Maya Elisabeth from Om Edibles and Whoopi & Maya joins us and explains that if cannabis discovered today it would be the most miraculous medical discovery…if it wasn’t for the stigma brought on by prohibition. Originally from the bay area, Maya wound up working for one of the first dispensaries in the late 90's and realized that there wasn’t a whole lot of non-flower product on the shelves. She met the challenge by producing product and couldn’t believe that she very quickly found clients…which led to the creation of Om Edibles. Following years of success, when Whoopi Goldberg was interested in getting involved in the space, Maya was an obvious partner choice. Maya also shares a very personal story where she learned the mantra- the only way out is through.
Congressman Earl Blumenauer joins us, discussing bowties, bicycles and of course- cannabis. He represents Portland, Oregon home to both medical and adult-use cannabis. The congressman says diving into the issue of cannabis in the 1970’s was fascinating. He didn’t and doesn’t understand the notion of criminalizing something not harmful. He describes it as lunacy. He was there when Oregon was the very first state to decriminalize cannabis and he continues to fight for complete legalization through the newly formed Cannabis Caucus. The congressman discusses banking for cannabis, cannabis taxation through 280E and the fact that we ought to stop the roadblocks to cannabis research. The cannabis caucus is working on all of these issues and more.
Patricia Rossi joins us and shares that a two year trip from Paris to Portland turned into a 17 year stay. She thought she was on her way to Portland Oregon- she had interviews lined up with agencies there- but in fact landed in Maine. As a truly high-level agency executive, Patricia was literally over qualified for every position she pursued, which led her to cannabis in 2011. She knew how to create an experience around a brand- so she brought that mindset to Wellness Connection. Patricia is responsible for four of the eight licenses in Maine and takes us the history of cannabis in the great state.
Jim Patterson joins us and adds himself to the astonishingly long list of cannabis industry executives who have previously served in the military. He kindly takes us through his experience and how it informed his leadership skills and how he realized that he was an entrepreneur. Going from Kuwait to Los Angeles he joined the Yammer team with Keith McCarty. Jim takes us through the fact that the team certainly had a sense of constant momentum before being sold to Microsoft and the ultimate exit. He had to put in some time under Redmond leadership which allowed him to experience "Steve Ballmer doing his thing” in his words. After launching his own company called CoTap (now ZiNC), Keith eventually called Jim and asked him to lead Eaze…Jim then takes us through how in fact he’s doing just that.
Mike Ray, Bloom Farms & Dr. Michele Ross, IMPACT Network
Anita Morgan, Representative Pamela Anderson & Ray Morgan
Kristi Knoblich, Kiva Confections & Dennis Depaolo, Curio Wellness
Florida Cannabis: John Morgan, Yes On 2 & Ben Pollara, United For Care
Ari Hoffnung, Vireo & Pamela Hadfield, HelloMD
Melissa Fults, Issue 7 & David Couch, Issue 6