Edible manufacturers have the ability to make or break a new consumer. From Chocolate to Pearls Grün’s Innovative Approach has positioned them as a trusted national market leader.
This week we are joined by Christine Smith, Founder of Grün, to dive into their:
Disruptive impact
Licensing strategy
Formulation success
Expansion challenges
Product innovations
About GRÖN
A women-led band of visionaries founded in 2015 by mother and architect-turned-chocolatier, Christine Smith, Grön creates delicious, handcrafted cannabis-infused edibles for the community. What started as one delicately nuanced dark chocolate bar has since expanded to multiple product lines available internationally, serving millions of happy customers.
Imagine this. You operate a state-licensed business. You pay your taxes and follow ALL the rules and regulations as defined.
You hear a knock at your home door on your daughter’s birthday day. U.S. federal Agents are there to charge you with the Kingpin Statue or the same law designed to target El Chapo and other cartel leaders.
Not only have you never been convicted of a crime, but you have also followed all the rules California enacted when they passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996
Certainly, a jury of your peers who voted for this law almost a decade earlier would be an arbitrator of truth and fair would recognize you’re not a drug kingpin, let alone a criminal. This is the United States of America.
This week we sit down with Luke Scarmazzo, One of the first licensed medical dispensaries in the United States, who shares his compelling story.
We discuss:
2004 California Cannabis Industry
Scarmazzo vs. United States of America
Emotional rollercoaster
His mission now and how others can help
And so much more
About Luke Scarmazzo
In 2006, Luke Scarmazzo was running a state-legal medical cannabis dispensary in Modesto, California, when he was arrested by U.S. federal agents following a DEA raid of the business. Scarmazzo was prosecuted in federal court and received a 22-year jail sentence. He and his family have turned to The Weldon Project for support.
Though Scarmazzo’s dispensary was legal through California’s Proposition 215 – which legalized medical cultivation, sales, and consumption in the state – he and his business partner were charged under the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute. The CCE Statute, also known as the Kingpin Statute, is a federal law designed to target large-scale drug traffickers and cartels who are responsible for long-term and elaborate drug conspiracies. It carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 20 years.
In 2017, after serving nearly a decade in jail, Scarmazzo petitioned the Obama administration for commutation. His business partner, Ricardo Montes, received clemency, but Luke’s request was denied. In 2020, advocates with the nonprofit The Weldon Project included Luke’s name on a list of 25 marijuana offenders sent to the Trump White House as part of a clemency campaign supported by Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement and various celebrities. Although President Trump granted nine of the requested pardons, Luke’s request was not granted.
It’s no secret that California is one of the most cutthroat markets in the industry today. Not accepting anything less than the best is how Ted Lidie, founder of Alien Labs, has built a successful brand synonymous with quality and successfully scaled it across state lines.
This week we host Ted to discuss:
How Alien Labs have been able to grow Top Shelf Flower at scale
His obsession with quality and how they do QC
What is going on inside the top-shelf California cannabis industry?
What he thinks of being inside almost every NY Unlicensed store
About Alien Labs
At Alien Labs, we take quality seriously. We believe that our customers deserve the very best, and we work hard to ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and safety. We use only the finest ingredients, and we test every batch of our products to ensure that they are free from contaminants and impurities.
In addition, we are committed to sustainability. We believe that it’s important to protect the environment, and we do our part by using sustainable packaging and eco-friendly practices in our production process.
Nature vs. Nurture plays a critical role in cannabis. Understanding how and why these traits are expressed can help the cannabis industry how to create a consistent, reproducible product.
This week we dive into cannabis genomics with Dr. Daniela Vergara, Founder Agricultural Genomics Foundation. We discuss
Theory behind breeding
Defining synthetic plant-based or full synthetic
Minor Cannabinoids
Cannabis genomics
And so much more
About Dr. Daniela Vergara
Guest Links
Dr. Daniela Vergara is an evolutionary biologist, data analyst, educator, scientific writer, and public speaker. In addition to her multiple publications, she founded and directs a non-profit organization, the Agricultural Genomics Foundation (AGF; AgriculturalGenomics.org). AGF aims to make hemp and cannabinoid science available to a broad public. Vergara has been part of e scientific teams at private companies including Steep Hill, Inc. who are a global leader in agricultural testing, and the biotech company Front Range Biosciences.
Do you love good food AND good weed? Get your aprons readybecuase today we are diving into home cooking-infused style.
We sat down with Christina Wong and discussed the following:
How to easily add cannabis to your home cooking
Calculating accurate Dosing at home
Recipes, ideas, and so much more
*Warning this episode will make you hungry
About Christina Wong:
Christina Wong is a CLIO Cannabis and MarCom award-winning storyteller and seasoned PR & communications pro who spent over a decade in the food & restaurant industry working with well-known chefs, restaurants, hospitality, and cannabis brands including Papa & Barkley, Raw Garden, and Tender Greens. A culinary cannabis educator, recipe developer, content creator, and baking show host, her imaginative and delectable creations have earned numerous awards and accolades, including a pie that KCRW’s Evan Kleiman called “f*&%ing delicious.”
She’s created custom desserts for events with Qveen Herby, Cypress Hill, LaGanja Estranja, Luna Lovebad, and Tommy Chong to name a few. Additionally, she’s partner + culinary content editor of The Clever Root, a digital publication about cannabis food, drinks, hospitality, and everything that grows; co-host of Mogu Magu, an AAPI food + culture + cannabis collective; and a member of the HiVi Higher-Ups, an inclusive community of cannabis advocates and activists.
#cookingwithcannabis #infusedcooking #cannabis
Subscribe to Christina’s Substack: https://fruitandflower.substack.com/
What is the actual truth behind cannabis harms and benefits? Dr. Peter Grinspoon, Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of “Seeing Through the Smoke: Cannabis: An Expert Doctor Untangles the Truth About Cannabis,” shares his expertise on various topics related to cannabis. From the challenges of having non-judgmental conversations about cannabis between doctors and patients to the potential benefits and harms of cannabis, Dr. Grinspoon provides valuable insights across the board including.
The Government’s funding into cannabis research: harms vs. Benefits
The process of re-legalizing cannabis and how it affects institutional knowledge.
The truth behind the gateway theory of cannabis
His Perspective on Andrew Huberman Podcast
The potential for cannabis addiction and how it’s been greatly exaggerated
The urgent need to teach the endocannabinoid system in medical schools
