countries with medical cannabis laws, and it looks like we're going to be close to 60 by the end of the summer. So, in one way, outside of the US it's pretty exciting. Really, the recommendations, if they're followed by the UN, that the WHO has made, countries will actually be obligated to find access to these medications for their citizens. Which is maybe how we finally move things forward in the United States."
Representative Joe Courtney joins us and shares the repercussions of the recent government shutdown and how it affects cannabis and agriculture: "When you look at the growing season fast approaching is just a tragic sequence of events, because we would love to have farmers putting seeds in the ground as we are in the beginning of spring, and it looks like the department has said that they are not gonna have the implementation language for the 2018 farm bill hemp legalization in place for the growing season in 2019. "
Hadley Ford joins us to shed light on his retail philosophy of delighting the customer in the cannabis industry: “If you're doing your job right from retail perspective, they're going to buy your product. And that product can either be a product that we own 100%, or it could be a third party product that we're curating in that store. I think you have to have a balance of both because a consumer will say, ‘I want the choice. I want the selection. I've heard about this. I've heard about that.’”
Chairman Steve Hoffman joins us and shares some of the protections put in place relating to Cannabis legislature in Massachusetts: "I think that every state is unique. So you can learn, but every state is different demographically, the laws are different. Massachusetts is the only state that has this explicit requirement about ensuring that disproportionately impacted communities are full participants in the industry. So you can't just lift and shift from other states."
Governor Jay Inslee joins us and shares how impressed he is with the rapid and positive growth of the Cannabis industry: "One of the most impressive things about this is that how fast this has been seen as a mainstream industry where we now have probably three or 4,000 plus people working in the industry. And we have small business people who have a payroll to meet and are paying their taxes. It became mainstream very, very quickly, and that has been interesting to me how fast a transition can take place."
Adam Biermann returns, sharing the changes and retail developments of what he calls the “industry of our lifetime.” This is because the cannabis industry is being born as we live, with growing support on all sides giving it momentum for progress. He emphasizes that this momentum is what matters most, rather than fixating on single events. Cannabis companies face unique struggles in the emerging retail market, including arduous zoning restrictions, legal matters, public perception, research, and investment strategies. But those are all just small parts of the growing snowball leading to an avalanche of business in the space.