Blunt Business

Consensus Strategies with CEO Patrick Fox today on Blunt Business only on Cannabis Radio. While 61% of New York State residents support the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana sales, more than half (52%) of those living in New York City would oppose its sale in their neighborhood. This disparity between general support and willingness to actually live near one is a significant problem when communities decide where, if anywhere, they want to allow marijuana retail sales. With 61% of New York state residents believing a community should have the right to "opt-out" and ban marijuana sales in their community altogether, the battle to site facilities is likely to require extensive community outreach and education efforts. This is based on a New York state survey conducted by Consensus Strategies on March 5-7, 2021. Here to delve more deeply into the findings is the CEO of Consensus Strategies, Patrick Fox. The New York State Legislature is on the precipice of passing a measure legalizing adult

GrowFlow with CEO, Travis Steffen today on Blunt Business only on Cannabis Radio. Our next guest is the bestselling author of Viral Hero: How To Build Viral Products, Turn Customers Into Marketers, And Achieve Superhuman Growth. He is a serial entrepreneur with 7 successful exits (and a few crash-and-burn failures) to his name. He now serves as CEO of GrowFlow, a cloud-based software suite for cannabis businesses. We start by talking about GrowFlow. Travis told Warren Bobrow at Forbes: “Many companies - both in and outside of our sector - outsource support to other countries, or to third party teams that do things really cheaply and follow a script. We’ve done things differently by almost exclusively hiring former industry operators in these roles. They know the lingo, the pain points the customers have, and how our products can solve them. It was a significant investment to hire domestically-located specialists for these roles, but it’s paid off in a big way. Beyond that, we try not to pay too much attention

Terra Vera with CEO and Co-Founder Carlos Perea today on Blunt Business only on Cannabis Radio. Our next guest runs a revolutionary agricultural technology company, which is now offering innovative solutions to replace conventional pesticides and increase product safety and consumer confidence within the cannabis industry. Using patented technologies compliant with EPA regulations, Terra Vera is offering cannabis companies a safe, effective, and sustainable approach to rid crops of contaminants while preserving the quality and yield of their products. Unwanted pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi can cause significant crop loss. In cannabis, one-third of crops are affected by microbial contamination at any time, and operators may experience yield loss of up to 30 percent due to biological contaminants. Most available solutions to control and eliminate pathogens on crops are toxic or have dangerous byproducts.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.

Joe Ori of Six Labs joins us today on Blunt Business to talk about his journey and the future of the industry in his eyes, only on Cannabis Radio! For over 20 years, Joe has been a fearless and highly accomplished trial attorney. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer for seven consecutive years, an honor bestowed on less than five percent of the nation’s attorneys. Joe founded what is now Angelini, Ori + Abate Law right after graduation, dedicated to using his degree to help clients in the areas of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death. The firm has recently expanded to Arizona. Doing things his way. Joe has never been satisfied without a little chaos; in fact, he thrives in it. His eldest son calls him “the most intelligent and aware non-cynic you’ll ever find.” This mentality has led Joe to a number of other business ventures, using his own experience and networks to expand his knowledge. Drawing on his own injuries from years of football that resulted in three major spine surgeries, Joe has

Cannabis Law with Bressler’s associate, Jessica F. Gonzalez, Esq. Cannabis & IP Attorney. Bressler’s Cannabis Law practice provides full-service representation for clients. The firm’s notable national practice in securities, banking, investments, and financial institutions, and its in-depth knowledge of regulatory and compliance guidelines uniquely position the Cannabis team to offer the solutions clients need to navigate the industry’s complex regulatory schemes. Gonzalez assists cannabis clients to navigate the legal cannabis and hemp industry in the tri-state area. She has counseled start-up and medium-sized cannabis/CBD companies on various matters, including corporate entity set-up, state and local compliance, private offering documents, and applications for state cannabis licenses. She also counsels corporate and individual clients on intellectual property procurement, prosecution, protection, and enforcement for domestic and international trademarks. As a cannabis advocate, Gonzalez has presented o

The Green Peak with CEO Plena Global Richard Zwicky. The cannabis industry is evolving at a radical pace, progressing toward “the green peak”. Each week join Richard Zwicky, a cannabis visionary and entrepreneur, as he interviews experts from around the globe to discuss updates and evolutions in the world of cannabis. If you are a current or inspiring investor in the cannabis industry and/or a cannabis entrepreneur and want to hear great insights around the drivers of growth in the cannabis industry, this is the podcast for you. Hosted by Plena Global and produced by CannabisRadio.com, The Green Peak is a business-oriented podcast exploring the drivers of growth in the cannabis industry. Join Richard Zwicky, CEO of Plena Global, every Tuesday as he chats with experts and industry leaders about their experiences working in the fast-growing and rapidly changing landscape of medical cannabis. New episodes of ‘The Green Peak’ are available to stream on CannabisRadio.com. ‘The Green Peak’ is also available via App

The RAFT system with Mary Bumatai, CEO of Revessel Inc. Our next guest is the founder of Revessell Inc., makers of Robotic Automated Filling Technology, more affectionately known as the RAFT System, the safest, cleanest, most secure vape product, sanitizing, filling, and capping Ecosystem in the world. The RAFT is a revolutionary robotic automated filling system to address the need for safe, clean, high volume, and accurate filling and capping for vape hardware. The RAFT system, combined with our exclusive custom premium products, will provide a first of its kind Ecosystem for sanitizing, filling, and capping of premium quality glass, ceramic and stainless steel, tamper-proof cartridges, and disposables. The RAFT system and Revessel vape products combined offer a revolutionary start-to-finish solution for the CBD and cannabis industries' biggest oil players. Safety and brand security were paramount in the design and product selection. Revessel Inc challenges all licensed brands and high-volume producers t

Affordable CBD products with Grant Rogers Digital Marketing Manager for Extract Labs. Our next guest works with a Colorado-based CBD company ranking among the most trusted & verified suppliers of affordable CBD products. Extract Labs is a Boulder, Colorado-based full-service hemp extraction lab offering a proprietary line of boutique CBD-infused products. In the past few years, CBD has often been touted as a cure-all of sorts. Manufacturers and users claim, mostly anecdotally, that it has given them relief from muscle soreness and swelling and helped curb stress and anxiety. What is actually known or proven by clinical trials is very little. But because much is still unknown about how CBD is delivered to the brain and how much of what is in the product goes elsewhere in the body, critics are concerned. For instance, the absorption and processing of CBD by a 12-year-old athlete and a 200-pound professional athlete are likely to be different. Today on Blunt Business, Affordable CBD products with Grant Roger

CannabizTeam with Founder & CEO, Liesl Bernard. Our next guest is the CEO of the world's largest cannabis-specific executive search and staffing firm. She spent two decades doing specialized executive search and staffing for Fortune 500 companies living and working in many parts of the world. Cannabiz Team has placed thousands of candidates at executive and management levels in all verticals of the cannabis industry across the US, Canada, Europe, and South America. One study suggested that D&I helps to recruit and retain top talent; improve creativity, innovation, and performance; and boost a company’s brand among consumers. The World Economic Forum indicated that companies that champion D&I are also more profitable. Another study indicated that as organizations switch to survival mode to address the impacts of a global pandemic, “anything that is considered ‘nice to have’ is being jettisoned, with senior stakeholders unable to prioritize anything that isn’t absolutely key to the business.” Th

22Red Ceo And Founder Harry Kazazian join us today to talk about his company and career on Blunt Business. Our next guest has spent over 30 years in the manufacturing, importing, and distribution of consumer products. He is responsible for managing some of the most recognized brands in the Outdoor Industry, with annual sales exceeding $100M. Now entering a new market, he intends to apply the same business principles, ingenuity, and level of integrity that has garnered him much success throughout his long and storied career. Harry was approached by an old friend and System of a Down bassist, Shavo Odadjian, to launch 22Red at the onset of California’s adult-use legalization. We have definitely seen a lot of musicians feel inspired to venture into cannabis: B-Real of Cypress Hill aka Dr. Greenthumb to Brendan Hill of Blues Traveler to Willie Nelson. We talk about what it is about musicians in particular that draws them to partake in more than just a joint.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPriva

Kaycha Labs with Senior Vice President, Cynthia Brewer. Our next guest is a top executive with the largest network of full-service ISO accredited cannabis and hemp testing laboratories in the United States. Kaycha has established itself as the Gold Standard in cannabis and hemp testing through its reputation for accuracy, patient safety, method development, and validation, further advancing the course of modern cannabis automation. Kaycha Labs has established itself as the Gold Standard in cannabis and hemp testing through its reputation for accuracy, patient safety, method development, and validation, further advancing the course of modern cannabis automation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hydroponics retail for the masses with Michael Salaman, President of GrowGeneration. Our next guest is the President of the nation’s largest hydroponics retailer. Referred to by CNBC as “the Lowes or Home Depot for indoor growing,” they rose from obscurity to become the national category leader in hydroponics retail by cornering the cannabis market. GrowGeneration sells hydroponic equipment, soils, nutrients, and lighting fixtures in legal states. Motley Fool summarized GrowGeneration owning and operating 31 hydroponics garden centers across the U.S., making it the largest of its kind. And the company just acquired the No. 3 chains, The GrowBiz, adding six more stores to its roster.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The National Cannabis Risk Management Association with Rocco Petrilli, chairman of the NCRMA, and Chief Risk Management Officer Alex Hearding. Our next guests are returning guests to the program. They represent the Nation’s only dedicated cannabis risk management association, a pioneering, innovative, groundbreaking risk management platform providing non-traditional offerings for a non-traditional industry. Like many organizations, the NCRMA has had to pivot to a more virtual setup to re-establish the lines of communication. We talk about the adjustments that their team has made due to the pandemic. NCRMA has also published concerns about ergonomics in the cannabis industry that are emerging as workers experience injuries due to their operational tasks. Unfortunately, traditional crop insurance isn’t available for outdoor cannabis cultivators, primarily because of a lack of data on yield performances – and the impact the weather has on yields. Insurance companies don’t create policies until they have the data

Agrify with David Kessler, VP & Head of Horticulture and Customer Success, and Robert Harrison, COO of Agrify. Given the lack of quality control and production inefficiencies, traditional growing methods are in dire need of a facelift. Outdoor cultivation is unprotected; subject to unpredictable weather patterns, environmental damage, and is only operational in select seasons. Greenhouses are a step up in that they allow for better control of the environment and year-round cultivation, provided there is sufficient artificial lighting in the off-seasons. With indoor cultivation and vertical racks, growers can maximize production by utilizing unused vertical space and can confidently operate year-round; however, the plants are still at risk of pests and diseases and there are still macro and microenvironmental conditions with high variability to consider. Agrify, a developer of highly advanced and proprietary precision hardware and software grow solutions for the indoor agriculture marketplace, is on a miss

Cannabis Industry Data Guru Liz Connors, Director of Analytics at Headset joins us today on Blunt Business. Our next guest worked as a Data Scientist in CPG retail and Financial Services for eight years before opening her own analytics and statistics consulting business where she advised small firms on how to utilize their data to design a better product, improve marketing programs and build more informed business strategies. She now serves as the Director of Analytics at one of the cannabis industry’s leading providers of data and analytics. Headset recently released a report titled Customer Analysis: Understanding cannabis consumer behavior. A recent report explored the brand-level analysis of the California Vapor Pens market in order to demonstrate how sales data can reveal previously obscured trends. Liz worked with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the London Business School conducting experimental research on heuristics and biases that impede business decision-makers from optimally using d

Navigating the California cannabis marketplace with CA-based Cannabis & Entertainment Lawyer Jeffrey Welsh, the partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP. Our next guest is a partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP, where he focuses his practice on advising companies, brands, entertainment and media properties, other law firms, and investors on how they should be navigating the California cannabis marketplace. Jeffrey worked in Corporate Business Affairs at the largest talent agency in the world, William Morris Endeavor, now WME | IMG, while simultaneously continuing to work in the legal cannabis industry part-time. In this unique position, he developed an understanding of the nuanced entertainment industry, while concurrently connecting entertainer-advocates with projects and groups actively working in the cannabis space. We talk about what he has learned about bobbing and weaving around the Hollywood brass representing his clients. Jeffery co-founded a full-service creative agency, Composite. Composite helps guide and

Certified cannabinoid ingredients with Josh Epstein, CEO of Socati. Our next guest recently announced it has successfully completed the rigorous evaluation process and received official USDA Organic certification for its CBD ingredient line up which can be used in USDA Organic finished products. This company is the only commercial-scale producer of USDA Organic certified cannabinoid ingredients with third-party verified non-detectable levels of THC. The USDA Organic Seal represents a comprehensive organic standard, a rigorous verification system, and a set of effective enforcement mechanisms to safeguard the trust and credibility of organic products, mandating manufacturers to maintain rigorous organic standards from farming through the production of final consumer packaged goods. Given the broad trend towards organic and clean label products, Socati believes the company and its partners are now uniquely positioned for the expected widespread shift to premium USDA Organic certified CBD products. With the USDA

Diversity and inclusion in the cannabis industry with Kevin Ford Jr., CEO of Uplift Maryland. Our next guest is the CEO of a platform that strives to increase diversity and inclusion within the emerging medical cannabis industry, ensuring that all communities, especially those of color, have an opportunity to participate in the economy of the future. Uplift Maryland was founded on the principle to take what the generation before has created and elevated it to the next level. You were able to make something that was once illegal and incarcerated many Black men and turn it into a positive by providing an education of opportunity, especially to those who have been marginalized by oppressive and unjust drug policies. At the time of this recording House, Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) announced that lawmakers would soon be voting on a bill to decriminalize marijuana federally, leaving regulation up to the states. The vote would mark the first time either chamber of Congress ever voted on decriminalization of

CBD and cannabis testing with Roger Brown, CEO/ President of ACS Laboratory. Our next guest is the president of the largest hemp, CBD, and cannabis testing facility in the Eastern United States. It is one of the largest and top-ranking laboratories for precision testing of hemp, CBD, and cannabis in the U.S. with customers in 44 states throughout the country. ACS Laboratory recently acquired Botanica Testing Inc., certified hemp and CBD testing laboratory thus expanding your position as the largest and the Most Trusted Cannabis and Hemp Laboratory in the USA. ACS Laboratory recently announced the Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU) has certified ACS to test products for medical dispensaries in the state. This certification comes after the Florida Department of Health adopted an emergency rule, requiring dispensaries to only use a certified lab for product testing. Dispensaries (or medical marijuana treatment centers as the state calls them) in Florida have until December 24, 20

AlphaRoot with Managing Director Isaac Bock today on Blunt Business with Jorge Hermida only on Cannabis Radio. Our next guest works for an insurance brokerage dedicated to supporting the cannabis industry. His company’s unique expertise in cannabis allows them to provide customized access to preferred insurance markets. AlphaRoot is a full-service insurance brokerage completely dedicated to strengthening and supporting the cannabis industry. You offer a wide range of liability coverages to all types of cannabis businesses, including MSO's, Cultivation, Dispensaries, and ancillary niches. Fill me in on the scope and range of what your team at AlphaRoot is able to do to assist. There are many legal uncertainties, unique hazards, and emerging risks involved in legal cannabis-related activities. We talk about the common challenges that cannabis industries have been connecting with our guests about the most. Many of the nation’s largest insurance providers will not work with the weed industry because marijuana